VII.1.1 Assessment of the Modes of Inquiry and Diversity Studies Requirements  

Student Submission of LC Exemplars 

Students are introduced to the exemplar submission process in IDST 007/008/009. Students are required to identify exemplars from the course that they feel best represent evidence of the LC for placement into their file, and provide a short explanation (e.g., 120 words) of why they think this exemplar best meets that element of the LC. Exemplars and statements must be uploaded by the end of final exam week for students to receive the LC designation for the course.  

LC Working Group Assessment

Once every four years, each LC Working Group will spend two days during the summer assessing a sample of the exemplars and supporting statements submitted by students to earn LC credit. Faculty will be compensated for this work by Academic Affairs. The schedule for this summer rotation is as follows: 

·                CS and IS: Summers 2022, 2026. . .

·                QR and VP: Summers 2023, 2027. . . 

·                NW and US: Summers 2024, 2028 . . .  

·                GP and UQ: Summers 2025, 2029 . . .  

As part of assessment, the LC Working Group will also assess a sample of exemplars submitted for the Upper-Division requirements for that LC designation.  

In preparation for the summer assessment work, each LC Working Group, in consultation with the CAS Curriculum Committee, will develop a rubric (or refine an existing one) that defines the appropriate criteria for success for each of the learning outcomes. The benchmark for success will be that at least 60% of students are at a satisfactory or exemplary level. In addition, the benchmark for success for the Upper-Division Mode of Inquiry requirement will be that at least 75% of students are at the level of satisfactory or exemplary. 

At the end of the summer assessment work, the chairs of the two working groups under assessment will provide a report to the CAS Curriculum Committee. The report should include the finding of the assessment process and any recommended changes to the particular designation and its associated learning outcomes. These reports and any included changes must then be approved by each of the three units. Each unit then reports on the passage (or not) to the Senate. If the report is approved by all units, the report and included changes will stand approved as submitted to the Senate, with no further action required. If there is a disagreement among the units, the Senate will take up the issue to make a final decision.  

After assessment, the LC Working Group will hold open forums and write a report on the findings of the working group, including any recommendations to change the description or learning outcomes for the designation. Findings of the LC Working Group will be made available to faculty in all three units. 

The assessment of general education requirements is required for accreditation purposes.  In our last accreditation, our program for LC assessment was viewed quite positively.  For the time being, within the current framework of the Linfield Curriculum as our general education requirements, the LC Summer Assessment should proceed as in the recent past (since 2011).  The assessment process will be overseen by CAS CC chair and use the existing LC Working Groups.  At the end of the summer assessment (rotation to continue as before with two LC designations assessed each summer), the chairs of the two working groups under assessment will provide a report to the CAS CC. The report should include the finding of the assessment process and any recommended changes to the particular designation and its associated learning outcomes.  These reports and any included changes must then be approved by each of the three units.  Each unit then reports on the passage (or not) to the Senate.  If the report is approved by all units, the report and included changes will stand approved as submitted to the Senate, with no further action required.  If there is a disagreement among the units, the Senate will take up the issue to make a final decision. 

VII.1.2 Assessment of Major Writing Intensive (MWI) Courses 

As the learning outcomes of MWI courses are broadly defined, it is necessary for departments to meet, discuss, interpret, and refine them so that the outcomes are meaningful within their respective disciplines. As such, the assessment of these outcomes should be done on a departmental level. Each department should incorporate an assessment of the MWI outcomes (as explicitly interpreted within the department) within the department’s assessment plan.