Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the General Education Assessment Initiative?
A. Tidewater Community College is committed to developing one or more general education
competencies in each course.
Background: In 2006, the State Board for Community College, the governing body of the
Virginia Community College System, approved in policy seven general education competency
areas to include: Communication (oral and written), Information Literacy, Critical Thinking,
Cultural and Social Understanding, Personal Development, Quantitative Reasoning, and
Scientific Reasoning. General Education competencies apply to all graduates in both transfer
and career and technical degree programs. Further, and per Virginia Community College System
Policy 5.0.2.0, “general education is that portion of the collegiate experience that addresses the
knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values characteristic of educated persons…unbounded by
disciplines and it honors the connections among bodies of knowledge.”
Q. How does the college measure the success of the General Education Initiative?
A. The General Education Assessment (GEA) Plan outlines the assessment process and
indicators of success.
Q. How are assessment results utilized?
A. Findings serve as a springboard for discussions with faculty and subsequent curriculum and
pedagogical changes.
Q. Where can I find the general education competencies identified for my course?
A. General Education Competencies are identified in the Official Course Outline and syllabus
for each course and are located in i-INCURR.
Q. What is my role as a faculty member?
A. Each faculty member is required to incorporate course activities and authentic assignments to
develop the applicable general education competency(s).
One or more assignments which support the competency
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Q. What is the schedule of the assessment and requirement of participating faculty?
A. One competency is assessed during each cycle on a predetermined rotation. All college
faculty are notified of the competency under assessment and courses which support it prior to the
beginning of the term. Participating faculty are notified after census date and asked to identify an
assignment which supports the competency and complete the Authentic Assignment Tool (AAT)
form. Participating faculty submit the completed AAT forms and assignment instructions by a
designated deadline. Additionally, some participating faculty are asked to provide ungraded
copies of the identified assignments completed by selected students at a later deadline. Faculty
volunteers assess the submitted materials electronically either remotely or at a group scoring
session scheduled to coincide with the scoring deadline at the end of the term.
Q. How are courses selected for assessment?
A. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness determines the courses/students to be assessed each
semester from the list of all identified courses which support the development of the applicable
competency. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness ensures that enrollment projections
indicate there will be significant numbers of enrollees with sophomore status, enrollees from
both degree types (career/technical and transfer) who are representative of TCC’s degree-seeking
population, and that courses are offered in a variety of formats (traditional, hybrid, online.) A
course shall not be included in the assessment more than once during an academic year.
Q. How are students selected for the assessment?
A. After the census (add/drop) date, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness selects a random,
stratified sample of 125 students enrolled in the selected courses who have earned 45 or more
academic credit hours.
Q. What types of student work products are appropriate for the GEA?
A. Many types of assignments are appropriate for the GEA. The most important consideration is
that the assignment directs students to demonstrate the competencies identified in the applicable
rubric. For this reason, reading the applicable rubric is critical. Further, authentic assignments
which require the demonstration of understanding through active use of the material, i.e.
construct, perform, analyze, synthesize, and apply, are more conducive for assessment purposes
than assignments which require recall or recognition. Examples of assignments which may be
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appropriate include but are not limited to essays, book review, lab reports, mini-research papers,
annotated bibliographies, or quantitative problems for which the student’s computational work is
shown. You are welcome to use samples that have been reviewed against the general education
competencies and are located under GEARS.
Q. How many assignments must be submitted?
A. If one assignment incorporates all the dimensions in the applicable rubric, one is preferred. If
the combination of more than one is necessary to direct the student to demonstrate all
dimensions, more than one should be submitted. It is understood that not every course will
develop every dimension of the applicable rubric.
Q. What types of student work products are not appropriate for use in the GEA?
A. Multiple choice, short answer, and group assignments are not appropriate for use in the GEA.
These types of assignments do not provide enough detail or independent work for the faculty
assessors to score the competency level.
Q. Are students informed of their participation in the assessment?
A. No, individual students are not informed of their participation or treated any differently than
non-selected students. The College Catalog provides a statement about the possible use of
student work products for assessment, and course syllabi provide this similar statement:
Work products submitted by students to fulfill course requirements may be used by
the college to evaluate its academic programs and general education requirements.
Q. Am I being assessed as a faculty member?
A. No, this is an assessment of student learning across the curriculum; it is not an assessment
of faculty.
Q. When are faculty notified that a student in their course/section has been selected for
general education assessment?
A. Faculty are notified at the beginning of each semester that a student enrolled in their
course/section has been selected.
Q. How do I know that my assignment(s) and AAT(s) are accepted upon submission?
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A. Participating faculty will be notified by the GEA team that their assignment has been received
with feedback provided as necessary.
Q. What must be done if a selected student fails to submit the assignment identified by the
faculty member or stops attending class?
A. Faculty may submit alternate assignments completed by the selected student(s) if there are
other appropriate options for the applicable rubric. If not, faculty will inform GEA staff as
directed.
Q. What happens with the student work products that I submit?
A. Student work products are redacted for course number, faculty and student privacy before
being uploaded to the scoring system. Once products are uploaded they are pushed into a que
and assigned to faculty assessors for scoring.
Q. How were the VALUE rubrics developed?
A. Many of TCC’s rubrics were adapted by TCC faculty from the Association of American
Colleges and Universities. The rubrics for Scientific Reasoning and Personal Development are
original to TCC.
Q. What about student privacy? Faculty privacy?
A. Privacy is maintained for students and faculty through the redaction process.
Q. Where can I find results of the GEA?
A. Results are updated each semester and are located in the General Education Assessment Plan
located in i-INCURR under the “Assessment” tab.
Q. How are assessment results distributed?
A. The semester following the assessment cycle the Office of Institutional Effectiveness
compiles the data and the GEA plan is updated. Faculty that participated in the assessment cycle
are provided with redacted discipline specific results to preserve confidentiality. Individual
faculty can also request their individual assessment results. The GEA team is also available for
consultations regarding assessment design, use of results and general education collaboration.
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Q. Does TCC Governance play a role in the General Education Assessment initiative?
A. Yes, the Instruction Committee is charged by the Chief Academic Officer with annually
reviewing and making recommended changes to the General Education Assessment Plan.
Q. Is general education assessment really here to stay?
A. Assessment of general education core competencies is critical to the college’s mission and for
accreditation purposes, as recognized in 3.5.1 by the Southern Association of College and
Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). TCC’s General education Pilot Program began
in 2012 and will be an ongoing, dynamic initiative.
Q. What other opportunities are available to participate in the General Education
Assessment initiative?
A. There are many opportunities to participate with this initiative including serving on the
Instruction Committee, and as a faculty assessor. For more information see contacts.
Q. How do I become a faculty assessor?
A. Becoming a faculty assessor is easy. Notify the individual(s) under “Contacts”, attend a twohour training session, and volunteer on a cycle-by-cycle basis.
Q. What is the advantage of becoming a faculty assessor?
A. Advantages of attending assessment training and becoming an assessor include, but are not
limited to, having an improved understanding of the general education process, designing
assignments to fully support the competencies, and participating in activities that directly support
the mission and vision of the college.
Q. If I have further questions, whom can I contact?
A. For more information regarding the General Education Assessment Plan and process, contact
The Director of General Education Assessment and Transfer Partnerships, Jennifer Ferguson at
[email protected].
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