English Faculty Response to General Education Learning Outcomes
Course Assessment Report
GE Outcome: Communication: The student will be able to communicate effectively.
Assessment Period: AY 2014
1. Quality of Assessment
The overall quality of the General Education Learning Outcomes assessment for AY 2015 is
quite satisfactory. In all, there were 20 General Education courses assessed.
Each course had some form of written component ranging from resumes/cover letters in
Business Communications to film analyses in Abnormal Psychology; Personalized Exercise
Plans in Personal and Community Health and final papers in Wellness to analyses of Personal
Support Systems in Psychology of Adjustment and written art critiques and lessons in Art
Appreciation and Art for Elementary Schools; Book reviews in Modern Civilization and US
History, short answer exam responses in World Geography, final exam essay questions in US
History II and final exam questions over theoretical paradigms in Introduction to Sociology,
subjective-objective analyses regarding social/individual problems in Social Problems, simple
sentence strings and compositions in Spanish I and II and French II; and case studies in Ethics
and Constitution review assignments in American Government.
There is a great deal of variety in these written assignments which is refreshing and significant
for the student. Each written assignment asks students to analyze and synthesize different kinds
of information from a personal level to more abstract/theoretical material while also emphasizing
and reinforcing the twin purposes of composition: to describe and to explain.
The results of these activities are also significant in that each meets or exceeds the benchmark
requirements. In courses where there were slight demarcations, the reasons lay not in the
assignment or student ability, but in students not submitting assignments and/or plagiarizing
assignments.
In terms of continued assessment, the individual faculty responsible for these courses were
sensitive to any weakness or problematic area and will make necessary modifications ranging,
for example, from adding a formal report as an additional measure to providing more student
examples, repeated reminders, and emphasizing credibility and evidence and documentation.
Further Monitoring and comparison or student outcomes and sectional data will continue and
necessary modifications will be made.
1
In the final analysis, the effort to add writing across the Gen Ed curriculum has largely been
successful with good results. The expectations for this project were acceptable and the progress
the institution has made on the project is satisfactory.
2. ACCU Value Rubric
The Written Communication Value rubric developed by the Association of American Colleges
and Universities was implemented in all English courses in the Spring 2014 semester and utilized
by a majority of Gen Ed courses (13 out of 20). As defined by the Rubric, written
communication is “the development and expression of ideas in writing. Written communication
involves learning to work in many genres and styles.” Written communication “can involve
working with many different writing technologies, and mixing texts, data, and images.” Written
communication abilities “develop through interative experiences across the curriculum.”
The Rubric is composed of criteria such as Context of and Purpose for Writing, Content
Development, Genre and Disciplinary Conventions, Sources and Evidence, and Control of
Syntax and Mechanics. The scores for each range from 4/Capstone (which demonstrates
thorough understanding and detailed attention), 3 and 2/Milestones (which demonstrates
adequate awareness and consistency), and 1/Benchmark (which demonstrates minimal attempts).
The student success level indicates that 70% of students will score a C (70%) or higher on the
written communication rubric; to reach this 70% the score needs to be at least 2.8.
The thirteen General Education courses included:









Business Communications (01BUS2013) with eight students completing the course and
achieving the following percentages: 1- 75% 2-78% 2-80% 1-85% 1-90% and 1-95%
Abnormal Psychology (03BEH2023) with 67% scoring a C or higher on the rubric.
Psychology of Adjustment (03 BEH 1103) with 9 of 11 (82%) scoring a 70% or higher
on the written analysis of their support system; the greatest area of concern lay in content
development.
Personal and Community Health (04 HEA 1053) with 3 of 16 (19%) scoring a C or
higher on the rubric and a class average of 12/20.
Wellness (04 HPR 1401) three (3) students (100%) scoring a 70% or higher on the final
written assignment with most struggling in the Context and Content sections of the
rubric.
Art Appreciation (06AED1043) with 100 total students in both semesters finishing in 8
sections; all minimum standards were reached or exceeded with an average of 3.5.
Art for Elementary Schools (03EDU 2023) with five students; all averages were above
the 2.8 score.
Spanish 1 (03FR1025) with 18 out of 19 students scoring more than 70% or higher and
averaging 84% for the four written assignments.
Spanish II (03 FRL 1035) with 5 students who wrote four compositions and scored more
than 70% or higher; these students averaged 85% for the four written assignments
utilizing the rubric.
2




French II (03 FRL 1015) with two (2) students who wore four compositions and scored
more than 70% or higher and averaged 95% for the four written assignments utilizing the
rubric.
Ethics (03SOC1073) with 16 students submitting an assignment; Average scores for
each category: Context of Purpose for writing: 1.375; Content Development: 1.40; Genre
and disciplinary conventions: 1.70; Sources and Evidence: 1.25; Control of syntax and
mechanics: 1.125.
American Government (03POL 1023) with 42 students submitting an assignment;
Average scores for each category: Context of Purpose for writing: 1.375; Content
Development: 1.667; Genre and disciplinary conventions: 1.625; Sources and Evidence:
0.875; Control of syntax and mechanics: 1.625.
Introduction to Education (03 EDU 1003) with six students scoring the following
means in Context of Purpose for writing: 3.33; Content Development: 3.5; Genre and
disciplinary conventions: 3; Sources and Evidence: 3.17; Control of syntax and
mechanics: 3.17.
Use of the Rubric provides valuable information regarding written expression by indicating
problem areas such as Sources and Evidence or Control of syntax and mechanics while revealing
that the majority of students are achieving or exceeding the minimum standards.
3. Rubric Standards
In those courses not using the AACU Rubric, four (4) courses used a different rubric than the
AACU Writing Communication Rubric: US History I (03 HIS 1023), History of Modern
Civilization (03 HIS 1013), Introduction to Sociology (03 SOC 1003), and Social Problems
(03 SOC 2023).
US History and History of Modern Civilization used a Book Review Grading Rubric which
utilized a three-standard scoring guide (Excellent/Good, Average, and Poor) with five criteria:
Summary of Book Content, Analysis/Critique of Book, Grammar, Spelling, & Style, Timely
Submission, and Length of Review.
In US History I, of the nine students enrolled, five reviews were submitted with one plagiarized;
the average grade of the remaining four reviews was 92.75%, exceeding the institutional
minimum. However, with the five zeroes added, the class average fell to 41.22%.
In History of Modern Civilization, with 23 students enrolled, 17 submitted book reviews. For
item #3 on the rubric (Grammar, Spelling & Style), the class scored an average of 89.2% overall
which exceeded the 70% minimum goal. The weakest writers never turned in a paper.
Introduction to Sociology used a five standard scoring guide (Excellent, Good, fair, Poor, and
Not Demonstrated) and three criteria (Content, Organization, and Mechanics) with each
weighted at a different percentage (50%, 30%, and 20% respectively) and was applied to the
final exam. 17 students of the 19 enrolled (89%) completed the final exam; in applying the rubric
(and limiting the indicators to the three main theories and student recognition of those theories),
3
the students surpassed the 70% with an overall score of 79%. (If the two students are included,
the overall score drops to 74%).
Social Problems used a Grading of Subjective-Objective Approach rubric. 20 out of 25 students
(80%) completed the S.O.A. assignment with 82% achieving a score above 70% when the rubric
was applied. (When the five students who did not complete the assignment are included, the
overall S.O.A. grade falls to 68%)
The remaining courses which did not use the AACU Written Communication rubric or any other
rubric -- Nutrition (02 BIO 2053), World Regional Geography (03 SOC 2013), and US
History II (03 HIS 1063) – used either weekly Discussion Board questions, short answer exam
questions, essay exam questions.
In Nutrition, out of 14 students enrolled, 12 participated regularly with the overall average of all
14 being 83.31%.
In World Regional Geography, the 25 students enrolled – in both face-to-face and online -completed short answer exam questions. The online students were assigned additional short
answer items as homework in four of six course modules. The online students who completed
these short answers averaged 71.12% (8/13), exceeding the 70% ICC target. Both classes met the
institutional goal of 70%.
In US History II, all but one student completed essay exams averaging 82.69%. If the one
student is included, that average falls to 79.25% but the overall class performance still exceeds
the 70% minimum institutional target.
For courses utilizing rubrics other than the AACU Written Communication rubric, the results
remain in accordance with the institutional targets. The overall quality of these rubrics in
comparison to the AACU rubric is adequate in standards and yields comparable data aligning
with that produced by the AACU rubric.
4. Recommendations:
In analyzing the results produced by this assessment, the English faculty recommend the
following actions which would inform and enhance the successful evaluation of written
assignments by the general faculty:


Publication of a campus-wide writing manual, A Guide to Good Writing, developed by
the English faculty, which would cover fundamental areas of college composition such as
purpose, genre conventions, content development, structure and organization, and most
common grammatical/ mechanical errors found in student writing. This manual would
also provide summary information on the characteristics of good writing, the recognition
and correction of the most common textual errors, rubrics, discipline-specific
documentation information, and print and internet resources for the evaluation of collegelevel writing.
Division presentations by English faculty regarding aspects of writing evaluation
mirroring the information disseminated in A Guide to Good Writing.
4




Development of a webpage on the ICC website devoted to college composition, research,
documentation, and evaluation which would be accessible by both faculty and students.
Small group workshops conducted by English faculty and devoted to specific areas of
composition evaluation.
Publication of one-page factsheets devoted to aspects of college composition, grammar,
research, rhetoric, and documentation.
Continue efforts in writing across the curriculum by adding more written assignments in
general education courses.
5