Monthly Archives: February 2020

The Task Force’s proposed resolution on program educational goals was introduced to the Faculty Senate by Senator & Task Force co-chair Beth Mornling on February 10, 2020. The below resolution has been added to the Regular Agenda for March 2, 2020.

Recommendation from the Task Force on Learning Goals & Assessment with the concurrence of the Faculty Senate Undergraduate Studies Committee (William Rose, Chair), the Graduate Studies Committee (Chris Williams, Chair), the Coordinating Committee on Education (Charles Boncelet, Chair), and the Executive Committee (Matt Robinson, Chair) for the request to approve Learning Goals at the University of Delaware

WHEREAS, program educational goals clearly state the expected knowledge, skills,attitudes, competencies, habits of mind and/or other characteristics that students are expected to acquire in the specific educational program; and

WHEREAS, for the purposes of this resolution, an educational program is a program of study that leads to a degree (e.g., bachelor’s, master’s,doctoral degrees). For the purposes of this resolution educational programs do not include concentrations, certificates, minors, or other non-degree programs; and

WHEREAS, the course catalog currently includes curricular information specific to degree programs but does not publicly share the program educational goals these programs support; and

WHEREAS, clearly stated program educational goals can guide curriculum design and revision and guide assessment activities, a process fundamental to the educational mission of a university; and

WHEREAS, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education accrediting body requires universities to clearly state educational goals, and regularly assess student accomplishment of these goals; and

WHEREAS, the Provost’s Task Force on Learning Goals and Assessment developed a timeline recommending that programs with existing educational goals submit them by October 2020, and other programs submit them no later than October 2021, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that representatives from all educational programs will submit program educational goals to the Faculty Senate for publication in the academic catalog on the suggested timeline; and be it further

RESOLVED, that any newly proposed educational program be required to include program educational goals.

LGA Task Force co-chairs, Beth Morling and Matthew Trevett-Smith, met with Faculty Senate Coordinating Committee on Education to discuss the Task Force’s draft report and associated Senate resolution.

Beth Morling, professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Matthew Trevett-Smith, director of the Center for Teaching and Assessment of Learning, presented information on the conclusions of the Task Force on Learning Goals and Assessment, which met several times throughout the fall semester.

Read the full UDaily article here: https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2020/february/faculty-senate-meeting-february-2020/?utm_source=UDaily+Subscribers&utm_campaign=4d47e91547-UDaily_News_Email&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0b5034716d-4d47e91547-264627865

Co-chairs Beth Morling and Matthew Trevett-Smith will present the Task Force report to the UD Faculty Senate on Monday, February 10, 2020.

On Monday, February 3, 2020, the Task Force on Learning Goals & Assessment submitted its final report to the Office of the Provost. The report will soon be available to the University of Delaware Community via the Provost’s website, and the Task Force website here.

Key Recommendations

1. The University of Delaware Faculty Senate should revise the current Academic Proposal Approval process to collect program educational goals. Such goals should be required to accompany proposals for new (provisional) programs and applications for permanent status.  In addition, all existing programs should submit program educational goals through this process according to the specified timeline. These goals will be collected via the current Curriculog forms and published by the Registrar in the Academic Catalog. (See page 9 for proposed Senate Resolutions.)
2. The University of Delaware should ask the faculty of each educational program to develop (where no plan is currently in place) and maintain an annual cycle of program educational goal assessment. This schedule should be embedded within regular strategic/curricular planning conversations amongst faculty, directors, chairs, deans, and the provost. Such an ongoing process should ensure maximum participation from key stakeholders (program faculty, chairs, deans, and the provost).
3. The University of Delaware should collect program educational goal assessment data via a new Webform. Because evidence of student learning can take a variety of forms depending on the program, the Webform should be simple and flexible, in order to accommodate both quantitative and qualitative elements. (See page 10 of this report for a sample form.)
4. The assessment data collection Webform will send assessment evidence to the Office of Institute Research. IRE will store, aggregate, and share assessment data back out to units undergoing Academic Program Review. The evidence should be available to program faculty at all times and automatically returned to chairs/directors as part of the APR cycle. Further, these results should be available to college deans, the university provost, and the Center for Teaching & Assessment of Learning (to further CTAL’s mission to support UD faculty in their teaching and assessment efforts).
5. The University of Delaware should continue to keep pace with peer institutions to better assess student learning, integrate it into strategic and resource planning decisions, and emphasize its value in faculty reward systems.

The full report is posted here.