Assessing General Education Programs
General education is the core of the undergraduate experience. It provides a lasting foundation for lifelong learning, application, and appreciation of the various approaches to understanding individuals, cultures, and the world we live in. First-year experience programs are becoming virtually universal in colleges and universities, and first-year seminars often are integrated into general education programs to promote student retention, engagement, and success. The assessment of these institution-wide efforts is particularly challenging, but many campuses have made substantial progress from which we can learn.Written for college and university administrators, assessment officers, faculty, and staff who support general education and first-year experience programs, this book is a pragmatic guide for developing, aligning, and assessing general education programs in meaningful, manageable, and sustainable ways. It presents a variety of approaches to help readers understand what other campuses are doing and develop a repertoire of methods so they can make informed decisions about their own programs.