Snow College Ad Hoc General Education Assessment Committee
April 1, 2011
In attendance: Lisa Anderson, Mel Jacobsen, Melanie Jenkins,
Clinton King, Joseph Papenfuss, Lynn Poulson, Jeff Carney
(chair), Beckie Hermansen (ex officio), Rick White (ex officio)
This committee is composed of one member representing each academic division, three
at-large members, and several exofficio members who bring special expertise to the
discussions:
Lisa Anderson: Business and Technology
Jeff Carney: Humanities
Kim Christison: Fine Arts
Joseph Papenfuss: Natural Science and Mathematics
Lynn Poulson: Social and Behavioral Science
Mel Jacobsen: at large
Melanie Jenkins: at large
Clinton King: at large
Beckie Hermansen: Institutional Research (ex officio)
Rick White: Accreditation (ex officio)
The Career and Technical Division does not have a member at this time.
As this was the first meeting of the committee, introductions were made, and the committee's
purpose was reviewed. (The official proposal that created this committee is appended
to these minutes.) Copies of the college's current GE Outcomes were distributed, as
well as copies of the newly adopted Regents Policy R470, which governs General Education
in the Utah System of Higher Education.
At the request of Mel Jacobsen, the general outline of outcomes assessment was discussed:
• Determination of outcomes;
• Identifying appropriate outcome indicators;
• Identifying/creating instruments to measure those indicators;
• Action taken to improve instruction based on the results of assessment. The committee
recognized that there is some disparity between the college's current GE Outcomes
and those mandated by R470. Despite this, it was determined that the first year of
GE Assessment should focus on the existing outcomes. If changes should be made to
the college's GE Outcomes, they should be made in the future.
The committee agreed to visit with their divisions to determine what kinds of assessment
instruments are already collecting data with respect to the GE Outcomes. Committee
members were expected to report back next week with their findings. Becky Hermansen
indicated that the Office of Institutional Research was already collecting data and
that she was more than willing to coordinate efforts with this committee.
Ad hoc General Education Assessment Committee Vice President Smith and the Curriculum
Committee are proposing the creation of an ad hoc committee whose mission is to begin
the process of assessing General Education at Snow College.
Accreditation is upon us. We have been assured that a significant part of the evaluation will
focus on our GE program. Unfortunately, we do not have a true GE program. We have
a list of GE outcomes and a worksheet from which students may select GE courses. What
we do not have is a document that defines a central vision for a GE program. We also
lack a set of instruments for assessing the success of a GE program in part or in
whole. It is true that some courses on the worksheet are being assessed by individual
departments. What we need is a cohesive effort. The Curriculum Committee is overwhelmed
with other tasks. Considering the growth the college has experienced in the last 20
years, including the merger with the Richfield campus, this is hardly surprising.
Indeed, we are the only college in Utah that does not have a separate General Education
committee. Aside from accreditation, providing our transfer students with a General
Education is central to our mission. The creation of some sort of oversight body is
long overdue. For the good of the college, we need to know if our students are learning
what we think they are learning.
Rather than create another standing committee at this time, the proposal calls for
an ad hoc committee to address a limited number of issues. One issue to be addressed
is whether the committee turns out to be useful. If it does, the Curriculum Committee
and the Faculty Senate may wish to transform the committee into a standing committee.
If it does not, the ad hoc committee may be dissolved. It is anticipated that the
committee will do some initial planning and data gathering during the rest of this
semester, do more focused work during May and summer, and finish its assignment by
the end of Fall Semester, 2011.
The first task will be to assess the GE outcomes themselves. Do they define what General
Education means to Snow College? Are they reasonable? Can they in fact be assessed? The
larger task is to identify a variety of instruments for assessing the GE outcomes
and to generate plans for implementing them. This process will be carried out in consultation with
anyone who has any stake in GE, as well as Rick White in his new position. The Curriculum
Committee and the Faculty Senate have already recognized that a onesize-fits-all solution
will not work for Snow College. Individual outcomes will likely require unique instruments.
Individual departments or courses may likewise require a specialized instrument. It
is not the job of the ad hoc committee to determine which instrument is right for
any circumstance. Rather, the committee will assist individual divisions, departments,
and faculty to determine what works best for them in the context of the program as
a whole. There is virtually no limit to the kinds of assessment instruments that might
be used. Possibilities include standardized tests, departmental exams, portfolios,
audio or video recordings, capstone projects, pre- and post-tests, and so on. Where
cost is a factor, final decisions will be made in consultation with the Vice President
for Academic Affairs. When appropriate instruments have been selected, the committee
will provide guidance in their use, as well as guidance in using the results of assessment
to improve individual courses and the program as a whole. The ad hoc committee will
remember at all times that assessment is not an end in itself. Rather, it is a tool
to help Snow College maintain and improve (where necessary) the quality of our programs.
The ad hoc committee is an advisory body only. Where policies have to be made, the committee
is limited to making proposals to the Curriculum Committee, the Faculty Senate, or
the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Each academic dean is invited to appoint one representative from the faculty of his
or her division to be a voting member of the ad hoc committee. Three additional voting
members will be selected from the faculty at large. Faculty who wish to participate
in this capacity are invited to contact the curriculum committee as soon as possible.
When a sufficient pool of candidates has accrued, the entire faculty will be asked
to vote. The three candidates with the most votes will join the committee. At least
one member will also sit on the Curriculum Committee to facilitate active communication
between these two bodies. Staff as well as faculty are welcome to participate in the
process.
An ideal member of the committee will have the following qualities:
• creativity;
• an interest in General Education and the assessment process;
• a conviction that assessment can be used to improve student learning;
• a willingness to set aside departmental partisanship and think about education from
a general perspective; familiarity with the content, methods, and habits of mind that
characterize at least one discipline outside one's own;
• the ability to think about GE as a program, not merely a set of requirements;
• a keen understanding of students who may not value, or even be aware of, the intellectual
traditions that professional academics take for granted. The ability to invest a few
days during May and Summer 2011 is highly desirable but not strictly required.
