The General Education (GE) program at Cal State East Bay is designed to provide students with opportunities to explore subject areas outside the major, to delve into topics that challenge their world perspectives, and ultimately, to help them become educated citizens who base their decisions on factual evidence. In the CSU, Executive Order 1100 prescribes the broad goals for each GE subject area and mandates each campus defines GE learning outcomes "within a programmatic structure" that may be framed by AAC&U's LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes. GE requirements constitute 40% (or 48 out of 120 semester units needed to graduate) of the undergraduate degree program. At CSUEB, GE learning outcomes are aligned to its Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs), WASC Core Competencies, and the LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes--all of which express the knowledge, skills, and values CSUEB graduates are expected to attain. Collectively, CSUEB's GE learning outcomes and ILOs distinguish who we are, what we value, and how we expect students to demonstrate their learning.
CSUEB's GE Long-term Assessment Plan for 2022-2027, 22-23 CAPR 39 (which supercedes 18-19 CAPR 2) provides a detailed implementation plan for the programmatic assessment of GE learning outcomes through the academic year ending in 2027 and clarifies the assessment practices using terminology shared with ILO assessment.
The overarching purpose of GE assessment at CSUEB is to enhance undergraduate student learning and improve the learning experiences afforded by the GE program. Looking beyond the CSU Chancellor's Office and WASC accreditation requirements which necessitate GE assessment, the true value of GE assessment lies in how we collaboratively make meaning of assessment results to inform improvements in GE.
♥ GE assessment serves to enhance student learning and improve the learning experiences afforded by the GE program.
♥ GE assessment requires faculty engagement and is a faculty-driven process with assessment work and decisions governed by faculty and faculty committees.
♥ GE assessment is never punitive, and assessment results are never used against faculty (e.g., in retention, tenure, and promotion decisions) or programs (e.g., resource allocation).
♥ GE assessment practices assure the anonymity of faculty participants and protect the confidentiality of students and their work.
♥ GE assessment is distinct and separate from the GE course review and recertification process.
GE Course Review & Recertification
GE assessment is currently progressing as a series of overlapping pilot projects, which have been synchronized and coordinated with ILO assessment. The cycle assessment activities within each pilot project cycle are grouped into the following categories (see figure):
GE assessment is synchronized and coordinated as closely as possible with ILO assessment, congruent with the2022-2028 ILO Long-term Assessment Plan. GE assessment occurs on an on-going, iterative basis on the proposed GE Long-term Assessment Plan (22-23 CAPR 39).
Robust and meaning assessment of GE at key "checkpoints" (guidepost assessment) is extremely valuable in informing improvements, which help move GE into a more coherent, intentional, and scaffolded program. For example, assessment written communication at key time points in a GE pathway (e.g., GE A2, Second Composition, and upper-division GE Areas UD-C or UD-D) allows us to gauge how well our students attain greater autonomy and sophistication in their writing as they progress through their academic pathways.
Explore the tabs below to learn more about each GE project.
GE A1 courses emphasize communication theory and provide several speaking and listening experiences in multiple modes, e.g., small-group discussion, interpersonal communication, and persuasive discourse presented extemporaneously. Upon completion of the A1 requirement, students will be able to:
Excellence in oral communication is demonstrated through use of an audience-centered message, comprehensive use of rhetorical elements, skillful presentation delivery, effective messaging, and consistent reflexivity.
The A1 rubric was developed in March 2020 by faculty members in the Department of Communication in collaboration with the Office of General Education. The rubric is used to assess established signature oral presentation and interpersonal communication assignments aligned to the rubric. Each dimension must be covered in the assignment and assessed independently.
View the GE Area A1 Oral Communication Rubric here.
A summary of the results of the A1 assessment pilot is provided in the GE A1 Assessment Report here
GE A2 courses emphasize the rhetorical principles that govern reading and writing. These principles are fundamental to logical thinking and clear expression. For reading, they presume open-mindedness combined with critical thinking and analytical skills. For writing, they presume an awareness of audience, context, and purpose. Upon completion of the A2 requirement, students will be able to:
Proficiency in written communication in English at the A2 level (first-year composition) is demonstrated through reflection and the use of rhetorical knowledge, organization, development, language and mechanics, formatting, and documentation.
A draft of the GE A2 rubric was first developed by faculty in the Department of English in May 2018 and used for a pilot assessment of A2 in May 2019. This pilot informed revisions to the rubric, which were completed on June 10, 2019 by the English faculty members who served as assessors in the pilot project.
A2 rubric development team from the Department of English. Shown left to right: Sarah Nielsen, Dore Ripley, Michelle St. George, Sally Baxter; Dabney Lyons (not shown).
The A2 rubric is used to assess signature assignments included in the A2 portfolio, namely the reflective letter and one of the argumentative essays. These signature assignments are aligned to the rubric.
See the GE Area A2 Written Communication (First-Year Composition) Rubric here.
A summary of the results of the A2 assessment pilot is provided in the GE A2 Assessment Report 2019 here.
Upon successful completion of Second English Composition, students will be able to:
Writing at the second-composition level demonstrates a move toward autonomy and sophistication in composition, critical thinking, argumentation, and information literacy.
A draft of the Second Composition rubric was developed by faculty in the Department of English and the Department of Art in September 2018. This rubric has yet to be implemented in its pilot assessment. It is undergoing revision in 2023/2024 and will be used for assessment in either Spring 2024 or Fall 2024.
The Second Composition rubric is designed to assess final drafts that have incorporated productive feedback and have been revised and edited. In alignment with second composition course characteristics, the assessment must include the evaluation of at least two written assignments, at least one of which incorporates research in support of an argument.
See the Second Composition Rubric here.
A3 courses emphasize the development of clarity and rigor in reasoning and its presentation, and the ability to understand, represent, and evaluate the presentations of reasoning made by others. Upon completion of the A3 requirement, students will be able to:
The primary purpose of a GE Area A3 course is to build a specific toolset that allows students to rigorously explore reasoning and its presentation. Proficiency in critical thinking at the A3 level is demonstrated by the identification, analysis, evaluation, and presentation of arguments (deductive and inductive). Emphasis is on the understanding of fallacies and the role of language in argumentation.
The A3 rubric was developed in November 2019 by faculty members in the Department of Philosophy in collaboration with the Office of General Education. The pilot project of collection and evaluation occurred in Spring 2021. An assessment summary was completed in Fall 2021.
The A3 rubric is used to assess signature (comprehensive) assignments that are aligned to the A3 Critical Thinking rubric. See the GE Area A3 rubric here.
A summary of the results of the A3 assessment pilot is provided in the GE A3 Assessment Report here
GE B4 courses provide practice in computational skills as well as engagement in more complex mathematical work. Upon completion of the B4 requirement, students will be able to:
Proficiency in quantitative reasoning at the B4 level is demonstrated by the use of interpretation, representation, calculation, and communication of quantitative information at the college level. B4 courses build upon, and add depth and sophistication to, the quantitative skills that are developed by the required high school curriculum—skills that are evaluated through CSU’s Multiple Measures Protocol (see pp. 3-4 of EO 1110 FAQs) and are used to determine whether incoming freshmen across the CSU will require additional support in their B4 courses.
The B4 rubric was developed by faculty members in the Department of Mathematics and in the Department of Statistics & Biostatistics in May 2019. The B4 Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning pilot has completed a first round of collection and evaluation in Fall 2019. A second round was completed in Fall 2020. A preliminary GE B4 Assessment Report is pending.
See the GE B4 Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning Rubric here.
A summary of the results of the B4 assessment pilot is provided in the GE B4 Assessment Report here
Please note: In Fall 2022 the university transitioned from Blackboard to Canvas as its LMS. Previous assessment had been done in Blackboard Outcomes. Because of this, the usual assessment projects were paused for 2022-2023.
GE assessment is coordinated by the Director of General Education (GE) and the Educational Effectiveness Council (EEC) Faculty Representative for GE Assessment. While GE assessment is in its pilot stages, the Director of GE and the EEC Faculty Rep work bring together faculty experts from across campus to perform all stages of the assessment work. The Office of GE will manage and maintain all GE assessment data. Once GE assessment fledges from its pilot stage, a GE Assessment Committee (subcommittee of CAPR) will oversee the collection and analyses of student work from designated GE courses and the dissemination of assessment data.
Kevin Kaatz, Director of General Education at kevin.kaatz@csueastbay.edu
Nancy White, EEC Faculty Representative for GE Assessment at nancy.white@csueastbay.edu
The Office of General Education is located in SA 1500.