Hillsborough Community College has accumulated results from the multiple measures identified in the offsite team’s comments.   The Capstone Course Rubric, Measure of Academic Proficiency & Progress (MAPP) Results (ETS Test), Course Completion Data/ Crosswalk of Competencies/ Syllabi, and Other Measures are discussed in turn below.

Capstone Course Rubric

In 2003, HCC faculty developed the College’s capstone course, IDS Connections, as one of the assessments of the effectiveness of the College’s general education program.  This innovative approach to assessment won an exemplary practices award from the Florida Association of Community Colleges in 2004.

Hillsborough Community College faculty members convened in Summer 2005 to review and refine strategies for assessing the College’s general education program (General Education Workshop Agenda; General Education Workshop Notes).  The capstone course rubric, General Education Scoring Rubric for IDS 2110 Connections, was one of the workshop products. 

The rubric was piloted in the Summer 2005 term, and results are available from the capstone course rubric for the Summer 2005, Fall 2005, and Spring 2006 terms.  Results for all three terms are reported on the Associate in Arts Program/Learning Outcomes Table.   The Rubric Results Report 2005-06 provides a more detailed analysis of the findings for the Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 term.

Fall results were shared with faculty during the Spring 2006 term, and the results for the academic year (Fall 2005/ Spring 2006) will be shared with the entire faculty at the Fall 2006 in-service.  Based on the results, no immediate action needs to be taken. 

The General Education Assessment Committee, which is an ongoing committee, currently is reviewing the rubric and the results as part of its overall plan of work for expanding direct assessments of the general education program (General Education Assessment Committee 2006 Business Plan).  This overall plan includes the development of a second rubric tool to evaluate writing samples and other student artifacts in the Connections sections.  This second rubric tool currently is under development (Summer 2006) and will be piloted in Fall term 2006.

Again, the Rubric Results Report 2005-06 provides a detailed analysis of the findings for the Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 term.  A summary of the rubric results for the Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 terms follows.

Note that each outcome statement has a performance goal of 3.80 on a scale of 1 to 5.   The performance goal was selected because it equates to “C+” or above average performance.  Faculty will evaluate the 2005-06 results to determine whether to increase the performance goal.

Rubric Results:

• For General Education Outcome 1, Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their ability to think critically, 443 students were evaluated in 19 sections against this outcome in the fall, with an average score of 3.72.   In the spring, 516 students were evaluated in 18 sections against this outcome, with an average score of 3.91. 
• Clusters One through Six (the general education clusters) all had related outcome statements at the cluster level, and performance ranged from 2.72 to 4.75.  Results have been shared with faculty, and the General Education Assessment Committee continues to provide leadership in exploring additional methods to assess critical thinking and determine strategies to improve performance.
• For General Education Outcome 2, Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their ability to express themselves clearly in written and oral communication, 437 students were evaluated in 19 sections against this outcome in the fall, with an average score of 3.95.  In the spring, 517 students were evaluated in 18 sections against this outcome, with an average score of 3.84. 
• Clusters One, Two, Three, and Five had related cluster outcomes, bringing the communications, humanities, mathematics, and behavioral sciences perspectives to this outcome respectively.  Performance exceeded the goal of 3.80 for both general education outcome statements and for several of the cluster outcome statements.
• For General Education Outcome 3, Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their ability to express themselves effectively in quantitative terms, 101 students were evaluated in five sections against this outcome in the fall, with an average score of 3.94.  In the spring, 325 students were evaluated in 11 sections against this outcome, with an average score of 4.11. 
• For both terms, performance exceeded the goal of 3.80.  All of Cluster Three’s outcome statements are related to this general education outcome statement, but not all cluster-level statements have been applied to Connections sections.  One recommendation to Cluster Three is to recruit more faculty to teach Connections sections.
• For General Education Outcome 4, Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their understanding of and appreciation for the value and significance of culture, 213 students were evaluated in 9 sections against this outcome in the fall, with an average score of 4.24.  In the spring, 440 students were evaluated in 15 sections against this outcome, with an average score of 4.18. 
• For both terms, performance exceeded the goal of 3.80.  ClustersTwo and Five have related cluster outcome statements – Cluster Two approaches the concept of culture from the humanities perspective and Cluster Five approaches it from the behavioral science perspective.
• For General Education Outcome 5, Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate the scientific method of inquiry and the historical and contemporary impact of science on daily life, 164 students were evaluated in 9 sections against this outcome in the fall, with an average score of 3.95.  In the spring, 467 students were evaluated in 16 sections against this outcome, with an average score of 3.96. 
• For both terms, performance exceeded the goal of 3.80.  Cluster Four and Cluster Five have related cluster outcome statements – Cluster Four provides the natural sciences perspective and Cluster Five provides the behavioral sciences perspective to this outcome.
• For General Education Outcome 6, Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their understanding of global, political, social, economic, and historical perspectives, 398 students were evaluated in 17 sections against this outcome in the fall, with an average score of 3.71.  In the spring, 467 students were evaluated in 16 sections against this outcome, with an average score of 3.96. 
• For the spring term, performance exceeded the goal of 3.80.  Clusters Two, Five, and Six included related outcome statements that reinforce the humanities, behavioral science, and history/political science perspectives respectively.
• For General Education Outcome 7, Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their ability to use technology to access, retrieve, process, and communicate information, 169 students were evaluated in 8 sections against this outcome in the fall, with an average score of 4.01.  In the spring, 402 students were evaluated in 14 sections against this outcome, with an average score of 4.11. 
• Clusters One, Two, and Six had related cluster outcome statements, bringing the perspectives of communications, humanities, and history/political science to this outcome.

In summary, for 2005-06, performance results at the general education outcome level exceeded the performance goals, and no immediate action is considered necessary at this time other than to recruit more Connections instructors.  Faculty recruitment efforts are underway by both academic deans and general education committee faculty representatives.  At the cluster level, performance varied more.  One overall recommendation is to have Connections instructors include more of the cluster outcome statements in their sections, particularly in the math and science disciplines.  Faculty members are being asked to do this now, and this will be reinforced during the fall in-service and during fall development opportunities.

As stated at the beginning of this section, results were shared with faculty in spring, and they will be shared again at the Fall 2006 In-Service meeting. The General Education Assessment Committee currently is reviewing the results, and one outcome is the development of a second rubric tool to evaluate student writing samples and other student artifacts in the Connections sections.  Another committee product for 2005 is a revision to the Connections instructions to faculty.  This revision adds a writing assignment that the General Education Assessment Committee or designated panel will evaluate using the second rubric tool (IDS 2110 Connections Instructions – June 2006).  In addition, Connection results have been incorporated into the College’s Critical Success Factors as a measure of institutional effectiveness.

With the recruitment of more Connections instructors, with expansion of assessment tools, and with ongoing faculty review of the findings, rubric results will continue to increase in value as an assessment of the general education program.

MAPP Results

The MAPP results (formerly the ETS Test of General Education) are now available (the test was administered in May 2005, but results were not available until Spring 2006).  This assessment instrument represents an external measure of the effectiveness of HCC’s general education program. 

From a pool of more than 3,000 students who were eligible (Associate in Arts [AA] program students who had earned 45 hours or more towards the degree), a random sample of 500 students were invited to participate, and 35 ultimately did. 

Although final participation was small, the results allow for a preliminary comparison with national results.  The results will be shared with the entire faculty at the Fall 2006 In-Service meeting.  The General Education Assessment Committee currently is reviewing the results for action. 

For each skill dimension identified, the Proficiency Levels Table indicates HCC’s performance as compared to the national group in the areas of critical thinking, reading, writing, and math.  Although HCC’s performance tended to exceed the national group, the percentages that tested as “not proficient” are quite high for critical thinking and for the higher levels of reading, writing, and math.  MAPP results have also been included in the Associate in Arts Program/Learning Outcomes Table to indicate the relationship with the general education outcome statements.  The MAPPS Test will be administered again in the fall of 2006.  The goal is to have proficient percentages increase by at least two percent. 

Course Completion Data/Crosswalk of Competencies/Syllabi

Hillsborough Community College faculty members have developed a Crosswalk of Competencies that identifies the courses in which the outcome competencies are assessed.  This crosswalk and its associated Curriculum Map were a major product of the Fall 2005 Faculty In-Service meeting. 

Faculty members have been and are being encouraged to include relevant general education outcome statements in their general education course syllabi.  In most cases, the common course objectives contained in the general education course syllabi have a clear relationship to the general education outcome statements, and all instructors are to use the common course objectives.  Three syllabi are included as examples:

The ENC 1101 Freshman English I syllabus contains five major course objectives with multiple requirements that provide methods by which students can fulfill the competencies indicated in general education outcome 1 (Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their ability to think critically) and 2 (Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their ability to express themselves clearly in written and oral communication).  A selection of the objectives are duplicated below to further illustrate this point:

• The student shall demonstrate competency of the following writing skills as required by the Florida Department of Education.
• Critical Thinking
• analyzing expository texts to discern meaning and understand/critique arguments
• approaching diverse social, legal, and political problems from a variety  of perspectives
• recognizing fundamental concepts in logical reasoning
• Organization
• selecting a topic that lends itself to expository writing
• determining the purpose of writing
• limiting the subject to a topic that can be developed adequately within the requirements of time, purpose, and audience
• formulating a thesis statement that reflects the purpose
• developing a thesis statement in the following ways:
• providing adequate support which reflects the ability to distinguish between generalized and concrete evidence
• arranging the main ideas and supporting details in an organizational pattern appropriate to the expository purpose
• writing unified prose in which all supporting material is relevant to the thesis statement
• writing coherent prose, providing effective transitional devices which clearly reflect organizational pattern and the relationships of the parts
• The student will write several well-organized compositions that demonstrate knowledge of the techniques necessary for writing an expository paper.  The compositions may be definition, classification, cause and effect, comparison/ contrast, or topic-based expository writing.

The MAC 1105 College Algebra syllabus contains 29 course objectives that provide methods by which students can fulfill the competencies indicated in general education outcome 3 (Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their ability to express themselves effectively in quantitative terms).  A selection of the course objectives are duplicated below to further illustrate this point:

• Show extended knowledge of objectives presented in prerequisite courses.
• Solve applied problems from the sciences, engineering, math and business with appropriate math functions and equations.
• Use the laws of exponents to simplify exponential expressions.
• Convert radical expressions to expressions involving rational exponents.
• Be able to support algebraic techniques graphically, numerically and verbally.

The SYG 2000 Introduction to Sociology syllabus contains 20 course objectives that provide methods by which by which students can fulfill the competencies indicated in general education outcomes 4 (Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their understanding of and appreciation for the value and significance of culture), 5 (Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their appreciation for the scientific method of inquiry and the historical and contemporary impact of science on daily life) and 6 (Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their understanding of global, political, social, economic, and historical perspectives).  A selection of the course objectives are duplicated below to further illustrate this point:

• Define sociology and describe its origins.
• List and briefly describe the various steps in using the scientific method.
• Identify and define the major components of culture.
• Describe the characteristics of the major classes in the United States and how these affect your life.
• Define minority group and distinguish between prejudice and discrimination.
• Discuss problems related to aging in our society.
• Define demography and discuss the demographic processes that account for population growth, as well as changes.
• Compare past, present, and future urbanization trends in developed and less developed nations.
• Identify and explain the types of social movements that can occur and give examples of each.
• Discuss the sources, types, consequences, and theories of social change in our world today.

A General Education handout has also been developed to clarify for students that these competencies are associated with the specific general education courses.  Faculty members teaching general education courses will distribute the General Education Syllabus Attachment along with their syllabi.

Other Measures

HCC has accumulated results from multiple measures of its general education program, and these results have been distributed to the faculty.  All are identified on the Associate in Arts Program/ Learning Outcomes Table.  In addition to the ones mentioned above, HCC applies state accountability outcome data as a measure.  For example, the 2004 State Accountability/ Summary of HCC Performance – M2  indicates that transfer GPA for the AA program graduates is increasing in the Florida State University System (SUS): 

AA Transfer GPA > 2.4

                     2002     2003     2004

%> 2.4          68.3      69.4      73.2

GPA               2.80      2.80      2.89

The state also provides Level 1 data that indicates performance by discipline groupings.  This information is also included on the Associate in Arts Program/ Learning Outcomes Table.  Findings are included in the overall data reports for each general education outcome statement.  For example, for General Education Outcome 1, Students who complete the HCC general education core curriculum should be able to demonstrate their ability to think critically, HCC graduates’ performance in the SUS is compared against students who are native to the SUS.  In the discipline groupings dealing most directly with critical thinking skills, 2003-2004 cumulative GPA results follow:

                                                 HCC     SUS

Communications:                      2.88      3.17

Env. Science:                            3.09      3.11

Interdisc. Science:                    2.68      3.06

Letters:                                    2.96      2.98

Liberal Arts:                              2.91      2.96

Life Science:                             2.72      3.08

Math:                                        2.74      3.03

Physical Science:                      2.55      3.09

Psychology:                              2.89      3.11

Social Science:                          2.85      2.93

Vis./ Perf Arts:                           3.18      3.16

For the discipline groupings with HCC cumulative GPAs that are more than 0.10 points below the SUS GPA (e.g., Communications), faculty have been asked to investigate potential causes and review student performance and teaching/learning strategies in these areas.  Reports are due in the fall term of 2006.

In summary, HCC has an expanding general education assessment program.  The College has identified college-level competencies within the general education core and at the cluster level, and the assessment methods in place are providing evidence that graduates have attained these competencies.  Among these assessment methods are the capstone course rubric and its results, the MAPP test, the course competencies and the related Crosswalk of Competencies and Curriculum Map.   General education course syllabi include course objectives that relate directly to the achievement of one or more general education outcomes, and faculty are being asked to include one or more general education outcomes in their syllabi.  The General Education Syllabus Attachment will further emphasize the value of general education and the specific general education outcomes to HCC students.  Other measures used to evaluate the general education curriculum and the Associate in Arts program overall include state accountability outcome measures and state data on HCC student graduates in the upper division by discipline groupings.  Finally, the General Education Assessment Committee is continuing its ongoing activities to evaluate all general education assessment findings and provide additional measures and recommendations for improvement to our general education program.