BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
Several
forces, both internal and external, have led to the
development of these learning goals for recipients of a
CSUS baccalaureate degree. Groups and
individuals we loosely define as "external stakeholders"
have been the most vocal advocates of changes in the ways
we conceive and evaluate our degree and the programs that
support it. Our most recent WASC accreditation involved
the development of broadly conceptualized student
outcomes and preliminary efforts to document our
institutional effectiveness through assessment. CSU
system initiatives first proposed as part of the
"Cornerstones" plan for reformation of the baccalaureate
have metamorphosed into a system-wide proposal for key
performance indicators of "continuous improvement." The
language of "accountability" has entered the vocabularies
of the governor, the state's legislators and the publics
we serve most directly---students, parents and
employers.
However,
the impetus for the development of campus-based student
learning goals and meaningful program assessment and
evaluation has not been merely a reactive response to
"outsiders'" demands. The 1994 CSUS Strategic Plan noted
that in order to meet the campus' goals for high quality
academic programs, the campus community needed to "revise
the academic program review and evaluation process to
focus on teaching, learning and improving desired student
outcomes." As a result of this recommendation, the
academic program review process was revised, and the
Faculty Senate approved a University assessment policy.
In the fall of 1998 and the spring of 1999, CSUS faculty
collaborated with colleagues from a number of disciplines
at CSU Chico and San Francisco State University, in a
project that developed common learning outcomes for two
General Education requirements----written communication
and quantitative reasoning.The results of their efforts
were presented to the Chancellor and the statewide
Academic Senate. In fall 1999, during the Senate retreat,
a working group on assessment was organized.
Additionally, in the fall of 1999, the Senate was asked
to reconsider and revise the Academic Programs theme of
the Strategic Plan and the assessment policy that
underpins it. These two activities have propitiously
coincided with two additional campus initiatives that are
firmly rooted in the values of our campus community. One,
the first program review of General Education, since
1988, has begun the collection of data about the
effectiveness of this central component of the university
curriculum. The second, our participation in a
nation-wide project to create an on-line institutional
portfolio, funded by the Pew Charitable Trust, led to a
faculty and outside stakeholders' survey of fundamental
learning goals for the baccalaureate degree. The results
of that survey and consultations with departments and
individual faculty members form the basis of the proposal
that follows.
Our
campus is poised to undertake a major step in formalizing
and making explicit the values, knowledge, skills, and
expectations which are at the heart of our efforts as
educators. These expectations of undergraduate learning
place our common values at the center of our efforts to
evaluate and improve the quality of student learning at
CSUS. The implementation of these expectations across the
curriculum will allow us to work together in consistent
and coherent ways to embody our goal of offering
"academic programs characterized by high quality, . . .a
commitment to life-long learning, the preparation of an
educated citizenry, and a responsiveness to regional
needs."
A
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES:
A
baccalaureate education is focused on the premise that
all students should explore how the great body of human
knowledge is organized and become familiar with the
methods for gaining, evaluating and extending that
knowledge. Baccalaureate students should possess a range
of knowledge, values, and skills that will enrich and
shape their lives long after their formal education has
ended.
Most of
the learning expectations that follow emphasize ways of
knowing and contexts for knowledge rather than specific
content. More that any specific list of courses, these
baccalaureate learning goals emphasize the development of
knowledge, values and skills that will serve students
throughout their lives, providing them with the
resourcefulness and flexibility to adapt successfully to
rapid social, economic and technological change,
the understandings and tolerance necessary for informed
citizenship and social action, and the interest and
curiosity that is essential to the pursuit of learning
throughout a lifetime
EXPECTATIONS
OF UNDERGRADUATE
LEARNING
COMPETENCE IN THE
DISCIPLINES
Definition:
The ability to demonstrate the competencies and values
listed below in at least one major field of study.
Additionally, this learning goal requires students to
demonstrate informed understandings of other fields,
drawing on the knowledge and skills of disciplines
outside the major.
Specific
Expectations: This expectation is demonstrated by a
student's ability to:
a)
examine, organize, and reveal significant understanding
of at least one disciplinary way of knowing
b)
apply at least one discipline's knowledge and methods to
specific problems and issues
c)
examine, organize, and integrate a variety of
disciplinary perspectives and ways of knowing to reveal a
broad understanding of the relationships between
disciplines and the ways they strengthen and enliven each
other.
ANALYSIS AND PROBLEM
SOLVING
Definition:
The ability of students to identify and diagnose
problems; organize and critically evaluate relevant
information of a qualitative and quantitative nature;
develop reasonable arguments and effective
solutions.
Specific
Expectations: This set of expectations is
demonstrated by a student's ability, as an individual and
in collaboration with others, to
a)
analyze complex issues and make informed
decisions
b)
recognize and synthesize valid and relevant information
from various sources in order to arrive at reasoned
conclusions
c)
diagnose and solve problems, including those which are
quantitative in nature
d)
evaluate the effectiveness of proposed
solutions
COMMUNICATION
Definition:
The ability to read, write, speak and listen effectively.
The ability to respond, with understanding and
appreciation to a wide variety of communicative
acts.
Specific
Expectations: This set of expectations is
demonstrated by a student's ability to
a)
express ideas and facts in a variety of written and
quantitative formats and to a variety of audiences in
discipline-specific, work-place, and civic
contexts
b)
comprehend, interpret, and analyze written and oral
presentations
c)
communicate orally in one-on-one and group
settings
d)
communicate in a language other than English
e)
interpret, analyze, and evaluate ideas presented in a
variety of creative formats, including written, verbal
and visual.
INFORMATION
COMPETENCE
Definition:
The ability to make effective and ethical use of
information resources and technology for personal and
professional needs.
Specific
Expectations: This set of expectations is
demonstrated by a student's ability to
a)
locate needed information using a variety of resources,
including journals, books, and other media
b)
use basic computer applications such as word processing
software, e-mail, the internet, and electronic
databases
c)
learn, understand, evaluate and apply appropriate
technologies to information processes, communication
needs, and problem-solving in productive and sustained
ways in both professional and personal
settings
d)
distinguish and make judgments among available
information resources
CULTURAL
LEGACIES
Definition:Acquisition
of knowledge of human accomplishments in the creative and
performing arts and the achievements of human
thought.
Specific
Expectations: This set of expectations is
demonstrated by a student's
a)
application of a broadly historical consciousness to the
human condition, the social world, and human achievements
in the arts and sciences
b)
experience of and appreciation for the fine and
performing arts
c)
understanding of the development of world civilizations
and the values of different cultural
traditions
d)
ability to apply aesthetic principles to various cultural
expressions
VALUES AND
PLURALISM
Definition:
The ability to apply ethical standards in order to make
moral judgments with respect to individual conduct and
citizenship, and to recognize the diversity of human
experiences and cultures, both within the United States
and internationally. The development of positive social
attitudes, values and behaviors.
Specific
Expectations: This set of expectations is
demonstrated by a student's
a)
recognition of the moral dimensions of decisions and
actions
b)
understanding of and respect for those who are different
from oneself
c)
willingness to accept individual
responsibility
d)
ability to work collaboratively with those who come from
diverse cultural backgrounds
e)
ability to recognize and understand the implications of
various social structures and the ways people are grouped
by such characteristics as status, race, ethnicity,
gender, sexual orientation
f)
valuation of service as a component of active
citizenship
Learning
Goals Matrix
