Evaluating a General Education Program in Transition

This reflective case study uses one public university example to explore the role of student learning outcomes assessment in the improvement of general education programs. These programs are a universal feature of higher education in the United States, requiring learning experiences for all students...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New directions for evaluation 2016-09, Vol.2016 (151), p.37-51
Main Authors: Stevenson, John F., Hicks, Sandy Jean, Hubbard, Anne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apathy
Case studies
College faculty
College students
Concept formation
Education work relationship
Educational programs
Higher education
Learning
Resistance
Students
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Summary:This reflective case study uses one public university example to explore the role of student learning outcomes assessment in the improvement of general education programs. These programs are a universal feature of higher education in the United States, requiring learning experiences for all students at an institution—but with little likely commitment from the faculty. Our university's efforts to overcome faculty apathy and resistance, build a responsive assessment system, and direct it toward transformation of our program are instructive beyond the higher education context. We take a participatory, utilization‐focused approach and reflect on what we have learned as it illuminates both the relevance of evaluation concepts to our work in assessment and the contributions from our context to the broader domains of evaluation conceptualization and practice.
ISSN:1097-6736
1534-875X
DOI:10.1002/ev.20197