Student Learning in General Education

Assessment of the UW-Madison Undergraduate General Education Requirements

Since 2003, the University General Education Committee (UGEC) has used a formally adopted long-range Assessment Plan to guide campus-level efforts to understand the impact and efficacy of the General Education Requirements. That assessment plan is reviewed annually, when the UGEC submits each year's proposal for assessment funding to support specific projects to be pursued within that long-range plan. The funding request may also include requests to support other projects related to general education as new needs are identified.

The 2008 General Education Assessment Plan is noteworthy for two reasons: it provides a comprehensive history of undergraduate general education as practiced at UW-Madison, and it looks ahead to the future of the program which draws explicit connections between the requirements and the "Essential Learning Outcomes" articulated in the AAC&U project, "Liberal Education and America's Promise". As part of the request for funding, the UGEC submits an annual activity report to the University Assessment Council, The council also submits an annual report to the University Academic Planning Council. The UAPC is charged by the Faculty Senate as responsible for oversight for the committee's work; any requests to alter the requirements or impose changes in General Education policies are submitted to the UAPC. Such changes arise most frequently in response to assessment efforts, and as a result, the UAPC maintains an interest in the assessment of student learning in the program. General Education Reports to the University Assessment Council and to the University Academic Planning Council are located here.

Assessment Studies and Reports

Most assessment projects undertaken to evaluate University General Education Requirements are done so in collaboration with (or led by) the General Education Assessment Council (GEAC). This council currently consists of the following individuals, with other experts consulted as needed:

Charles N. Halaby, Ph.D. Research Director, General Education Assessment Council Associate Dean for the Social Sciences Martindale Bascom Professor of Sociology College of Letters and Science

Nancy Westphal Johnson, Ph.D. Chair, University General Education Committee Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education College of Letters and Science

Elaine M. Klein, Ph.D. Assistant Dean and Director, Academic Planning, Program Review and Assessment College of Letters and Science

Jim Wollack, Ph.D. Director, Testing and Evaluation Services and UW Center for Placement Testing School of Education

To view summaries and full copies of the final reports of assessment projects that have been conducted with General Education requirements>>