General Education Competencies and Assessment Practices
In 2019, Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC) identified and implemented a new set of six general education competencies. These competencies are expected of all associate degree graduates of VPCC, regardless of their particular program of study, and are introduced and reinforced throughout the College’s courses and curricula. Upon completion of their degree, students will have attained the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to continue their education, develop in their careers, and contribute to the well-being of their communities. The listing of all six competency areas is below.
General Education Competencies
To evaluate the extent to which VPCC students and graduates are achieving these competencies, the College conducts assessments of one or more competency area each year. Faculty from across the College are asked to identify assignments within their courses that require students to demonstrate learning in the competency area that is being assessed. Members of the College’s Academic Assessment Committee then compile student work artifacts and score them on standardized rubrics. Once scoring is complete, the Committee reviews the results, makes recommendations for improvement, and shares with the faculty and administration.
Results from the most recent assessment of each competency area are provided in the sections below.
Quantitative Reasoning
Most Recent Year of Assessment: 2019-2020
Assessment Method: Assessment of Quantitative Reasoning in 2019-2020 relied on course-embedded assignments that faculty aligned to one or more criteria on the AAC&U Quantitative Literacy VALUE Rubric1. Student work artifacts from those assignments were collected in Spring 2020 and scored through use of the Quantitative Literacy rubric in Summer 2020. In total, 151 student work artifacts were collected and scored.
Target Level of Achievement: Students will achieve an average score of 2 or higher on the AAC&U VALUE Rubric for Quantitative Literacy and each of its component rubric dimensions
Actual Results: Students achieved an overall average score of 2.09 on the AAC&U VALUE Rubric for Quantitative Literacy. For three of the four rubric dimensions (Interpretation, Application/Analysis, and Communication), average scores were also above the target score of 2. However, the average score on the fourth rubric dimension, Assumptions, was below 2. The score results are plotted below, in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Average Student Score Results on AAC&U Quantitative Literacy VALUE Rubric, 2019-2020
Note: Due to challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the College was not able to disaggregate results by student demographics and characteristics.
Findings and Action Steps: Analysis of results by the College’s Academic Assessment Committee highlighted the need for additional emphasis across the curriculum on carefully considering assumptions and context when addressing quantitative reasoning problems and arriving at solutions. Results suggested this as the weakest area of student performance, and faculty on the Committee agreed that this is a challenge area they observe in their classes. Due to the relatively small sample size and challenges of assessing during the pandemic, the committee recommended greater general emphasis on this area to be supported with assignment design workshops for Quantitative Reasoning that will result in a greater number of artifacts with assessable content that aligns more fully with the rubric. Future assessment cycles will determine if more comprehensive improvement strategies are needed.
Critical Thinking
Most Recent Year of Assessment: 2020-2021
Assessment Method: Assessment of Critical Thinking in 2020-2021 relied on course-embedded assignments that faculty aligned to one or more criteria on the AAC&U Critical Thinking VALUE Rubric1. Student work artifacts from those assignments were collected in Fall 2020 and scored through use of the Critical Thinking rubric in Spring 2021. In total, 214 student work artifacts were collected and scored.
Target Level of Achievement: Students will achieve an average score of 2 or higher on the AAC&U VALUE Rubric for Critical Thinking and each of its component rubric dimensions
Actual Results: Students achieved an overall average score of 1.98 on the AAC&U VALUE Rubric for Critical Thinking. For two of the five rubric dimensions (Explanation of issues and Student’s position), average scores were above the target score of 2. However, the average scores on the other three dimensions (Evidence, Influence of context and assumptions, and Conclusions and related outcomes) were below 2. The score results are plotted below, in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Average Student Score Results on AAC&U Critical Thinking VALUE Rubric, 2020-2021
In addition to the overall aggregate scores, the College also compared scores among students of different race/ethnicity groups and age groups. The results from each of those analyses are provided below in Figures 3 and 4.
Figure 3. Average Student Score Results, by Race/Ethnicity Group, Critical Thinking
Figure 4. Average Student Score Results, by Age Group, Critical Thinking
Findings and Action Steps: Analysis of results by the College’s Academic Assessment Committee highlighted the need for additional emphasis across the curriculum on critical thinking concepts and particularly on carefully considering assumptions and context when addressing problems and arriving at solutions. Results helped to confirm preliminary conclusions from 2019-2020 Quantitative Reasoning assessment that suggested the assumptions dimension as the weakest area of student performance. In terms of disparities among students of different race/ethnicities and age groups, faculty analysis found that differences in scores were not statistically significant. For the most part, student learning was consistent among the student groups.
Due to the relatively small sample size and challenges of assessing during the pandemic, the committee recommended greater general emphasis on this area to be supported with assignment design workshops for Critical Thinking that will result in a greater number of artifacts with assessable content that more fully aligns with the rubric. Future assessment cycles will determine if more comprehensive improvement strategies are needed.
Written Communication
Most Recent Year of Assessment: 2021-2022
Assessment Method: Assessment of Written Communication in 2021-2022 relied on course-embedded assignments that faculty aligned to one or more criteria on the AAC&U Written Communication VALUE Rubric1. Student work artifacts from those assignments were collected in Fall 2021 and scored through use of the Written Communication rubric in Spring 2022. In total, 346 student work artifacts were collected and scored.
Target Level of Achievement: Students will achieve an average score of 2 or higher on the AAC&U VALUE Rubric for Written Communication and each of its component rubric dimensions
Actual Results: Analysis is currently underway. Results will be posted no later than Fall 2023.
Findings and Action Steps: Analysis is currently underway. Findings and Action Steps will be posted no later than Fall 2023.
Please Note: Civic Engagement is being assessed in the current year (Academic Year 2022-2023). Scientific Reasoning and Professional Readiness will be assessed in the following year (Academic Year 2023-2024).
1From “Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE)” by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2009, https://www.aacu.org/initiatives/value. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0