General Education Assessment: Grappling with Godzilla.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper describes a higher education assessment process of the general education program at Longwood College, Virginia. A list of the attributes of a good general education program is presented. This is followed by a description of Longwood College's assessment methodology starting with the development of a list of goals that were considered as defining general education. Finally, an explanation of the curriculum-embedded assessment program used in developing a new General Education Course Survey is briefly reviewed ending with a description of how the process has benefitted the school and faculty in reaching its general education goals. The appendix, comprising nearly the entire paper, contains: (1) lists of the general education goals and general education criteria at Longwood College, (2) a copy of the school's Course Criteria Survey, (3) various charts and graphs resulting from the assessment process, and (4) a list of the assessment-driven changes related to general education at Longwood. (GLR)