WEST VIRGINIA STATE COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE

 GENERAL EDUCATION CORE ASSESSMENT BY PORTFOLIO

The following method for assessing the General Education Learning Outcomes was proposed by the WVSCTC General Education Committee, consisting of faculty members Kim Lovinski, Leanna Preston, Judy Whipkey, Bill Kreber, and Renee Stringfellow, and approved by the Faculty.

Goal:  WVSCTC will establish a General Education Core Assessment that will begin during the student�s first semester at WVSCTC and culminate during the student's major capstone course.

SUMMARY:  WVSCTC students will be made aware of the WVSCTC General Education Learning Outcomes during their first semester at the college and will also be introduced to the required Portfolio Assessment of General Education Learning Outcomes at the same time.  Students will, with the help of their major advisors, produce and maintain a Portfolio throughout their academic program tenure.  This Portfolio will contain various assignments that demonstrate the accomplished General Education Learning Outcomes.  The completed Portfolio will be submitted, by the student to his/her advisor, during the major capstone course and prior to the student's graduation. 

METHOD/APPROACH TO MANAGING PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT:

1. Students will be oriented to the General Education Learning Outcomes and the Portfolio Assessment Requirement in the College 101 course.  If a student is a transfer or has College 101 waived, the responsibility for the orientation falls on the student's major advisor.

2. Students will, during College 101, be given all requirements for the Portfolio Assessment and will have opportunities to practice preparing Portfolio documents.

3. Once the student has been familiarized with the Learning Outcomes and Portfolio Assessment process, the student will assume responsibility for building his/her Portfolio throughout his/her academic program. 

4. Major advisors should consult with their advisees at least once per semester, preferably during Academic Advising sessions, about the progress of the Portfolio Assessment.    Advisors should strongly encourage the students to make the Portfolio Assessment an ongoing project; students who try to complete the entire Portfolio Assessment during the capstone course will almost certainly have difficulty in fulfilling the project.

5. Students will submit the completed Portfolio Assessment to their capstone course instructor and/or their major advisor prior to the completion of the course.

6. Portfolio Assessment will be evaluated by a panel of selected WVSCTC instructors and administrators prior to the end of the student's capstone course.  The panel will approve or reject the Portfolio Assessment project. (See below for grading criteria.)

WHAT EXACTLY GOES INTO THE PORTFOLIO?

In short, students should include 4 to 8 course assignments in the Portfolio.  The assignments should demonstrate the student�s competency/achievement of each of the general education learning outcomes.   The assignments should be accompanied by a 1 page Student Reflection/Response that details which learning outcome is demonstrated by the assignment, how the learning outcome was achieved by the assignment, how competency of the learning outcome will impact the student's future personal and career goals, and any other comments the student feels are pertinent to demonstrating achievement of the required general education learning outcome.

SPECIFICS:

Assignments from Developmental Education courses may not be used to fulfill the General Education Learning Outcomes. One assignment may be used to demonstrate no more than two learning outcomes.  Thus, a completed portfolio may contain as few as four assignments or as many as eight assignments. Each Learning Outcome must be explained in separate Reflection/Response pages.  If one assignment covers two Learning Outcomes, it must be accompanied by two Reflection/Response pages. All instructors should be aware of the General Education Learning Outcomes and should purposefully design classroom activities and assignments which address these outcomes.  In addition, all instructors should point out to students that particular assignments merit inclusion in the Portfolio and should encourage students to build their Portfolios throughout their academic programs. Students must use WVSCTC course assignments in the Portfolio.  Student-created work or assignments from other institutions will not be accepted as meeting the Portfolio criteria. Current WVSCTC programs must use a MAJOR course as the CAPSTONE course in order that the student's portfolio is collected and reviewed by a faculty member from the student's major.

HOW WILL THE PORTFOLIOS BE EVALUATED/ASSESSED?

The General Education Portfolios will be evaluated in two ways:

1. The Capstone course instructor will collect the Portfolios, check them for effective completion, and give the students a letter grade or point value which will factor into the final grade in the capstone course.

2. The Portfolio will be evaluated by an appointed panel of WVSCTC faculty and administrators who will assess the Portfolio based upon an established General Education Learning Outcomes Portfolio Assessment Rubric (See Sample Rubric at the end of this proposal).  Students will have been made aware of the Assessment Rubric during the College 101 course and will have opportunities to review the Rubric at any time throughout their academic tenure.

3. Students must meet or exceed all General Education Learning Outcomes in order to receive Portfolio approval.

4. Students who do not meet the Portfolio requirements will receive a written explanation of deficiencies from the panel in a timely fashion in order to give the student the opportunity to correct the deficiencies prior to graduation

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ADOPTING A GENERAL EDUCATION LEARNING OUTCOMES PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT?

1. WVSCTC meets the North Central General Education Assessment Guidelines.

2. General Education Learning Outcomes are clearly incorporated into all WVSCTC courses.

3. Instructors revise assignments so that they clearly develop general education expectations.

4. Students become more aware of General Education benefits.

5. Students become more aware of how General Education courses mesh with their Major courses.

6. Students assume responsibility for ongoing assessment of their learning.

7. Students may use the Portfolios to demonstrate specific skills to future employers.

8. Both instructors and students will strive to improve learning opportunities in all courses.