General education coursework provides students with an understanding of self, the physical world, the development and functioning of human society, and its cultural and artistic endeavors. We want our students to understand the methodologies, value systems, and thought processes employed in human inquiries. General education courses prepare students to use multiple strategies in an integrative manner, to explore, critically analyze, and creatively address real-world issues and challenges. Additionally, general education should instill in students the personal and civic responsibilities of good citizenship. Our goal is to graduate students who are adaptive, life-long learners.
Through our assessment process, we improve and evolve our coursework in response to the ever-changing educational environment. We look at assignments submitted to understand how well we offer students the opportunity to reflect upon and understand their relationship with learning and how well we teach them to effectively use the learning tools available to them.
General education at the College of Southern Idaho focuses on the program goals of Think, Communicate, Connect, and Be Well. We ask instructors to submit one assignment,a student response to that assignment, and a brief narrative describing how the assignment meets the general education goal that the course supports. From these assignments and artifacts, we create portfolios to represent 36 credits of general education.
Our outcomes assessment process reviews these "Frankenstudent" portfolios to gauge how well our classes offer students the opportunity to develop their abilities to:
Use multiple approaches and terminologies to discuss, analyze, solve, interpret and create in disciplines.
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Humanistic and Artistic Ways of Knowing |
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Mathematical Ways of Knowing |
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Scientific Ways of Knowing |
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Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing |
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Transfer information using strategies appropriate to context and audience.
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Oral Communication |
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Written Communication |
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Explain how the different ways of knowing are interconnected; judge the appropriateness of using one or more ways of knowing to solve a problem or explore an issue; reflect on one’s progress as a generally-educated learner.
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Introduction to General Education (GNED) |
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Explain the concept of wellness and apply dimensions of wellness.
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Wellness (WELL) |
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Each year in November, a group of volunteer faculty members meet to review sets of "Frankenstudent" portfolios. At the meeting, readers are divided into smaller groups to discuss the content of the portfolios read by their group. The larger group reconvenes later to discuss highlights from each of the group discussions. We ask ourselves how we can improve and develop content in our general education classes.
The outcomes assessment discussion and conversations are lively and interesting. Participation in the annual assessment review is encouraged and can contribute to the ongoing enhancement of the General Education program at the College of Southern Idaho.
General Education Assessment Rubric
General Education Courses and Competency Areas
General Education Outcomes Assessment Results 2023