Foundations assessment at Asbury University intentionally includes multiple types of measures for contextual understanding and the elimination of “bias” (external and internal), in addition to the type of student response mode (direct and indirect) to establish a balanced assessment system. The multiple measures align with University’s Performance Assessment System, which includes measures reflecting Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes, Values and Belief goals and the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) associated with these overarching goals. The direct measures provide objective data that directly address the knowledge and skill sets within the Student Learning Outcomes. By comparison, the indirect measures offer responses more representative of the affective or value domains embedded within each of the SLOs. Within student liberal education, the cognitive and the affective domains are inextricably bound; and Asbury’s system for assessing Foundations holistically and analytically demonstrates this interrelated conceptual framework of the SLOs. Typically, there are three categories or types of data used in the system including: 1) student achievement data; 2) student survey data; and 3) student GPA data. Portions of the same data sets may be used to respond to different SLOs building a strong interconnected system of analysis using targeted measures.
View the Foundations assessment system in detail.
The General Education Proficiency Assessment (GEPA) is a multiple-choice examination designed by Asbury University faculty members, across all disciplines, to assess students’ conceptual thinking and learning as an outcome of their experiences through Foundations. This tool was designed, piloted and administered during Spring 2011 as an internal direct measure of Asbury’s Foundations program.
The ETS Proficiency Profile (EPP) is administered annually to all freshmen and seniors. As a nationally standardized test of reading, writing, math, and critical thinking, the EPP provides evidence of academic growth and comparisons to other institutions.
Foundations operates under the auspices of the Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, Dr. Steve Clements. Dr. Clements, with Dr. Dan Strait, Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, and the General Education Committee, manages the continuous progress of the program through the process of assessment and analysis.