Core Assessment

Fayetteville State University ensures that students who complete the University College Core Curriculum master our core student learning outcomes by assessing both courses and students in several ways:

  • Embedded course assessment: Students are assessed in every course that satisfies a core requirement to measure the extent to which they have mastered core student learning outcomes. Every core course has a core course assessment plan that specifies how proficiency is defined, what assessments will be used, when they will be administered, and how they will be administered. These plans are reviewed periodically to ensure that assessment is appropriate and based on 
  • Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA): The CLA is a national standardized assessment that measures core student learning outcomes such as critical thinking, written communication, information literacy, scientific reasoning, and quantitative reasoning. A standardized assessment ensures that we can measure student proficiency across majors and departments. We can also see how our students stack up against students at other institutions across the country. 
  • National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE): This national survey lets us know how students feel about their mastery of critical thinking, communication, and other important skills.

Embedded Course Assessment

Beginning Spring 2019, faculty must submit core course assessment plans for review by the department, the dean, and the Core Curriculum Committee. If you have a core course that will be assessed in 2019-2020, follow the steps below.

Faculty: To submit a Core Course Planning and Assessment Form for review, make sure you have the following materials:

  • Core Course Planning and Assessment Form. For the assessment plan, complete the first tab (Assessment_Plan). Signatures are not necessary.
  • Syllabus: Attach a representative syllabus for the course, indicating where and how assessments will be conducted.
  • Assessments: Attach copies of the assessment instruments, including any rubrics. Rubrics must show how mastery levels correspond to points.

Once you have the required documents in electronic format, submit them on the Core Assessment Planning Reporting Form. Fields:

  • Course Subject - Num: e.g., HIST 110
  • Course Title: e.g., World History to 1600
  • Department/School (use University abbreviation): e.g., GOVT
  • College (use University abbreviation: e.g., CAS
  • Coordinator Last Name: e.g., Doe. The Coordinator is the person responsible for coordinating assessment for the course. Usually the person submitting the Form.
  • Coordinator Last Name: e.g., Jane.
  • Coordinator Email: e.g., jdoe3@uncfsu.edu
  • Department Chair/School Associate Dean Email: e.g., jdoe2@uncfsu.edu (Joan Doe)
  • Dean Email: e.g., jdoe1@uncfsu.edu (Janet Doe)

Chairs and Deans: To access the proposals, follow these instructions:

  Option A  

  1. Wait for an email marked [EXTERNAL] from Smartsheet.com with an approval request.
  2. View the request and approve or decline in the email or via the link to the Smartsheet.

  Option B (if Option A fails or if you receive an error message)  

  1. Visit smartsheet.com
  2. Create an account using your Bronco email address

AFTER you've done this, try to access the sheet (and fail if you don't have appropriate access for this sheet). You will (likely) need access. You can request access to the sheet. If you can't figure out how to do this, send a message to Jeremy Fiebig (jfiebig@uncfsu.edu) after you've done #2. He will provide the appropriate access.

  1. The proposals appear in spreadsheet format. Comments from other levels and attachments are in early columns, and contents of the proposal are in following columns.
  2. Approvers (committee chairs) should move to their selected column and change the box from blank or "Submitted" to "Approve" or "Decline" as appropriate. Viewers need do nothing.
  3. If you want to change content, just do it directly in the relevant fields, and update documentation as needed.