UCC Assessment

Assessment is rooted in a philosophy of continual improvement of our learning environment. Annual assessment of student learning in the tiered University Core Curriculum (UCC) is an essential component of the General Education program at Ball State.

Proposals for new or revised UCC courses should follow the format outlined on the Registrar's website.

The learning outcomes for UCC courses are referred to as cognitive skills. These cognitive skills are aligned with the Indiana College Core (formerly STGEC).

The annual UCC assessment report should contain four parts:

Part 1 - Course SLOs aligned with UCC Cognitive Skills 

Part 2 - Assessment Methods: Describe activities used to assess the UCC cognitive skills outlined in #1. This could be one mile-marker assignment that covers all of the cognitive skills or it could be a separate assignment for each cognitive skill. Describe the sample. What is the expected performance outcome? Describe any other details related to the assessment methods/activities.  

Part 3 - Results: What was the sample size? Using the rubric designed to assess the UCC cognitive skills, indicate the number and percentage of students in your sample in each of the following levels for each UCC cognitive skill: 4 = Accomplished; 3 = Competent; 2 = Developing; 1 = Beginning.  Describe the results. Was the expected performance outcome met? Include comparisons with previous assessment cycles, if possible, and note trends within this cycle and/or over time. What did you learn? 

Part 4 - Use of Results to Improve: Describe how the results were shared with other faculty. Describe any plans for improvements to future instructional methods, course content, syllabus or assessment activities/processes in this course as a result of assessment data.                                         

Each UCC course instructor should submit an annual assessment report reflecting how well students are meeting the cognitive skills. Instructors teaching core courses with multiple sections may submit one report with samples from each section. Annual UCC course assessment reports should be uploaded by Oct. 15 each year. Brief tutorials are available to assist with completion of the annual UCC assessment report: