appendices to the six-year program review report · 2011-02-09 · ss subject ld ld ud ld ud ud ld...

1

Appendices to the Six-Year Program Review Report

October, 2010

2

Table of Contents Appendix I: Alignment Matrix of GE Areas and Institutional Goals 3

Appendix II: Contributions to GE by Department 5

Appendix III: Common Contexts Enrollment Profile by Class Year 9

Appendix IVa: GE Senior Survey (Instrument) 12 IVb: GE Senior Survey (Data) 17

Appendix V: Policy and Procedures for Delisting a GE Course 61

Appendix VI: Alignment of GE with LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes 62

Appendix VII: Comparison to Southern California Liberal Arts Schools 64

Appendix VIII: Comparison to Selected Christian Liberal Arts Schools 65

Appendix IX: General Education Learning Outcomes 66

Appendix X: Common Contexts Report – Religious Studies 73

Appendix XI: Common Contexts Report – World History 76

Appendix XII: Common Contexts Report – Philosophical Reflections 82

Appendix XIII: Area Report – Reasoning Abstractly 86

Appendix XIV: Area Report – Physical Science 93

Appendix XV: Area Report – Performing and Interpreting the Arts 105

Appendix XVI: Area Report – Thinking Globally 110

Appendix XVII: Area Report – Language 115

Appendix XVIII: Area Report – Physical Education 118

Appendix XIX: Area Report – Serving Society; Enacting Justice 128

Appendix XX: Area Report – Communicating Cross-Culturally 134

Appendix XXI: Collegiate Learning Assessment Report 135

3

Appendix I: Alignment Matrix of GE Areas and Institutional Goals

Distinctives

from the

Philosophy

of

Education

Institutional

Learning

Principles/Goals

Biblical and

Theological

Canons

Reflections on

Truth and Value

World History

Reading

Imaginative

Literature

Physical Science

Life Science

Reasoning

Abstractly

Performing &

Interpreting the

Arts

Thinking Globally

Thinking

Historically

Understanding

Society

Christian

Understanding

I,D,

E(Test)

I,D, E

(Essay)

Christian Practices

and Affections

I,D, E

(Essay)

I,D, E

(Essay)

I,D, E

(Essay)

Broad

Interdisciplinary

and Critical

Competence

I,D,

E(Essay)

I,D, E

(Test/

Essay)

I,D, E

(Test/

Essay)

I,D

I,D, E

(Test)

I,D,E (Test/

Performance)

I,D, E

(Essay)

I,D

Competence in

Written and Oral

Communication

Research and

Technological Skills

Physical and

Emotional Health

Creative Expression

I,D

I,D,E (Test/

Performance)

Diversity and

Global Awareness

D

I,D, E

(Essay)

I,D

Christian, Liberal Arts, Global, Residential and Undergraduate

Active Societal and

Intellectual

Engagement

I,D, E

(Essay)

I - Introduced M- Mastered

D - Developed E - Evaluated

4

Distinctives

from the

Philosophy

of

Education

Institutional

Learning

Principles/Goals

Writing/ Speech

Intensive

Quantitative &

Analytical

Reasoning

Language

Physical

Education

Product. &

Present.

Research

Integrating the

Major Dicipline

Serving Society

Communicating

Cross-Culturally

CLA

NSSE

SAILS

Christian

Understanding

E (Essay)

Christian Practices

and Affections

D,

E(Essay)

Broad

Interdisciplinary

and Critical

Competence

I,D

D, E

(Essay)

E (Test)

Competence in

Written and Oral

Communication

D, E

(Essay)

D, E

(Essay)

E (Test)

Research and

Technological Skills

D

M, E

(Report)

E

(Survey) E (Test)

Physical and

Emotional Health

I,D,

E(Tests)

Creative Expression

M, E

(Presentation)

Diversity and

Global Awareness

D

D, E (IDI)

E

(Survey)

Christian, Liberal Arts, Global, Residential and Undergraduate

Active Societal and

Intellectual

Engagement

D,M, E

(Essay) D, E (IDI)

E

(Survey)

I - Introduced M- Mastered

D - Developed E - Evaluated

See individual area reports for details

5

Appendix II: Contributions to GE by Department Overview

I. Common Contexts

II. Common Inquires

III. Common Skills

Writing/Speech-Intensive WSI

IV.A. Compenent and Compassionat Action Part A

IV. Competent & Compassionate

Action Serving Society

SS

Subject LD LD UD LD UD UD LD UD

Anthropology 1 3 1 2 1

Art 5 2 1 12 1

Biology 4 1 4 2

Chemistry 3 1 1

Communication Studies 1 1 1 2 4

Computer Science 1 3 1 1 2

Economics & Business 2 4 5 3 2

Education 1 3 1 2

English 3 2 6 40 3 3

French 6 5 1

History 1 5 12 6 1 1

Kinesiology 1 1 1 1 1 1

Mathematics 1 1 3 2 2

Music 6 2 1 1 + 16

Philosophy 1 2 2 1 1

Physics 2 1 2 1

Political Science 1 1 5 3 1 1

Psychology 8 1 3 5 1

Religious Studies 3 2 11 6 2 2

Sociology 1 5 2 1 3

Spanish 1 7 7 1 1 1

Theatre Atrs 2 2 1 3 4

Courses 7 52 68 12 96 52 2 24

Programs 5 19 18 6 21 21 2 14

GE Contributions by Department

6

I. Common Contexts

A. 1.

Old Testament

(OT)

I. Common Contexts

A. 2.

New Testament

(NT)

I. Common Contexts

A. 3.

Christian Doctrine

(CD)

I. Common Contexts

B. 1.

Philosophical Reflections

(PR)

I. Common Contexts

B. 2.

World History In Christian

Perspective

(WH)

Subject

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

AN

ART

BIO

CHM

COM

CS

1

EB

ED

ENG

FR

GER

GRK

HB

HIS

1

KNS

MA

MU

MUA

PHI

1

PHY

POL

1

PSY

RS

1

1

1

SOC

SP

TA

Courses

1

0

1

0

1

0

3

0

1

0

Departments

1

0

1

0

1

0

3

0

1

0


7

I. Common

Inquiries

A. Reading

Imaginative

Literature

(RIL)

I. Common

Inquiries

B. Exploring the

Physical Sciences

(EPS)

I. Common

Inquiries

C. Exploring the

Life Sciences

(ELS)

I. Common

Inquiries

D. Reasoning

Abstractly

(RA)

I. Common

Inquiries

E. Perform

ing &

Interpreting the

Arts

(PIA)

I. Common

Inquiries

F. Thinking

Globally

(TG)

I. Common

Inquiries

G. Thinking

Historically

(TH)

I. Common

Inquiries

H. Understanding

Society

(US)

I. Common

Inquiries

Twofers

Subject

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

AN

3

1

ART

2

2

1

2

BIO

4

CHM

3

COM

1

1

CS

3

EB

2

2

2

ED

1

ENG

3

1

1

1

1

FR

5

1

GER

GRK

HB

HIS

1

4

5

10

1

1

3

KNS

1

1

LS

1

MA

6

1

MU

2

2

1

1

MUA

PHI

1

2

PHY

8

1

POL

1

2

1

1

2

PSY

1

RS

1

7

5

2

SOC

1

5

SP

6

1

TA

1

1

1

1

1

1

4

12

11

1

7

0

10

4

5

5

5

23

8

19

6

9

4

5


8

III. Common

Skills

Writing/Speech-

Intensive

WSI

III.

Quantitative &

Analytical

Reasoning

QAR

III.

Modern/Foreign

Language

MFL

III.

Physical

Education

Activity

PEA

IV.

Productions &

Presentations

PP

IV.

Research

RES

IV.

Integrating the

Major

Discipline

IMD

IV.

Serving

Society

SS

IV.

Communicating

Cross-

Culturally CC

Subject

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

LD

UD

AN

1

1

1

1

ART

1

11

1

1

BIO

1

4

2

CHM

1

2

1

COM

1

2

1

2

1

CS

1

2

1

2

EB

5

2

1

2

ED

3

1

2

ENG

6

40

1

2

3

FR

5

4

1

GER

4

GRK

2

HB

2

HIS

6

1

1

KNS

1

1

1

1

1

MA

3

8

1

2

2

MU

1

1

MUA

16

PHI

1

1

PHY

2

5

1

POL

3

1

1

PSY

1

3

2

2

3

1

RS

6

2

2

SOC

2

1

1

3

SP

7

7

1

1

1

1

TA

1

3

6

4

Courses

12

96

17

4

19

1

6

0

0

38

0

7

0

24

2

24

0

1

Departments

6

21

4

3

5

1

1

0

0

9

0

5

0

16

2

14

0

1

APP

1

1

3

IS

1

3

3

PEA

74

12

PHS

3

9

Appendix III: Common Contexts Enrollment Profile by Class Year

Fall 2005

01

02

03

04

Total

%

1&2

% 3&4

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

RS-001

30

0.19

106

0.66

20

0.12

5

0.03

161

0.84

0.16

RS-010

128

0.74

40

0.23

5

0.03

1

0.01

174

0.97

0.03

RS-020

134

0.74

41

0.23

6

0.03

0

0.00

181

0.97

0.03

Phil. Refl.

34

0.23

84

0.56

23

0.15

8

0.05

149

0.79

0.21

HIS-010

69

0.42

46

0.28

36

0.22

13

0.08

164

0.70

0.30

Spring 2006

01

02

03

04

Total

%

1&2

% 3&4

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

RS-001

48

0.37

61

0.47

16

0.12

4

0.03

129

0.84

0.16

RS-010

139

0.83

25

0.15

3

0.02

0

0.00

167

0.98

0.02

RS-020

121

0.85

17

0.12

4

0.03

0

0.00

142

0.97

0.03

Phil. Refl.

77

0.36

79

0.37

36

0.17

21

0.10

213

0.73

0.27

HIS-010

62

0.38

44

0.27

32

0.20

24

0.15

162

0.65

0.35

Fall 2006

01

02

03

04

Total

%

1&2

% 3&4

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

RS-001

44

0.22

110

0.56

33

0.17

10

0.05

197

0.78

0.22

RS-010

176

0.75

50

0.21

6

0.03

2

0.01

234

0.97

0.03

RS-020

77

0.77

18

0.18

4

0.04

1

0.01

100

0.95

0.05

Phil. Refl.

27

0.21

59

0.47

25

0.20

15

0.12

126

0.68

0.32

HIS-010

48

0.28

58

0.33

41

0.24

27

0.16

174

0.61

0.39

Spring 2007

01

02

03

04

Total

%

1&2

% 3&4

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

RS-001

80

0.54

44

0.30

20

0.14

4

0.03

148

0.84

0.16

RS-010

109

0.78

20

0.14

8

0.06

2

0.01

139

0.93

0.07

RS-020

86

0.74

22

0.19

7

0.06

2

0.02

117

0.92

0.08

Phil. Refl.

67

0.37

60

0.34

40

0.22

12

0.07

179

0.71

0.29

Enrollment Profile

10

HIS-010

101

0.50

49

0.24

32

0.16

22

0.11

204

0.74

0.26

Fall 2007

01

02

03

04

Total

%

1&2

% 3&4

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

RS-001

74

0.49

58

0.38

14

0.09

5

0.03

151

0.87

0.13

RS-010

127

0.84

16

0.11

7

0.05

2

0.01

152

0.94

0.06

RS-020

120

0.67

45

0.25

12

0.07

3

0.02

180

0.92

0.08

Phil. Refl.

87

0.40

74

0.34

41

0.19

15

0.07

217

0.74

0.26

HIS-010

126

0.59

55

0.26

21

0.10

12

0.06

214

0.85

0.15

Spring 2008

01

02

03

04

Total

%

1&2

% 3&4

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

RS-001

124

0.60

59

0.29

16

0.08

6

0.03

205

0.89

0.11

RS-010

99

0.79

19

0.15

7

0.06

0

0.00

125

0.94

0.06

RS-020

73

0.62

27

0.23

13

0.11

4

0.03

117

0.85

0.15

Phil. Refl.

61

0.42

54

0.37

21

0.14

9

0.06

145

0.79

0.21

HIS-010

123

0.64

37

0.19

22

0.11

11

0.06

193

0.83

0.17

Fall 2008

01

02

03

04

Total

%

1&2

% 3&4

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

RS-001

65

0.44

62

0.42

13

0.09

7

0.05

147

0.86

0.14

RS-010

72

0.53

49

0.36

11

0.08

4

0.03

136

0.89

0.11

RS-020

97

0.54

62

0.35

16

0.09

3

0.02

178

0.89

0.11

Phil. Refl.

69

0.33

92

0.44

29

0.14

18

0.09

208

0.77

0.23

HIS-010

130

0.56

69

0.30

25

0.11

8

0.03

232

0.86

0.14

Spring 2009

01

02

03

04

Total

%

1&2

% 3&4

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

RS-001

94

0.60

37

0.24

20

0.13

5

0.03

156

0.84

0.16

RS-010

139

0.67

59

0.29

4

0.02

4

0.02

206

0.96

0.04

RS-020

79

0.52

44

0.29

25

0.17

3

0.02

151

0.81

0.19

PHI-006

61

0.43

44

0.31

31

0.22

5

0.04

141

0.74

0.26

HIS-010

98

0.70

23

0.16

17

0.12

2

0.01

140

0.86

0.14

Enrollment Profile

11

Fall 2009

01

02

03

04

Total

%

1&2

% 3&4

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

Count

%

RS-001

43

0.28

92

0.60

12

0.08

7

0.05

154

0.88

0.12

RS-010

113

0.63

46

0.26

16

0.09

3

0.02

178

0.89

0.11

RS-020

112

0.62

41

0.23

14

0.08

13

0.07

180

0.85

0.15

Phil. Refl.

81

0.39

82

0.39

29

0.14

17

0.08

209

0.78

0.22

HIS-010

99

0.59

54

0.32

8

0.05

8

0.05

169

0.91

0.09

12

Appendix IVa: GE Senior Survey (Instrument)

General Education Senior Survey

Demographic Information Please tell us a little about yourself.

* DIV: From what division is your major? If you have multiple majors, identify the

division for the major from which you have taken most courses.

Please choose *only one* of the following:

Humanities

Natural/Behavioral Sciences

Social Sciences

* TRANS: Did you come to Westmont as a Transfer Student?


Yes

No

* TRANS-IQ:

How many Common Inquiries and Common Skills GE requirements did you fulfill using

work from other institutions? (Include AP and IB units.) Common Inquiries (Reading Imaginative Literature, Physical Science, Life Science, Reasoning Abstractly, Arts, Thinking

Globally, Thinking Historically, Understanding Society)


0

1

2

3

4 or more

* TRAN-SK: Common Skills (Writing-intensive, Language, Quatitative Reasoning, PEA)


0

1

2

3

4 or more

Senior Survey

13

GE Information

Understanding:

What were the two or three most important sources of information for

understanding Westmont's General Education program?

Please number each box in order of preference from 1 to 10

The College Catalog

The orientation presentation

Older students

Students in your graduating class

Your advisor

Your instructors

Other faculty

Course syllabi

The experience of taking the GE classes

Other

Courses:

What were the two or three most important sources of information for selecting the

General Education courses in which you enrolled?

Please number each box in order of preference from 1 to 11

The College Catalog

The orientation presentation

Older students

Students in your graduating class

Your advisor

Your instructors

Other faculty

Course syllabi

The experience of taking the GE classes

Reputation of course or instructor

Other

Understanding Commen:

If you used 'other,' please identify the source here:

Please write your answer here:

GE Experience

* Availability:

Senior Survey

14

What has been your experience in finding courses to fulfill the GE Requirements?


Excellent

Good

Acceptable

Problematic

Disastrous

* In class: What has been your general experience in the GE courses you have taken?


Excellent

Good

Acceptable

Problematic

Disastrous

Mission: The mission of Westmont's General Education program is

The purpose of the General Education Program at Westmont College is to lay a foundation

for a faith-informed liberal arts education, to introduce students to a broad range of

academic disciplines and the connections between them and to nurture reflective,

intercultural and communication skills. The ultimate goal is to foster intellectual vitality,

expansive sympathies, Christian character and commitment to service that will last a

lifetime.

What kind of a job have we done in achieving our mission?


Excellent

Good

Acceptable

Problematic

Disastrous

* Comment: Please comment on the MISSION of Westmont's General Education Program.


Senior Survey

15

Free Responses

* Coherent: Taken as a whole, how coherent have you found the General Education

curriculum?


Very coherent

Reasonably coherent

Less that fully coherent

Not coherent

Benefits: How has Westmont's General Education program contributed to your growth as

a person and as a scholar?


Change: What changes would you suggest to improve the General Education program?


Comments: Please include any additional comments you may wish to make here.


Senior Survey

16

Submit Your Survey. Thank you for completing this survey.

17

Appendix IVb: GE Senior Survey (Data)

Results

No of records in this query: 153

Total records in survey: 153

Percentage of total: 100.00%

Field Summary for DIV:

From what division is your major? If you have multiple majors, identify the

division for the major from which you have taken most courses.

Answer Count Percentage

No answer 0 0

Humanities (HUM) 67 43.79%

Natural/Behavioral Sciences (NBS) 45 29.41%

Social Sciences (SS) 41 26.80%

Field Summary for TRANS:

Did you come to Westmont as a Transfer Student?


No answer 0 0

Yes (Y) 18 11.76%

No (N) 135 88.24%

Field Summary for TRANS-IQ:

How many Common Inquiries and Common Skills GE requirements did you

fulfill using work from other institutions? (Include AP and IB units.) Common

Inquiries (Reading Imaginative Literature, Physical Science, Life Science,

Reasoning Abstractly, Arts, Thinking Globally, Thinking Historically,

Understanding Society)


No answer 0 0

0 (none) 40 26.14%

1 (1) 34 22.22%

2 (2) 29 18.95%

3 (3) 19 12.42%

4 or more (4) 31 20.26%

Field Summary for TRAN-SK:

Common Skills (Writing-intensive, Language, Quatitative Reasoning, PEA)


No answer 0 0

0 (none) 45 29.41%

1 (1) 63 41.18%

Senior Survey

18

2 (2) 21 13.73%

3 (3) 6 3.92%

4 or more (4) 18 11.76%

Field Summary for Understanding [1]:


understanding Westmont's General Education program?[Ranking 1]


The College Catalog (1) 86 56.21%

The orientation presentation (2) 1 0.65%

Older students (3) 10 6.54%

Students in your graduating class (4) 5 3.27%

Your advisor (5) 31 20.26%

Your instructors (6) 6 3.92%

Other faculty (7) 0 0

Course syllabi (8) 0 0

The experience of taking the GE classes (9) 11 7.19%

Other (10) 153 100.00%











Other faculty (7) 7 4.58%

Course syllabi (8) 7 4.58%


Other (10) 153 100.00%









Senior Survey

19






Other (10) 136 88.89%














Other (10) 87 56.86%

Field Summary for Courses [1]:

What were the two or three most important sources of information for selecting

the General Education courses in which you enrolled?[Ranking 1]



The orientation presentation (2) 0 0




Your instructors (6) 0 0


Course syllabi (8) 0 0


Reputation of course or instructor (10) 25 16.34%

Other (11) 152 99.35%





Senior Survey

20











Other (11) 150 98.04%















Other (11) 136 88.89%














Senior Survey

21


Other (11) 85 55.56%















Other (11) 69 45.10%















Other (11) 62 40.52%








Senior Survey

22








Other (11) 59 38.56%















Other (11) 58 37.91%















Other (11) 57 37.25%


Senior Survey

23







Students in your graduating class (4) 0 0






Reputation of course or instructor (10) 0 0

Other (11) 56 36.60%





The College Catalog (1) 0 0


Older students (3) 0 0

Students in your graduating class (4) 0 0

Your advisor (5) 0 0

Your instructors (6) 0 0




Reputation of course or instructor (10) 0 0

Other (11) 44 28.76%

Field Summary for Understanding Commen:

If you used 'other,' please identify the source here:


Answer Brow se

(see pg. 23)

22 14.38%

No answer 131 85.62%

Field Summary for Availability:

What has been your experience in finding courses to fulfill the GE

Requirements?


Senior Survey

24

No answer 0 0

Excellent (5) 28 18.30%

Good (4) 81 52.94%

Acceptable (3) 31 20.26%

Problematic (2) 12 7.84%

Disastrous (1) 1 0.65%

Field Summary for In class:

What has been your general experience in the GE courses you have taken?


No answer 0 0

Excellent (5) 31 20.26%

Good (4) 81 52.94%




Field Summary for Mission:

The mission of Westmont's General Education program is The purpose of the

General Education Program at Westmont College is to lay a foundation for a

faith-informed liberal arts education, to introduce students to a broad range of

academic disciplines and the connections between them and to nurture

reflective, intercultural and communication skills. The ultimate goal is to foster

intellectual vitality, expansive sympathies, Christian character and commitment

to service that will last a lifetime. What kind of a job have we done in achieving

our mission?


No answer 1 0.65%

Excellent (5) 59 38.56%

Good (4) 62 40.52%




Field Summary for Comment:

Please comment on the MISSION of Westmont's General Education Program.


Answer Brow se

(see pg. 24)

153 100.00%

No answer 0 0

Field Summary for Coherent:

Taken as a whole, how coherent have you found the General Education

curriculum?

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No answer 0 0

Very coherent (1) 36 23.53%

Reasonably coherent (2) 107 69.93%

Less that fully coherent (3) 8 5.23%

Not coherent (4) 2 1.31%

Field Summary for Benefits:

How has Westmont's General Education program contributed to your growth as

a person and as a scholar?


Answer Brow se

(see pg. 36)

123 80.39%

No answer 30 19.61%

Field Summary for Change:

What changes would you suggest to improve the General Education program?


Answer Brow se

(see pg. 45)

118 77.12%

No answer 35 22.88%

Field Summary for Comments:

Please include any additional comments you may wish to make here.


Answer Brow se

(see pg. 55)

34 22.22%

No answer 119 77.78%

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If You used ‘other,’ please identify the source here: 17 Registrar's Office

24 non-academic projects of interest

27 Internet

29 Webadvisor

47 Class schedule

58 what i am interested in

67 liberal arts ambassador

76 Parent help

85 Personal choice

86 Registrar

98 Alumni

104 My personal interest and plan for the future

115 I'm not sure

121 previous knowledge of what I wanted to take

122 Q1: online webadvisor stuff

126 I found that advisors and teachers were largely unhelpful when it came to giving direction on a four year plan or even a year by year plan. Therefore, I created my own plan.

135 wrote custom program to choose ge's

140 program evaluation for major

145 monroe weekend

149 Process of elimination

158 Online GE information on Westmont Website

180 GE's that contributed toward my major emphasis

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Please comment on the MISSION of Westmont's General Education Program.

11 Some of the GE courses should not be required because they are too much like high school classes.

12 The aforementioned mission is a lofty goal but a really good one. Courses I felt most achieved this mission in the GE program were Perspectives in World History (Chapman), American Writers (McEntyre), and New Testament (McDowell). These classes/professors did an excellent job in bringing relevance to their subjects in light of my faith which did (in my opinion) leave me with greater intellectual vitality as well as a stronger Christian character.

13 I felt that various aspects of my general education program overlapped and that my classes and my extracurricular activities were interconnected. I appreciate knowing that I have obtained a holistic education and I feel prepared to enter the working world after Westmont because of the general education program and other courses.

14 I think the mission is great and I think it is being put into action very well.

16 It's a good goal

17 The mission statement is well thought out for the overarching goal of a Westmont education. The goal of integrating faith and learning is possibly the most important goal to strive for, and this mission statement encompasses that.

18 Good.

19 I feel through the GE Program I have gained a broad knowledge and seen a real unity through everything I have learned. I don't see everything as separate subjects but as all part of God's creation.

20 I think the mission statement is good, but I am not sure that some of the classes are successful in fully doing that.

21 The connections I know of were made on my own. Classes could do more to promote intercultural skills. RS classes accelerated my loss of Christian faith.

22 it was wonderful to have well rounded classes however i felt like some of the teachers cared less about the classes because they were lower level and assumed they would be easier.

23 The professors employed on Westmont campus make this MISSION a reality.

24 At any liberal arts institution there ought to be a strong focus on the general education requirements - it is one of the reasons one would want to attend such an institution. By and large, I feel Westmont has done an acceptable job with the courses themselves and the scope of availability offered; however, I would like to see greater integration between what is being learned in the classroom with service oriented requirements in the city: to take to the streets with what we learn. Westmont has, in its mission statements, consistently not viewed off-campus and out of classroom events as extra-curricular but co-curricular activities since we

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recognize that so much of the learning in college takes place outside of the assignments for class. But that language should be taken more seriously! How can we implement the material we learn immediately and directly into our city when we have so many academic requirements that consume our time? We are forced to sacrifice readings for class and oftentimes miss classes themselves to lead missional initiatives in our city. Should this be the case? Can the two not become one? This union between the two would aid the growth of many dimensions to the Christian experience; for example, the ability to balance both academia with incarnational mission, relationships at home (on campus) and those with our neighbors (off campus), etc. This would also help avoid the atrophied intercultural and communication skills throughout the student body through direct application (instead of mere theory) along with an increase in cultural and personal sympathies that extend beyond the campus. Too often, because students have been told that we ought to prioritize school work above EXTRA-curricular activities, it becomes difficult to develop a balanced lifestyle of schoolwork and service; however, if community service were to expand to the requirements of the classroom, then Westmont's language would surely be fulfilled as CO-curricular activities, fostering an intellectual vitality by forcing students to discern the relevance of material being taught as we would have to make it relevant to the needs and concerns of our city (and if there is not relevance...why is it being taught?) It will also teach Christian character through a consistent call to pass on to others what has been given unto us and thereby an integrated training of students unto a commitment to service that will last a lifetime, since the balanced lifestyle between work and service would not be seen as a dichotomy of exclusive ends hoped to be reconciled in the future (but rarely, if ever actually done) but would be practiced as holistic and immediately available.

25 I think the GE program does a good job at serving its mission for well-rounded students.

26 I feel like I was exposed to a broad range of disciplines and they were connected to each other often. So often, in fact, that I am quite tired of thinking about how one subject relates to other subjects. I feel like I was exposed to a lot of information multiple times, almost to the point that some classes felt redundant.

27 The ge program is a waste of students time and money.

28 It is fine.

29 As a graduating senior, I feel confident in the liberal arts education that I have received. Because I was required to take courses in a number of different disciplines, I am entering the working world a more well-rounded, confident potential employee. In that respect, I think that the mission of Westmont's general education requirement program has been fulfilled.

30 Sounds like a good idea to ensure that Westmont graduates are well-rounded citizens that can apply their faith to other, practical contexts.

33 The mission statement is excellent, it is sometimes follow through in terms of classes that is a little bit difficult, but overall it is great.

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34 I loved everything about Westmont and although GE's can be the most frustrating (either because they aren't in your field of understanding or viewed as something to get out of the way), I've learned a great deal from all of them!

35 It is very appropriate

36 I think the mission statement reflects my experience at Westmont. I had great GE classes because of the great professors.

37 I felt like my instructors helped to provide a faith-informed education by encouraging intellectual curiosity and adopting a Christian worldview where the material allowed.

38 the variety of disciplines required has been rewarding, but the quality of a GE class is usually lower in standards

39 The mission as a whole is a noble one and is almost totally fulfilled. The part about fostering commitment to service could be stressed and expanded more.

40 I think the mission of the GE program is a good one, worthy of the effort it requires of students.

41 I truly value the attempt to achieve well-roundedness

42 I like praying in class

44 The mission as stated is not a problem. The execution of the program is. Changing requirements and then applying those changes to seniors with no consideration for the issues that may result shows an amazing lack of foresight. (Ex: Deciding that statistics no longer fulfills the GE it used to, informing students only after registration has occurred, then offering no new courses as replacement)

45 I think the GE program succeeds in exposing students to academic disciplines that they might not necessarily seek out on their own, which often results in a learning experience that is stretching and challenging. While "intellectual vitality, expansive sympathies, Christian character and commitment to service that will last a lifetime" is a very lofty goal, I do think that this is what I have taken away from my experience with the GE program. Those classes have pushed me and made me do more critical and integrative thinking than most.

46 I think it's a fair expectation, and reasonable as well.

47 Westmont's general education program is no different from any other general education program that I have experienced. The Christian nature is not commonly experienced.

48 GE classes generally do a great job of accomplishing this mission

51 the idea is lovely... the instructors however are not. my GE classes were amongst the most difficult classes i have taken here, the work load demands far too much time, especially when majority of the courses are not in the area of interest.

52 Westmont's goal to develop globally conscious, sympathetic students was achieved through my education. The General Education Program not only cultivated my faith and gave me a passion for social justice but it also gave me the

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tools to succeed in any career of my choosing and to greatly benefit any service to which I dedicate my life.

53 I feel like the mission statement is an ideal goal, but not a completely realized goal.

54 The mission seems good, though difficult to attain each part.

55 I truly loved being able to take a broad depth of classes, but the limitations on the types of classes and professors made it difficult to find a diverse range of opportunities.

56 The goal is wordy and verbose, I think. I'm not sure what intercultural skills are. I think the idea is great, I just wish more professors and especially students really believed and grasped how crucial the GE core is to a liberal arts education. We tend to think of GE classes as obstacles or something to "get out of the way." Instead, we should see them as the foundation of a Westmont education. I think this needs to be better communicated to students and perhaps even faculty.

57 I understand the reasoning behind the GE Requirements set forth by the school and I agree that they are important. As a senior, what I have hated about the GE requirements is that, to fulfill certain areas, one has to plan years in advance or get lucky if they know that certain fields of study are not their forte. For example, if a person is bad at math, the reasoning abstractly GE can be hard to deal with. This is one area where, if someone doesn't naturally think in this way, fulfilling this requirement can be over complicated. To teach and relate to someone how to reason abstractly requires a professor who isn't totally entrenched in their field. The problem is, most of the professors who teach in the fields have a hard time relating the material to people who are not math, logic or computer science majors. Adding to this is the problem that no class is offered for this GE which realizes this. For all of the GEs, there is a class which is geared towards the general student population. Case in point, Dr. Sommermans's astronomy class is geared towards non-science majors. He understands that it is of little value to try and teach the class like he would if it was an upper-division physics class because the students taking it aren't physics majors. Instead, he teaches the class in way that makes it accessible to all students while still being very informative. Students walk away from his class, not only proving yet again that they can jump through a hoop i.e. fulfill a GE, but also learning something and maybe even gaining a new appreciation for science. There needs to be a re-evaluation of what classes fulfill the GE requirements and who teaches them. Another issue is that, at this point in a students academic career, some of the GE courses are pointless. Having college students take a semester of a foreign language is asinine. A student has to take a foreign language in high school; many take two years or more if they want to be seriously considered by colleges. Why then must they also take a single semester in college? No one will learn anything of true use in that time. Most people simple take what ever they took in high school, don't learn anything, and waste 4 units one semester. If all of this weren't bad enough, getting a class taken at a different school to count towards a GE at Westmont can be almost impossible at times. For transfers this can mean that they wasted inedible amounts of time

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before coming to Westmont. The GE requirements at Westmont are a great idea in theory, but in practice they fall short. I am astounded at what is considered acceptable for a GE and what classes aren't. People are abroad for a semester, travel through Europe and still are do not have their thinking globally GE fulfilled. Instead, they have to take a lit. course which reads nothing but Irish writers. Which of these experiences got them to think more globally?

58 For the most part the GE Program does this, but there are some classes that are pointless and some requirements that redundant.

59 Overall, it was beneficial.

60 Westmont's mission to have students obtain a liberal arts education by giving students the chance to take courses in all educational fields worked well for me. I enjoyed learning about topics in Biology to Plato's philosophical views. I have noticed in my personal life that having a liberal arts education has given me knowledge that I would otherwise not have if I went to a different university or college. I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity I received at Westmont College. Thank you!

61 Some classes were too difficult for general education requirement... Like philosophy

62 I believe I have become a life-long learner, I have a growing curiosity for life.

63 It is broad.

64 Although it is hard to take classes outside of one's interests, it does make for a much more well rounded experience.

65 I think Westmont strives to produce a well-rounded student, capable of thinking about a wide range of topics from multiple perspectives. This base of broader study outside one's specific area of concentration of study not only enriches their major(s), but benefits the interaction they have with anyone studying fields outside of their interest. I think Westmont's orientation towards this kind of education has proven itself pivotal to my experience as a student and soon to be graduate of the college.

66 great experience, however liberal studies majors have most of their classes and GEs mapped out for them already

67 Sounds good

68 I think it is succinct and to the point and reflective of what I have experienced in my courses throughout my time at Westmont. I think it is wise to state the "lay a foundation for a faith-informed liberal arts education" mission first as that is one of the most fundamental aspects to a Westmont education. Overall, I think the statement is well-worded and appropriate to my experience.

70 Sometimes the combination of faith and learning is overdone. Although it is extremely important, it almost becomes cliche because of the overuse.

71 I think that having GE classes that explicitly discussed the connection between that discipline and other disciplines would be good. So instead of simply taking an English class and studying books, some of the English class would be

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dedicated to exploring how language affects other disciplines like science or business.

72 I don't feel as though I experienced a very "intercultural" education with other cultures other than my own within the GE criteria

73 I think it is important to have an introduction to a broad range of academic disciplines 1) to be able to make a more informed decision about which major to pick and 2) to have the opportunity to be exposed to other subjects outside your major and 3) to learn how to integrate and make connections between the things you are learning

74 Being a liberal arts college, students are introduced to both the breath and depth of the college's curriculum. I have taken courses in COMM, HIS, RS, SOC, SPANISH, PHY, PHI, ECON/BUS, ENG, AN, and possibly other disciplines. These have all fosters intellectual vitality.

75 I definitely have experienced most or all of the parts of the GE mission to a degree. I think its very important that you get the teachers on board with the mission if you want it to be carried out. It is their excitement about the subject matter that gets students also engaged.

76 I love the liberal arts because I feel prepared to face the world with an education in several different areas, not only the subject I specialized in. The general education program makes the liberal arts what it is.

77 I have experienced this mission manifested in only a couple of my classes at Westmont. In most cases it seems that the professors are not enthusiastic enough about the material they are teaching as it is monotonous and basic, but this factor fails to foster what the mission hopes to accomplish.

78 This is a great mission, and is exactly what the program accomplishes, whether or not the student consciously recognizes it.

79 The college has a great mission and in my experience has done a good job living up to it

80 Sounds good

81 like the broad range part

82 It is a good mission. Nice in theory, but the classes in many of the academic disciplines rather basic and uninteresting. Classes that are specialized are more interesting at the college level. For example, instead of a general sociology class, a class on deviant behavior is more appealing.

83 I like the mission, and some classes do a very good job at achieving these goals, but there have been a couple gen-ed classes I have taken at Westmont that did not seem any different from the classes I took at the community college from home.

85 I think the mission is achieved through the GE classes.

86 The general education requirement exposed me to course material and disciplines that I would not normally have chosen. This exposure, on the most part, was a Wonderful experience.

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87 It's a good idea on paper, but not as good when implemented. Students don't care about the material in some of the classes, and are just trying to pass them. It would help if we had a broader range of classes to choose from (ie: don't have a Perspective on World History class AND a thinking historically class; same with the ENG comp class and the Reading Literature GE).

88 The mission of the GE Program is an excellent one and I hope that the skills I learned will truly last me a lifetime

89 It's a good mission.

90 wonderful foundation for any career, provides excellent training in basic skills and encourages me to think critically

91 I think it is strongly fulfilled through the system that is in place.

93 The courses I took did not meet every aspect of your MISSION statement. That being said, the "Ultimate goal" was achieved.

94 I feel prepared for any field I decide to enter - most importantly, I have the skills to integrate subjects and my faith.

96 I don't think they are taken as seriously because there are so many GE and not as many options of courses. Besides the religious studies requirements Christian character or faith isn't brought into the classroom very much.

97 Some classes were better than others at achieving this, and I think it would help if more of them worked on the connections between them.

98 I learned a lot about subjects I would not usually be interested in, and I think I became more of a well-rounded thinker because of it.

99 The GE class that aligned most with the MISSION statement was History of World Christianity with Dr. Rhee. I would consider making it a required course along with OT, NT, and doctrine.

100 adequate

101 Good

102 I believe the program encompassed all of the goals listed in the mission statement.

104 Very balanced. I appreciate that! One thing that is frustrating at times is professors who don't allow information from other classes to be used within their class when we are otherwise encouraged in our liberal arts integration.

105 It encompasses everything that I have experienced with my GE courses

106 General Education courses have been valuable in my college experience. They have fostered a desire to learn, even outside of my discipline. I have been exposed to many new ideas and thoughts as a result.

107 There should be an intercultural class that address ethnicity, race, and social economic classes.

109 This approach to general education is one of the main reasons that I came to Westmont in the first place.

112 The mission is great. It's the execution of the mission that sometimes falls short.

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Especially the last section of the GE needs to be restructured to actually encourage intercultural awareness and commitment to service. Right now they are structured so that they are part of a checklist and nothing more. Also, the names of the different categories could be simpler so the requirements are better communicated and understood.

113 The GE's at Westmont are great but there is so much busy work and they really should be easier. It takes so much energy to do well in the GE classes and takes focus away from my major courses.

114 I think a huge problem is that advisors do not know enough about the GE courses that are not in their department, so they are unable to discern whether those courses fulfill the mission. Also, some GE professors do not know how to teach students who come from different disciplines, or how they can communicate the connections between their field of study and their students' various fields of study. Other GE professors are adjunct and are not familiar enough with Westmont's mission in a larger sense, because they are only on campus to teach that one class.

115 I think it is a great mission and one that has definitely affected me in that way. I know of students who haven't had the same experience as I had, but I feel like I will walk away from Westmont having accomplished that goal. I will say, though, I had to learn about the GE's myself most of the time. I felt my adviser could and should have done more work to help me and I have heard the same from numerous others in different departments. Really educating the students in this process before they start so they know how to plan accordingly should be part of this goal (or at least an initial stage of it).

116 Although at times I felt that it was unnecessary to be taking such broad range of courses when I could be focusing on a more specialized area, I am grateful now for the knowledge I have gained about multiple disciplines and believe that the Mission is a good one and is effective in preparing students to enter the real world.

118 I agree with the mission. I think it states the importance of a broad education.

119 .

120 The mission is good; most classes fulfill some portion of this mission while others do not fulfill any portion of this mission, unfortunately.

121 I would not say i received much in the way of faith information as relating to the subject matter in my classes, or the connections between them. I think its a nice goal, but not practiced in the classroom by the professors.

122 Many of the GE classes were acceptable but there have been some throughout my 4 years that feel like a waste of time-- to be perfectly honest. They are classes that should be taken but they felt like a joke. For example, the GE history class I took was miserable. It was more of a primer in feminist writing than history. I learned NO new concepts, only facts. The christian application was very "right-winged" and unbalanced. And the actual subject material was no more in-depth than my highschool freshman history course. It was a course that should be a part of fulfilling the mission statement, but it was so poorly organized and taught. (this

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was one of the very few courses at Westmont that I really felt was bad though...)Psychology classes were okay. A lot of busy work though. The information was great, but it was taught too slowly. It seemed that the concepts were over-explained and not challenging enough. The religious GE's were absolutely EXCELLENT and fulfilled the mission statement SO well. I think it woudl be nice to sugest the easier GE's to underclassmen. I am in a Psychology class now and it... really feels like a waste of time at this point. Not because the class is bad, but I took it in highschool and the college version doesnt seem to add all that much.

125 Great mission statement for the GE Program. I wish there were more courses to choose from but overall, I think what is offered works out okay.

126 Its a great mission.

127 Westmont generally fulfills its mission, however some areas of the GE requirements are difficult to fulfill easily particularly as a transfer student.

128 Westmont's mission is great. However for CHM/BIO majors, we end up taking more courses outside of our discipline that any other major while trying to juggle labs and research.

129 It was good

130 I think this mission is overly ambitious for the GE program. Most of these skills will be developed within one's major discipline. Even then, Westmont only starts us off in this direction, it can't see these goals through.

131 I have come to favor the liberal arts while at Westmont so I agree with providing a broad education.

132 The mission of Westmont's General Education program is efficient and focused on a liberal arts education background. This is excellent because it allows students to have experience in all subject areas.

133 Westmont does well with encompassing an appropriate amount of religious and secular courses in its GE program.

134 I think that this is a very valuable experience for students to be exposed to various disciplines as they search for the major that fits them as well as a way to gain a broader perspective within their major.

135 Its overly verbose - your allowing academia to convolute and add unneeded complexity to what your trying to say. Loose the mission statement and get a 1-2 sentence mantra that is simple and clear instead e.x. The G.E. Program at Westmont exists to provide students with a lifetime education, anchored in Christ that spans multiple disciplines

136 Mission is fulfilled.

137 loved it

138 Generally this mission has been accomplished well, especially in seeing the connections between disciplines. But there seems to be a large lacking in commitment to service, especially because it seems like most of my time at

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Westmont I have felt encouraged by my studies to not be involved in service, and that the time where I can really live out my faith is to come later, and not now in college. This has been very frustrating.

139 Some teachers and movements on campus seem to put a stronger emphasis on a politically-informed liberal arts education rather than a faith-informed liberal arts education. This is not in line with Westmont's mission, nor is it enjoyable.

140 I think that Westmont does well in achieving the goals set out by its mission statement. I have found that much cross-over occurs between my GE classes and I appreciate the variety of angles from which I can come at subjects. I think that the intercultural aspect of the statement could be emphasized more. If a GE was offered the specifically taught about cultural and racial differences, I would certainly take it.

141 I think that the mission statement fosters a good well rounded ambition for students.

142 This education program mission is very similar to my own philosophy of teaching and as such I support it 100%.

143 I have enjoyed most of my GE classes. Ofcourse there are some that ewre less fun than others, because of not being interested in philosophy, for example. However, I feel I did benefit and gain knowledge from even the GE courses I was not initially excited about. I did fulfill several GE courses off-campus, and that I think has also positively influenced how I feel about GE courses.

144 They definitely achieve their mission. They would not be achieved without all of the GE requirements, which fill each aspect of the mission.

145 -

146 being a liberal arts college the general education program is pretty broad. i enjoyed being able to take a variety of classes that i would not have otherwise.

147 I think it's a great mission and have appreciated the liberal arts program

149 the mission is admirable and ambitious but fosters true and whole education

150 I love the idea, and many classes were great... some, however, in trying to give a broad overview of a subject, tried to tackle too much. I don't remember much of what I learned from those classes, since we were moving so quickly through the material (history)

151 This is a mission and a program that I strongly embrace - to me it is fundamental to a liberal arts education. I chose Westmont for that kind of education and have been very pleased with the education I have received for the most part.

152 I agree with the mission - it's part of the reason that I chose to attend Westmont.

153 I think very highly of the mission statement however, I also believe that the GE courses could be more challenging in regards to the growth of one's faith.

154 It's not well advertised, but it's accomplished.

155 I think maybe we (students also, not just the college) tend to falter when it comes to the "commitment to service that will last a lifetime" because we believe that a

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40K education should come with a Porche and a huge house.

156 The GE courses enable students to be skilled in a number of areas and provide a solid foundation for engaging in more advanced topics.

158 I imagine that's what it's supposed to do.

159 it's good

160 broad

161 It would be better if the professors who taught the GE classes were more accepting of those in their class who were taking the class simply for the GE. Most GE classes appear to have the sole function of recruiting people to that major and not actually helping students learn useful things about other majors.

162 Good in theory, but sometimes it just doesn't turn out that way. As a transfer it was really hard to get motivated for the general ed. courses required.

163 The mission encompasses many important topics, all of which were well covered in my GE courses.

164 To make us think, learn how to understand and learn, and have experiences in several different academic areas. To create an edu and allows us to have perspective on different aspects of our life and aware of different parts of our humanity.

165 sounds great and the professors really to incorporate it

166 Often there is very little done to connect courses together. Courses exist in a vacuum and no effort is made to create conceptual links between them.

167 It is the goal and success of Westmont College. The specificity of the Mission is what makes Westmont College stand out to other colleges.

168 I feel that the majority of this mission occurs in the final two years at Westmont in which one is enrolled primarily in courses for their major. Though it could be argued that the two years prior are formative and necessary, I would have loved to engage in the coursework of my GEs during these final two years and wrestled with the broad range of material during this time that I feel much more thoroughly engaged.

169 I did not completely understand the reason for the GE program until I was a senior and looked back at how much I had grown from the classes.

170 I appreciate the care of the whole person at Westmont, and not only fostering intellectual maturity but also spiritual and emotional maturity.

171 No Comment.

172 I agree that the community that the GE's are invested in portray the mission statement especially in terms of faith and broad-ranged academia. I have also felt that Christian character has been addressed well and is healthily encouraged.

173 I have gained a varied education. While I may have not wanted to take some classes initially, the majority of them were enjoyable and I learned a lot from them.

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175 I think that the general education at Westmont fulfills this statement; by taking different classes in a wide range of subjects, Westmont is preparing us to go out into a world of wide experiences.

176 Most of the classes I have taken seem to be apart from this mission statement in a unique way. The instructor may state "Well, we are supposed to integrate learning so let's make this Christian." There is a divide that leaves me with unanswered questions. Also, if we say we are Christian and that keeping a healthy body (mind, body soul) is important, then why are so many professors unwilling to help a student out when he or she really is struggling. Yes, there may be the tutoring sessions, but if a student is depressed or having personal issues, the support from an instructor could be vital. We push so hard academically that we miss on the well-being of the student entirely. That student is so focused on success or making his or her way in the world that he or she may lose him or herself in the process.

177 accomplished

178 Mission is solid and encompasses many major themes/ideals that a Christian liberal arts school ought to embody

179 I think the GE courses provided a breadth of learning that was applicable to each course I took, and built upon each other. I was able to think critically about world issues, but with the ability to have an educated Christian foundation.

180 It is at the heart of the tradition of liberal arts to introduce students to the major disciplines and to demmonstrate their connections. I think Westmont does a great job of making that mission come alive, particularly drawing out the role of faith within each discipline.

181 It it is a lofty and ambitious statement, but in reality, its attitude and intentions are one of the things that initially caught my eye as I was applying for college and led to my decision in attending Westmont.

182 Westmont does an excellent job fulfilling their mission statement. Graduating I wish more language would have been required.

183 It is well worded.

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How has Westmont's General Education program contributed to your growth as a person and as a scholar?

11 It has helped me learn how to avoid doing meaningless busy work.

12 The accessibility of the teachers in my GE programs was wonderful - that helped a lot. The assignments were also often though provoking.

14 I think it has introduced me to different areas but I do not feel that it has really helped me grow...

16 Having come in with with several GE's already fulfilled and fulfilling many others with coursework in my major, I don't feel like the GE program has had an extensive influence on me. I found there to be very little material that was new to me in required GE courses, but I found value in them because I was taking them with students and friends from many disciples. GE courses therefore provided common ground to begin conversations outside of class. And they were a good opportunity to get to know professors from different departments. I also really appreciate the honors courses that were offered.

17 The General Education program here at Westmont for me was more of a source of irritation than a source of personal growth. I had taken every G.E. requirement required at the 4-year institution I transferred from, and when I arrived here, I was denied the vast majority of my G.E. credits for counting towards Westmont's requirements. I had already experienced the majority of the "personal growth" moments at my previous institution, and I had to repeat that entire experience here, including have to take Freshman English. In summary, while there is a possibility that a few of these classes would have contributed to my academic growth had I taken them all here, the experience of having to repeat all that I had accomplished before tainted whatever I could have gleaned from these classes, including the classes that were new to me.

19 I have a broad and expansive understanding of God's world.

20 It increased my knowledge outside my subject area. Had I not had to take the wide variety of GE classes, I would have not taken as many classes outside of my major because I would have been overly focused on my major. It also did a good job of increasing my critical thinking skills and my ability to connect my major to subjects outside of my major.

21 General Psychology, which I took Freshman year, is the only GE class where I remember content. However, I think it has broadened the way I think somewhat.

22 the general education program has created a well rounded person who has had experience in all areas

23 I found out what I wanted to major in because of the encouragement of one of my Professors

24 It has broadened by range of knowledge and illuminated connections between oftentimes contrasted disciplines.

25 I have loved it, especially being "forced" to take classes which I would not

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normally elect yet finding them extremely interesting!

26 It has helped be look at seemingly disparate ideas as if they were related to one another, or that they could provide meaningful insight to each other.

27 It hasnt.

28 Not much.

30 It's broadened my understanding of a variety of academic fields and has shown me how to be informed rather than ignorant.

33 Some of the classes that are GE requirements are courses that I would not have had the opportunity to take or would not have chosen to take otherwise, they have expanded my knowledge of subject area and have allowed me to having meaningful discussions

34 True to a liberal arts education, I feel better equipped in a broad sense due to GE requirements.

35 It forced me to take a broader spectrum of classes- most of which were invaluable

36 Taking GE classes has broaden my understanding of the world. I learned about current issues, as well as issues in the past that no one talks about. I have a general understanding about each discipline.

37 I was forced to take courses in areas that I would never have selected on my own. As a result, I truly believe I grew into a more well-rounded scholar and a better informed person. The curriculum left me with the realization that our world is a complex community made up of very different disciplines. The GE program gave me a chance to make contact with disciplines of which I would otherwise be ignorant or to which I would have very little exposure.

39 It has given me the thinking skills necessary to tackle a problem from many different angles. The program has taught me how to work outside the box, and be adaptable-which I believe I will find very helpful in life outside the college.

40 It has exposed me to a much wider range of disciplines and information than I would otherwise have experienced. As such, it has expanded the ways in which I think and operate in my intellectual pursuits.

41 It forced myself to open my eyes to things I was uninterested in; which in turn, expanded my understanding, and brought closure to my mind as everything I studied became related and interdisciplinary.

42 I know multiple things from different areas

44 I have found that because the concept of the GE program has been forced upon me for four years, I am unfortunately rather contemptuous of it now. Especially this year, I have seen more flaws than strengths... some of which are probably unavoidable at such a small school, and in these economic times. I suppose this means that the program has succeeded in fostering critical thinking, problem solving skills, and a broader view of issues.

45 I appreciate the challenges of the GE program, particularly concerning the

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Thinking Globally and Thinking Historically classes. Those classes have pushed me to use critical, integrative thinking, and have encouraged me not to wall off my experiences from one another, challenging me instead to see the connections between disciplines and the way that Christ permeates all things.

46 I just look back at how over the last 4 years the way I view the world has changed, and I contribute a lot of this change to the GE program.

47 Little to none

48 Even though GE classes were not in my major, I still found it beneficial to learn and be exposed to a wide variety of subjects

51 to be honest it hasn't, as a transfer student i came in taking most of my GE's elsewhere, knowing what i wanted to do, so the GE's i had to take here were busy work that i just had to suffer through

52 Coming into to Westmont, I had a lot of personal struggles and was arrogant concerning my abilities. Westmont's General Education program shook me to a reality of needing personal and academic growth and then continued to move me to humble confidence. From the curricula of the courses I took, I was moved from personal involvement to personal investment in my community.

53 My knowledge has been strengthened so that I am able to use it in a variety of classes, which helps my ability to ask good questions and pursue answers that are valid to the world at large.

54 Taking art classes brought out the creative part of my learning experience that I didn't receive in my other classes.

55 It has significantly challenged me to become motivated about classes that weren't specific to my interests.

56 It has been incredibly formative for my concept of what it is to be a Christian citizen in the world. I have come to really cherish the GE core as an invaluable component of my education. As I am a biology/chemistry double major, courses in the humanities and social sciences are so important to round out my intellectual experience as a student. I have come to appreciate learning as a whole, not just in the sciences, and I have been humbled by the many difficult questions I have asked and been challenged with throughout these four years.

57 It has forced me to study in field which I would not normally have taken classes.

60 Westmont's General Education program has given me widespread knowledge about different areas of learning. Not only do I have knowledge of different topics but I also have a great depth of knowledge in those topics. Thanks to the wonderful professors at Westmont, my scope of knowledge has been greatly increase by this program.

62 I have been able to study a breadth of topics and have pieced a greater understanding of the world together. I am more curious than I was before, and I am fascinated by ideas and how they influence society. I believe I have excercised the critical thinking side of my brain very much in the GE program.

63 I think it has made me a more cultured person.

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64 It has made me aware of many things that I wouldn't have even heard about had it not been for the GE classes.

65 It has greatly expanded the realm of what I considered interesting, relevant, and important to my own studies, as well as given me an appreciation for all other majors.

66 It has educated me to become a better skilled teacher

68 I think it has been really rewarding to see all the connections I can make across class lines (I have found similarities between my history GE course and my psychology for example). I think this attests to the nature of a liberal arts education.

70 It has helped me form my worldview and think for myself. The religious studies classes have especially allowed me to create a faith of my own that I can understand.

71 It's given me more "lenses" that I can use to solve problems or interpret situations. It's also helped me to be able to talk coherently about topics from all over the disciplines

72 Some of the classes really got me excited about the subject matter, thus I pursued more classes within that major.

73 I have had the opportunity to take courses with professors that I wouldn't have inside my major. I feel much more prepared to graduate and enter the "real-world" because I have knowledge in a broad range of subjects in addition to my specific knowledge about my major.

74 As stated before, taking a broad range of academic fields but also the specialization in one field of study- Sociology.

75 GEs have broadened my perspective on a lot of issues.

76 It has given me a basis of understanding in several subjects, allowing me to pursue those which particularly interest me.

78 Contributed to me becoming a reason-guided Christian.

79 Yes it has expanded my interest in other subjects that I would not have otherwise entered into

82 Classes that were not general in nature, but specialized have sparked my interest in certain fields of study.

83 It has helped, some more than others. I really enjoyed my gen-ed classes in religious studies: Christian Doctrine, Old Testament, New Testament.

85 Gave me a good liberal arts education...classes I may have not wanted to take but had to take and ended up benefitting from.

86 I found that I had interests in other subjects beyond my major discipline of study. I was challenged to stretch academically in areas that were not easy, and this is always a benefit for any learner.

87 I've gotten to know a variety of professor names in different departments

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88 It made me aware of topics as well as gave me knowledge I wouldn't have had otherwise.

89 I feel I've touched a broad range of subjects and acquired many interests.

90 it's encouraged me to think carefully about politics, current events, theology, social action, and other important topics as well as increased my ability to articulate my thoughts on these matters

93 The GE program has made me very well rounded student and given me an appreciation for the other majors at Westmont.

94 Made my faith my own, started actually enjoying learning, was finally challenged

96 Has given me a broader understanding of certain fields. Since we only take one class in an area though the information is soon pushed into the unconscious.

97 It has helped me to appreciate more types of people and their varied gifts.

98 I learned a lot about a lot of different subjects, and am now able to think about a lot of things in relation to my faith.

99 It has helped me realize the possiblity to cultivate interests in areas of study that I would not have found interesting intially.

100 wider range of knowledge more general ans basic understanding of many issues

101 broad

102 I have become a better writer. I learned how to form and support arguments.

104 I love that most classes do not try to push opinions and faith upon anyone, yet still incorporate and invite multiple opinions. That has contributed to my education and faith substantially.

105 I never had a semester where I only took classes in my major, I always had at least one GE course. Having those types of schedules help me relate what I was learning in my science classes to other subjects.

106 The GE program at Westmont has made me a life long learner. I will always look at things with a more critical eye.

107 It has widened my perspective to understand the world through different lenses.

109 The GE program has encouraged me to resist compartalizing my faith- it has shown me the necessity of integrating following Jesus into everything I do/study

113 It has contributed a lot to my growth as a person. I have really enjoyed the classes on the Bible and I have learned how to study the Bible and where to look when I have questions.

114 There were a couple GE classes that expanded my way of thinking, and helped me understand how other fields inform and are informed by my field of study (Astronomy with Dr. Sommerman especially comes to mind). But for the most part, I did not feel like my GE classes contributed very much to growth as a scholar or as a person. The only positive result I can think of, is that I had the opportunity of more interaction with students from other majors.

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115 I have grown more at Westmont than I know I would have grown at any other college. The GEs allowed me to explore different areas that I may not have wanted to study otherwise and gave me an extremely well-rounded perspective on the world. As a scholar, I have learned to appreciate different subjects and see how they relate to my specific area of study and vice versa.

116 I feel more confident in participating in various conversations on a wide range of topics. I am more well-rounded and thus have more to offer to an employer and to society as a whole.

118 It has broadened my view of the world which is a very good thing. It lets me see things in my major in a different perspective.

120 The Religious studies classes have contributed to my growth as a person and as a disciple of christ, and Greek/History of World Christianity have aided in my ability to learn difficult subjects and react with my heart/mind to several difficult ecumenical issues.

121 I enjoyed astronomy greatly

122 Most of it was really great. Discovering how I should do things, work, etc. But that's also just a factor of being IN college and having all the work to do in the first place. As a person each class has had at least some one tiny little thing to offer. Some have been great. The Relig. Studies GEs were amazing. They contributed probably the most.

125 Some have been fascinating and totally worthwhile; some have left me bored and academically dissatisfied. I think that depends on passions and the teachers capacity to engage a class full of students.

128 It helps me appreciate other disciplines and not to be closed minded

129 Has helped to make me more well rounded

132 It has helped me understand that we can learn and worship God through every subject. God's can be studied in science, music, english, and many other subject areas.

135 The New/Old Testament classes, Doctrine and Principles of Art are the *only* GE's outside of my majors that I've found worthwhile. Perhaps I am not the best student to answer this as coming into Westmont I had already been exposed to several disciplines via the IB and AP programs - most of my GE's were repeats of previously covered material in high school. Not to mention most of the GE's were watered down (far more than those IB and AP classes) - resulting in shallow intellectual endeavors due to the extreme amount of material expected to be covered in a semester – ex. 500 years of history in 1 semester is just silly – you can spend an entire year just on a few decades and still not have a great understanding of that period of history. Chem Culture and Society for example I found to be almost comical – in attempt to simplify the material our textbook and lectures presented simple outdated models that have long been known to be incorrect. Its college – students should be expected to be able to handle the rigor of a normal chemistry class, that doesn't dumb things down along with a lab component Furthermore the integration of faith and learning part is almost joke

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in most GE classes, it feels tacked on, random and disconnected – especially outside of the social sciences (where clearer connections can be found) In summary – the Biblical GE's I found to be quite formative to my growth, outside of that I feel that my time was wasted in most of my other GE classes dealing with material I had already covered in greater detail in High School.

137 i grew

138 Yes, it has expanded my interests, level of thought, and helped me become more sympathetic to other academic disciplines.

139 It has challenged me intellectually more than anything else and placed in me a desire to be a lifetime student.

141 I think with the inclusion of religious courses, Westmont education had added not only rigorous academics but faith in learning.

142 I have become increasingly aware in History and Religious Studies as a result of the GE requirements.

143 It has allowed me to see the connection between different topics- between philosophy, history, literature, music, and art. Specifically, the humanities. I never had to take an ecomics or political sceicne class, and I think that would be a godo thing to add to the GE course, a course or two that give students insight into international politics.

144 I feel as though from studying so many different subjects, I have been able to find and foster my interests. I feel that I know a little bit about a variety of things, which I think will help me connect with more people in life, and also has helped me to grow as a scholar-- i learned about things I never thought I would learn about, and have grown more passionate and interested in subjects I didn't used to enjoy.

145 -

146 i have been able to take classes that i would not have taken otherwise given my major. it's nice to learn about other subjects from a christian perspective.

147 It's been helpful to learn in other subjects and I have really appreciated it. I wouldn't choose to go to a school that was any other way.

149 As a person I have become more sympathetic and confident, as a scholar I have become more articulate in communication

150 I have come to understand politics and global thinking from a christian perspective, something i had no idea about before college

151 I love seeing connections between my classes and feel more able to make connections in life.

152 Definitely spiritually, the religious G.E. classes helped me grow, mature, and ask the difficult questions, helping me to understand and be able to defend my beliefs.

153 The courses definitely have widened my views, but, again, I think to could challenge me more especially the religious studies courses in regards to

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strengthening my own faith.

155 The humanities courses in the GE courses have increased my curiosity in other subject areas.

156 By having to take courses outside of my major, I have learned to approach my courses from different perspectives. I have a foundational understanding of how topics relate and have been able to grapple with material I might not have otherwise encountered.

158 I feel very well rounded, but not like I know enough about my own major. Too many GE's does not make it readily able to have an emphasis in my major.

162 Not much

163 greater understanding on a wide variety of topics, improvement in comprehensive reading and effective writing

164 Forced me to grow in differnt ways by having to learn in different areas, learning how to learn with different profs, and how to think in different ways.

166 As a person, it has broadened my understanding of the world in several areas that I was unaware of.

167 It has broadened my horizons and helped me become a more well rounded person.

168 Commented on previous page. I know these classes have been formative but I would have preferred to engage in them during my more intellectually mature time at Westmont.

169 It has given me a great breath of knowledge.

170 It has significantly contributed to my growth as a whole person, including as a scholar.

171 It has stretched me in many ways.

172 I have begun to enjoy other disciplines for the lessons God can teach me through these specific lenses. Before, I was opposed to too much learning because of being burnt out in high school. Now I feel I have healed in my understanding of learning as a tool to better serve God and others. There are many different and unique ideas that can be gained more easily through A GE class such as philosophy that are completely different than what occurred in an art history class. The synthesis of both has been the real way to see.

173 Varied curriculum for a better world understanding.

175 The general education at Westmont has pushed me to reach outside my comfort zone. By practicing and constantly pushing myself, I feel much more comfortable coming to any subject and understanding it.

176 Indeed the GE program has allowed me to ask different questions, see through different lenses, and better integrate my discipline, however, I believe this could be pushed more. History of Non-Western Art with Lisa De Boer was one of the most foundational classes I had at Westmont because it made me question the way I view culture, society, art, identity, ect. I am not an art major, but I felt like

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I was actually in a liberal arts college when taking this class.

178 Exposure to a wide variety of disciplines has contributed to my growth as a person by widening my interests and as a scholar by broadening my awareness

179 I feel more knowledgeable about the world in general and have the vocabulary to articulate an educated conversation

180 The GE program at Westmont inspired in me a new respect for the wide-range of disciplines, many of which I had no interest in previously. I loved seeing the overlap in my major classes and my GE courses .

181 It's taught me the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge, but most importantly, the enjoyment you can find just out of learning, in and out of the context of the classroom.

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What changes would you suggest to improve the General Education program?

11 Take out the busy work and tell professors not to take attendance. I have had many classes where I could have taken the final the first day and passed the class and yet I am forced to attend because of an attendance policy.

12 Everything to do with the Business Department - please improve! (i.e. Society, Morality, and Enterprise, Microeconomics (great content, poor instruction), Macroeconomics (same but even more so), etc.). Oh also, if the class Global Commerce and Culture continues - please consider adding it to the list of GEs for Thinking GLobally - it exposed me to thinking on a global level more than I can say. It really helped me get into the minds of current cultures foreign to my own (and in order to do it, it pulled from history well to help us really understand the best methods of conducting commerce globally).

14 Well, I just feel that the professors expect that we already know about many of the subjects in introductory level classes and it can be frustrating...

16 It seems one of the greatest challenges in GE classes that everyone has to take is that people come in at such different levels of background knowledge. Honors classes help address this, but I would encourage the Program to continue to look for ways to address this.

17 I firmly believe that Westmont has too many requirements in the General Education program. The common context courses and the common inquiries overlap the history requirement, and the common skills and the common inquiries overlap in the reasoning abstractly requirement, and having two separate lab science requirements is excessive. Multiple courses can be eliminated from this curriculum.

19 Make it clearer earlier on to First Years' how to understand how the GE works and can be filled and meshed with classes for the Major fulfillment.

20 I don't know. I must admit that I did not find the Philosophical Reflections or World History from a Christian Perspective. They both took a lot of time and taught me very little. The rest of my GE classes, however, I did appreciate the rest of my classes.

21 Doctrine should be integrated into NT and OT. Replace perspectives classes with electives

22 i would suggest that the education major and the KNS major have the same math and perspective and therefor forces each person deciding what they want to do to decide very quickly almost prematurely

23 except AP courses that passed with a 3 so GE requirements could be met before attending Westmont.

24 Further integration between service and academics through classroom requirement far beyond the measly serving society GE as it currently stands.

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25 I think the writing intensive requirement for a class outside of one's major is a little silly for English majors because virtually ALL English classes are writing intensive. We get enough writing practice within our major. Writing outside of it is a breeze, yet the requirement to take a class to do so is a pain to add to the schedule.

26 It is complicated and coming in as a freshman it was really hard navigating it. I felt that my advisors and professors weren't very helpful in helping me map out what I needed to take. I could have graduated a semester early if I would have taken one more GE during another semester.

27 Remove classes that waste time from being mandatory. Classes such as his 010.

28 More variety.

30 Greater flexibility with regard to scheduling conflicts.

33 More options of class times to fulfill certain requirements

34 n/a

35 I understand that many Westmont students came in with sub-par world history backgrounds- but the Perspectives on World History class should be narrowed to an era or continent

36 Nothing.

37 Even after receiving my diploma in January, I am unclear on the "double-count" policy with regards to certain GE courses. I was under the impression that only 1 course could count for two different GE requirements once during our career. Clearer explication of the "double-counting" policy might benefit younger students with questions similar to mine.

39 I think that all majors should include a senior capstone project that is interdisciplinary and community centered. I think each senior should have the opportunity in a senior project to display by means of word, deed, and thought to display the "interdisciplinary" and "commitment to service" that the GE seeks to foster.

40 The only thing I can suggest is possibly more focus on service-related classes. The serving society GE is a good program, but I did not experience widespread emphasis on serving others while I was here. It was encouraged, but there wasn't really any time when I was in a situation where there was focused discussion about serving others. It might have been nice if there had been some sort of option exploring the different aspects of serving others and how one might get involved.

41 I think it might be a little too expansive, expecting too much. The fear is that, in accomplishing well-roundedness, it will produce students that are mediocre at everything, rather than excelling at a few things

42 More choice

44 Grace. Options. Honestly, some of the decisions appear absolutely ridiculous from the student perspective. In Fall of '08 I went on Europe Semester. It had been my plan since deciding to go to Westmont, and I set aside specific GEs to fulfill that

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historically have been fulfilled by Europe Semester courses. This particular semester, the decision was made to not include Thinking Globally in the GEs covered by the trip. To this day I cannot understand why a trip that took me halfway across the world, through 16 countries, and had a class titled "WORLD War II" did not fulfill a GE titled Thinking Globally. Would it honestly have taken that much effort to tweak either the requirements or the course to fit the other?

46 The GE courses do an excellent job at stimulating intellectual growth. However, some GE courses are too overwhelming or for introductory courses. I've often found myself committing more time to studying for a GE class than a class in my major.

47 incorporate greater interdisciplinary emphasis

51 make it more specific once the student has chosen the major. the only students who should have to take the general stuff are the ones who have not yet found what they want to do

52 Because of the dramatic impact the San Francisco abroad program had on me and because the cost of the semester is equivalent to that spent on campus, I would recommend incorporating the San Francisco abroad program into the General Education program. San Francisco provides a unique environment for learning about diverse cultures and urban challenges unlike whatever could be achieved within a classroom on Westmont Campus.

53 I really wish I had had a resource that would show me various possible combinations of general education within certain majors. My advisor in my first year assumed I understood the GE program. I wish I had seen possible plans of when to take GE courses. I would have -loved- something that showed what GE's various off campus programs would have completed, but all in one place... then I could have possibly been better able to go abroad.

54 GE classes are extremely difficult, especially the Religious Studies classes which takes away from the important major classes in which grades are more important.

55 More classes that fulfill requirements

56 I kind of touched on it on the previous page, but I will reiterate: significance of the GE program must be better communicated to students (from the start of our Westmont experience), and I also wish some faculty were more intentional about investing in GE classes.

57 As I have mentioned previously, there needs to be a re-examining of what classes fulfill which GE's. There needs to be a conscious effort made to have classes for each GE which are easily accessible to all students especially for areas which can be difficult to understand normally.

60 I am not sure if I would make any changes. Every class was challenging even though they were "general education" class, but that in my opinion is what separates Westmont from other educational facilities.

62 I would allow for greater flexibility or more choices for GEs. It is difficult to take all the classes one wants while being on target with the required GEs.

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63 I would make more options for classes.

64 It would be nice if more of the GE classes were offered every semester because I wasn't able to take many classes simply due to them not being offered the semester I needed them.

65 Have a course at the beginning of freshman year, that allows students to explore each of the majors/GE courses in those majors. Ask the older students (perhaps in their senior seminar classes) to tell why they chose their area of study, what it means for them in the future, and advice on what to go for looking back on their experiences. I think most students aren't exposed to how valued their GE courses can be, as far as enriching their chosen majors later on, and helping them choose what those majors will be, by means of exploration under classes they will be required to take. They often have an idea of what they want to get into, but haven't been exposed to many subjects of study that they don't know anything about yet. I think it would benefit many incoming freshman to have that kind of experience in a 2 unit course in order to give them a platform to stand on while selecting courses and a major.

66 none

68 I would suggest a more broad selection of GE classes to take especially in the art category.

70 I would allow more choices so that people who simply aren't interested in a subject would be able to opt out. Also, be careful about ad-junct professors because they don't usually do well.

71 Making sure that general ed courses were taught by top-ranked teachers in the department. Gen ed courses may be the only exposure a student gets to a given department, so if possible they should be taught by the best professors, not adjuncts or less skilled professors.

73 Include more discussion on how each class/subject enhances the GE program and integration of faith and learning in each of the classes. I had that in some classes, but it definitely was not present in others, so making the purpose of the GE program more evident and consistent would be helpful.

74 I struggled with wanting to take an English course because I took so many in high school and in high school I took AP/IB. I received 3s on the AP/IB tests I took. Those credits did not transfer over.

76 Nothing I can think of.

78 Some of the classes were very beneficial, some of the classes were classes just to check off the list.

79 Leave less options available to students in certain subjects. For example, I am not sure if it is still this way, to fulfill the philosophy requirement on could take basic philosophical perspectives or take society, morality, and enterprise and I believe one other class. However I took both of the two mentioned classes and found the later to be a complete waste of my time and on top of that I did not learn much if anything about philosophy. All this to say I think to fulfill the philosophy

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requirement people should only be allowed to take philosophical perspectives to do so.

80 Offer more sections

82 Classes with more specialized material.

83 Have them really focus on relating their subjects to a faith-basis. It's cool to see how some teachers relate the most common of concepts to Chrisitanity or how we can use it to encourage our walk and use it in our everyday lives.

87 Don't make us take repetitive history or English courses if we have no interest in those. There also seems to be a lot of them, and it is hard to fit them in when you want to focus more on your major.

88 Give students a wider range of classes within the program to choose from.

89 Perhaps make more upper division classes count towards GE requirements? I've taken a number of upper division classes outside of my major as electives simply from interest, but it would have been nice to get certain seemingly relevant GE requirements checked by them (such as upper division English classes counting as reading imaginative literature).

90 easier ways of getting the requirements filled- for example, the arts component was very difficult for me to find a class at another institution that would be approved (also, because of my circumstances, fulfilling this requirement at westmont was not an option; otherwise i would have simply taken a westmont-offered class)

93 I find it troublesome that Westmont offers less intensive courses for the GE requirements that involve the natural sciences and not for other programs. For example, the GE requirement that is earned through General Chemistry or General Physics can also be earned through Earth Science or Chemistry, Culture and Society. The latter courses are much less intensive, and give the same reward for their completion. When we look at the humanities, however, we find that there are no courses comparable to CHM-004 or PHS-114. Instead, students are forced into a class designed for a student who intends to pursue a major in that field. In short, I feel that it is unfair that a English student can take a watered down physics or chemistry course just to satisfy a GE requirement while other students must work harder to satisfy a GE in a class designed for majors in that field.

94 a lot of courses that are writing intensive have not yet been approved to be - i.e. Child Development, etc.

96 Broader categories with more options. Some only have like 2 or 3 course options to fulfill the GE.

97 Try to make more connections between the classes, or the GE classes and student's majors so that they see some more of the value in the classes.

98 Make sure advisors actually know what GE entails.

100 more options

101 some classes can be eliminated

104 I think there are many courses that can qualify as meeting certain requirements but

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don't, such as writing intensive classes. I know it takes paperwork to change, but students appreciate when a abroad programs (etc) count as thinking globally (etc).

105 Encourage students to take them through out their time at Westmont and not just in their first and second year. I appreciated my courses more the older and more mature I was.

106 For some of the categories, more classes could be offered. I know that for certain GE requirements I only had one choice during certain semesters.

107 There needs to be an intercultural class addressing race and ethnicity.

109 I just wish there was time to take more GE courses

112 Rather than having a Serving Society requirement, there should just be a community service requirement. You could require more hours (in say, no more than 5 different places). Students are serving all the time, but are unable to get credit for it right now. Also, I would make the Communicating Cross-Culturally requirement a bigger deal, especially with the recent emphasis on global learning. Finally, the AP Art History exam should get 8 units of credit (as the AP U.S. History exam gets). They both function in the same way.

113 The busy work is bothersome and the classes are too challenging. They take my energy away from my major classes and that has been hard.

114 Academic advisors definitely need a better understanding of the GE program, and they should also know more about the GE classes and professors. Also, professors who teach GE classes should be passionate about communicating their discipline to people who may be learning about that field for the first time, and should be understanding of students who have trouble with their discipline (this is particularly true of professors who teach GE math courses).

115 Like I said before, informing students thoroughly and in a way they can understand before starting at Westmont so they can plan majors/minors/abroad programs accordingly. Give them the information in a fun, easy-to-understand way. Also, I know as a freshman it is extremely difficult to get into certain GEs, so maybe giving more options to take a certain GE class that is popular?

116 More variety in classes and less of a workload, allowing students to really take advantage of enjoying and learning the material without the pressure of just trying to get the work done, therefore not really immersing themselves in the material. I can't count how many times I thought, "wow, this would be so interesting and fun to learn about if I did not have to hurry and write this paper, or do these tedious assignments."

118 Sometimes getting a bad professor for a GE class changes the whole experience compared to having a good professor. Maybe try to make the GE course good no matter the professor.

120 Teachers should not have to rotate teaching "Christian Perspective on World History", or some who have expertise in other historical areas should try to invest some more time and thought into their GE class. If a student has studied a language for 4 years and passed an AP test, they shouldn't have to fulfill the language

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requirement.

121 make History and English more integral into a general education, they are foundational for being an informed, capable part of society. Also fit for life should be more of a wellness class, with more emphasis on what it means to be healthy and smart, not based on how many laps or push ups one person can do

122 See comments on the previous page about the mission statement

128 Its a bit heavy handed in the non-sciences, thereby I feel that non science majors fulfill science GEs without the need to take labs which are integral to all natural science disciplines.

129 Spell out what is needed-catalog is confusing

132 I don't think that History from a Christian perspective and Philosophy from a Christian perspective are necessary. I had already taken Philosophy and History before coming to Westmont so it was like taking the same two classes over again. I feel that I could have taken other classes and learned new concepts rather than learning the same material over again.

133 Have more courses that overlap GE requirements.

135 There are several things you can do to improve the GE program at Westmont. First and foremost allow students to test out by means other than an IB and/or AP test – if they feel they have already familiar with the course material allow them to demonstrate competence in another manner – perhaps a Westmont administered test could be given – this will avoid students having to waste time repeating material from high school and allow them to spend their time learning new things. Second reduce the scope of the most general GE's this is what is causing them to be watered down – there is no way that much material can be covered in such a short amount of time, your sacrificing quality in exchange for breadth. I know liberal arts is gung ho about a broad education, but you must balance that with in depth study – a shallow education no matter how broad won't do anybody any good later in life, a rigorous education that teaches people to identify and solve problems in a “Christian” manner will however. Third increase the difficulty and rigor but reduce the busywork. I am in a GE right now that is far too easy, and yet eats up a vast amount of time due to useless homework, papers etc that are assigned. Make students think more, challenge them, but don't assign them work that is a waste of their time.

138 Maybe have some sort of class that involves spiritual formation or living a balanced and healthy life. And healthy not just in the physical fitness sense, but spiritually, emotionally, etc.

139 I wish that I could have taken more classes within my major - sometimes I felt confined to GE's and as though I was not delving into my major enough. Because of this, now that I'm graduating I feel a bit more well-rounded, but I do not really feel prepared to work in a job.

141 I think they should add more classes that are GE but still pertain to our majors.

142 None

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143 I would suggest that students are required to take a political science class. I wish I had done this on my own, and it would hae beenmuch easier ofcouse if it had been required of me.

144 I would suggest that at least a certain amount of classes have to be fulfilled by the end of sophomore year. I have heard so many stories of people who changed their major based on a General Education class, or decided that they wanted to go into a different field, but were not alloted enough time once they changed their mind. If students have the opportunity to explore all these subjects early on in their college career, I think it would minimize this problem.

145 -

146 i have not met a single person who has agreed with the stats classes here and its requirement of the g.e. program.

147 Sometimes the classes seem to be too demanding for simple general education work. I might learn more if I was able to approach a little less material but more closely and with more time.

149 It would be good to offer more classes that satisfy the GEs

150 I'm not sure, but I know that it would be nice to have more room for students to be able to study abroad more. I had to drop one of my majors in order to be able to be on off campus programs twice, because the combo. of GE classes and the kines major was too much.

151 smaller classes, more discussion-based

152 Not so many requirements - didn't leave enough room for electives.

153 Im not sure all of the courses are necessary and/or relevant for expanding one's knowledge of God's world and His creation.

155 I would not require that humanities students take GE courses outside of the humanities, I would also not require non-humanities students to spend their time taking humanities courses. Though that information can be valuable, it limits the number of courses an english major (for example) would take in a major like history, because it would be necessary at some point for that student to get on with his/her major and stop (sadly) stop exploring other avenues. (I mean, we only have four years to get our right?)

156 To make sure that students take courses that they are interested in, make sure the popular GE courses (the ones that fill up) are offered every semester with enough sections to allow all students to take it. It is challenging to get into certain GEs due to popularity. Also, no GE course should cover three GEs.

158 Make it so that there are always NON UPPER DIVISION courses to take in each GE. Not all of us are interested in making our lives unnecessarily stressful in a discipline which is not our own.

161 I would suggest it be more flexible. I went on Europe semester and traveled to for an entire semester in Europe as well as in Israel and none of that fulfilled the "Thinking Globally" requirement. The class I took to fulfill that requirement was on Irish Literature. How can a class on Irish literature in Santa Barbara make me

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think more globally than my Europe classes including WWII in Europe or Narrative in the arts or Geography of the Bible. All of those European courses were taught in the context of the materiel even.

162 The expectations for general ed. is too high. These are not upper division classes they shouldn't be treated that way. they are too much like high school classes.

164 Add the special populations class from kinesiology to the GE program. Everyone has a disability of some type and we all encounter people of special populations.

166 Let literature courses count as both Literature courses and British Literature course. The way it is now, it implies that British Literature is not actually literature, and the requirement to take a Literature course and a British literature curse separately strikes me as arbitrary and unintuitive.

167 Possibly more alternates to the GE courses.

168 Space out the required time for GE courses so that one is still taking them during their final years.

169 I cannot think of anything at this time.

170 I would suggest providing more options for GE classes.

171 Make the GE classes offered during more times.

172 There is always room for improvement with GE's because of the limited nature in which they occur. There are only certain classes that can be offered because of logistics, etc. However, I feel that Westmont's balance has been strong. That said though, I would like to see some more options in serving society.

173 None

175 Better advising definitely. My advisor didn't help me at all.

176 Dive deeper. Don't tell the students you are struggling to find God in the material. Help us. Ask us questions. Be interested in the material. Show us how to work hard. I am a complete visual learning while so many of my classes have been verbal or lecture oriented. For a student like me please give something visual or at least a combination of verbal and visual.

178 Better education of its purpose at the outset of our College degree and encouragement to take electives (on the part of advisors) just for the sake of taking electives

179 I believe that more elective classes should be defined as GE, because they are very applicable to life and the GE category. Maybe some classes can be seen as "more" GE, but at the same time, each class is extremely valuable.

180 While many of the GE courses are covered by multiple courses (I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to take Apologetics toward my thinking critically requirement) there are some courses which are limiting. For example, including developmental psych in the life sciences etc.

181 I believe there should be a stronger emphasis on the foreign language component, or at least a high standard or better program set in place. If this is a school that seeks to engage in the world, it isn't enough that students are just exposed to a

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foreign language. They need to use it and engage in it more deeply. I'd say there needs to be a test or an increase in the number of language units that have to be taken.

182 Require more language.

183 There are some classes that take faith based learning to a level that is unnecessary and a waste of class time. Although I understand the value of teaching in a christian way there were times when the close mindedness of a christian professor actually harmed their ability to be open and understanding of different points of view. there are also subject were incorporating faith adds nothing to the class and wastes times in a students already extremely busy schedule.

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Please include any additional comments you may wish to make here.

11 Attendance policies make it feel too much like high school. I am an adult and should be allowed to make the decision about whether or not to go to class.

12 The Westmont Economics and Business program is in need of some fresh blood. Maybe you could consider turning it into a program whereby all classes are taught by adjuncts or people with relevant business experience. It's often those who walk away with their business degree that can give the most back to their school, but if the program they went to school for did little for them, it would seriously disincentive the alumni from contributing.

24 Thank you for all your hard work and love for this campus and its students!

26 Although I think the GE program is at times a burden and hard to incorporate into a major program, it has given me an exposure to a wide variety of subjects and probably kept my interest levels up over the course of four years of education.

44 I am all for a liberal arts education. However, if I am paying this much money for my education, I would like more control over the courses I can take. Going in to my senior year, I had VERY few options of courses I could take to fulfill the Thinking Globally GE or the Analytical Reasoning GE (I'm not even sure that's what it's called). I would have preferred to choose courses I was interested in AND fulfilled the GE. Only when I am interested in the subject matter will I apply myself and truly learn the material, thus making it worthwhile to have the GE system in place at all.

53 Thank you for actually asking us about this issue.

55 Liberal Arts Rocks!

63 Sometimes I think that so many requirements are a waste of time. I think my GPA has suffered due to the lack of interests i have had in classes that I had to take to fulfill GEs.

65 Its been wild. :)

66 My experience has been different due to being a liberal studies major- makes the General Education part much easier because we already have the classes mapped out for us

70 Thank you for doing a great job educating your students and being careful to create an environment of learning that is beneficial to our growth.

71 I think Westmont's GE program is valuable and necessary, but futher improvements can be made.

79 It is an excellent program that I greatly support

83 I love Westmont :-)

93 N/A

112 Try to encourage students to wait to take their Religious Studies classes until they will appreciate them a little more. Also, it would be great if some of the GE classes were even smaller than they are now.

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115 That's it. Thanks!

118 I really enjoyed my GE experience here. It's nice to not take only courses in my major. It provides variety.

121 the general education on the whole is good, and it is nice that things can count as double.

122 See comment on the previous page about the mission statement. it's been so great over all. But I feel that Westmont already knows that. If I seem negative it's just beacuse I am trying to give off the information for what needs improvement.

126 There needs to be templates that students can access for four year plans. Because advisors don't always do a great job of actually knowing what needs to be taken and then the students are the ones that have to suffer when they can't graduate on time.

128 It takes time to appreciate the GE curriculum.

139 I have enjoyed my experience at Westmont. One of the reasons that I was initially drawn to it was that it was less legalistic than other Christian colleges, but still offered faith-based learning. After being here for four years I feel as though Westmont has changed and become very secular. It seems as though many professors, faculty, and students are gravitating toward putting the reverence that we as Christians should hold for God toward politics. I feel as though Westmont has become more of an environment in which to develop one's political beliefs than a place to develop one's faith and Biblical knowledge. Because of this, I would not recommend Westmont to prospective students who are concerned about the nurturing of their faith while in college.

142 I miss you all very much.

145 -

155 Give me the 100 dollars please. (No, I am only joking, you can give it someone else if you want)

158 Perhaps it would be nice if we could choose one of the GE's to skip or make it so that GE's could actually be applicable to our majors. For example, I have absolutely no need for logic or stats in my major, yet those were the only two GE's that I could take in that area based on the level of math that I am at.

161 I enjoy the idea of liberal arts but some portions of the execution are too caught up in the bureaucracy.

166 So much emphasis is spent on fulfilling the General Education requirements that students are often unable to take classes that they want to simply for their own curiosity and personal fulfillment. The GE program straightjackets students into a cookie-cutter education that leaves very little room for personal experimentation.

167 Having the abilty to double-dip courses is nice and allows for more freedom to take more classes of choice within ones major.

170 I have appreciated Westmont :-)

171 no comment.

173 None

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176 I have greatly appreciated my time at Westmont. I would like to make a few suggestions about the spiritual side of the school. So many friends and fellow students have had a difficult time with chapel and the worship style here. If Westmont is non-denominational, please be non-denominational. Branch out. There are so many different kinds of Christians at this school that feel alienated because of the way Christianity is approached. I came to Westmont very Charismatic and am now leaving bitter about the way Christianity is presented. We have all these programs to "reach out." I believe with that kind of language we are placing ourselves on a higher level and seeming better than those around us. No wonder people are fed up with Christians. Please work on integration. Please don't teach us to alienate others with our "great" education and "impressive" moral standing. I cannot even tell the number of people that are having sex and drinking right on campus. Of course they will never talk about it because they do not want to feel alienated. We need to teach GRACE and forgiveness. If, in fact, it is by grace that we are saved...tell us so. So many students are leaving lost because they see this Christian bar they can never reach. Teach us about redemption and how we are loved even if we get a "C" and even if we lose our virginity. I am so grateful I have been able to go to this school. I praise God I came here instead of a State School, but we are in a bubble and are leaving unprepared for failure. When we begin to hit walls and see sin so blatantly in our midst we will not know what to do. Give us more. Feed us. Show us the way. Yes, make us ask questions, but bring us back to a foundation in Christ. Thank you for your concern.

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Appendix V: Policy and Procedures for Delisting a GE Course

Procedures for Delisting a Course from a GE Area

1. When a course is identified for potential delisting in a GE area, the registrar will review the catalog and generate a list of majors that include the course. The role of the course may range from a required course in the major to an option used to complete a required number of major elective units.

2. The chair of each of the potentially affected departments will be notified of the proposed

change and will be given at least one month to provide information and concerns to the chair of the GE Committee before the Committee begins its deliberations.

3. The GE Committee and department chairs may request additional information from

departments or from the registrar.

4. When a course is delisted, notification will be sent to a. All faculty b. The chairs of affected departments c. All students d. Targeted messages will also be sent to potentially affected students (majors, those

who register for the course in the next few terms)

5. If the delisting is approved before November 1, the change will become effective in September of the following year. Delistings approved subsequent to November 1 will be implemented one September later.

6. Students caught in the transition will be handled via the standard petition process. In

instances where there is a well identified group of affected students, accommodations may be made en mass by the registrar in consultation with the Dean for Curriculum and Academic Effectiveness.

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Appendix VI: Alignment of GE with LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes

LEAP Essential

Learning

Outcomes

Biblical and

Theological

Canons

Reflections on

Truth and Value

World History

Reading

Imaginative

Literature

Physical Science

Life Science

Reasoning

Abstractly

Performing &

Interpreting the

Arts

Thinking Globally

Thinking

Historically

Understanding

Society

Knowledge of

Human Cultures

and the Physical

and Natural

World

X X X X X X X X X X

Intellectual and

Practical Skills

Inquiry and

Analysis X

Critical and

Creative thinking X X

Written and Oral

Communication X

Quantitative

Literacy

Information Literacy

Teamwork and

problem solving

Personal and

Social

Responsibility

Civic knowledge

and engagement X X

intercultural

knowledge &

competence X X

Ethical reasoning

and action X X

Foundations and

skill for lifelong

learning X

Integrative

Learning

LEAP Alignment

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LEAP Essential

Learning

Outcomes

Writing/ Speech

Intensive

Quantitative &

Analytical

Reasoning

Language

Physical

Education

Product. &

Present.

Research

Integrating the

Major Dicipline

Serving Society

Communicating

Cross-C

ulturally

Knowledge of

Human Cultures

and the Physical

and Natural

World

X

Intellectual and

Practical Skills

Inquiry and

Analysis X X

Critical and

Creative thinking X X

Written and Oral

Communication X X

Quantitative

Literacy X

Information Literacy

Teamwork and

problem solving

Personal and

Social

Responsibility

Civic knowledge

and engagement X

intercultural

knowledge &

competence X

Ethical reasoning

and action

Foundations and

skill for lifelong

learning

Integrative

Learning X X X X

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Appendix VII: Comparison to Southern California Liberal Arts Schools

Number of Required Courses by GE Area

* AP & IB are not accepted to fulfill core requirements ** No two Breadth Areas can be fulfilled with courses from the same discipline *** Must pass a first-stage proficiency evaluation before taking second course

Westmont Occidental* Pomona** Redlands

Biblical & Theological Canons

3

Philosophical Reflections

1 1

World History 1

Physical Science 1

Biological Science 1 1

Reasoning Abstractly

1

3 ( includ ing a t l eas t one lab ) 1

3

Reading Imaginative Literature

1 1

Performing & Interpreting Arts

1 1

1

Thinking Globally 1 1

Thinking Historically

1 1 1

Understanding Society

1

3 (wi th

res t r i c t ions on geography and

h is to r i ca l per iod)

1 2

Writing Intensive 2*** 2

Speech Intensive 3

Quant. & Anal. Reasoning

1

Language 1 2 3rd Sem. 2nd Sem

Physical Education 4 1

Productions & Presentations

Research

Integrating the Major

1 1

Serving Society; Enacting Justice

Communicating Cross-Culturally

1

First-year Sem. 2 1 1

Dominance & Difference

1

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Appendix VIII: Comparison to Selected Christian Liberal Arts Schools

Number of Required Courses by GE Area

* Reduced for students who pass a competency test ** One thematic requirement must be satisfied with a literature course C Competency Requirement (ud) Upper Division

Westmont Calvin Gordon Wheaton

Biblical & Theological Canons

3 2 3 4*

Philosophical Reflections 1 1 1 1

World History in Christian Perspective

1 1 1 1

Reading Imaginative Literature

1 1 ** 1

Reasoning Abstractly 1 1

Physical Science 1 1

Biological Science 1 1 1+1 (ud) 2

Performing & Interpreting Arts

1 1 1 (ud) 1

Thinking Globally 1 1 (ud)

Thinking Historically 1 1

Understanding Society 1 2 1 (ud) 2

Writing Intensive 1 C/1

Speech Intensive 3

C/1

Quant. & Anal. Reasoning 1 C/1

Language 1 C/III 2 C/III

Physical Education 4 3 3 1

Productions & Presentations

Research

Integrating the Major

1

1 1


Communicating Cross-Culturally

1 1

Diversity 2

First-year Seminar 1

Information Technology 1

Rhetoric in Culture 1

The Great Conversation 1

Human Person 1 (ud)

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Appendix IX: General Education Learning Objectives

Updated: April 2010

I. Common Contexts. A. Biblical and Theological Canons

Student Learning Outcomes (Provisionally Approved by the GE Committee 04/22/2010)

Students will 1. Know the content of the Old and New Testaments (e.g., books, genres, literary

structures, themes, stories, chronology, major characters, histories, and theologies).

2. Be able to apply interpretive approaches to both testaments in order to recover original meaning and subsequent significance of the biblical texts (for church, Kingdom, and wider world), taking into account historical backgrounds and critical issues.

3. Be able to identify the central doctrines of Christian faith and the forces shaping the history of global Christianity (e.g., major events, texts, and debates).

4. Have basic skills of careful reading and analysis with respect to Scripture and other theological sources.

B. Introduction to the Christian Liberal Arts

2. Philosophical Reflections on Truth and Value

Student Learning Outcomes (Approved by the GE Committee 04/22/2010) Students will be able to 1. Recognize and articulate foundational questions of philosophy – especially

foundational questions of particular interest to Christians – though the emphasis among knowing, being, and value will vary by course.

2. Articulate some of the main components of a Christian liberal arts education and the interrelation of philosophy and other areas of academic study in the liberal arts, both in terms of content and the development and application of transferable skills.

3. Articulate the relationship between philosophical commitments/academic life and their beliefs, feelings, commitments, and practices as components of an integrated life, considered as a whole.

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2. World History in Christian Perspective

Student Learning Outcomes (Provisionally Approved by the GE Committee 04/22/2010)

Students will be able to 1. Identify important locations, events, people and ideas in world history from 1500

to the present. 2. Demonstrate familiarity with main narratives in the field of world history (e. g.

modernity, interdependence, globalization). 3. Appreciate religious and cultural differences within and between world areas

(including their own) and recognize how these change over time. 4. Express the distinctive characteristics of a Liberal Arts education and explain

why this is fitting for a Christian. 5. Articulate relationships between historical issues and their personal commitments

and/or vocational choices.

II. Common Inquiries

A. Reading Imaginative Literature Student Learning Outcomes

(Not developed)

B. Exploring the Physical Sciences Student Learning Outcomes (Approved by the GE Committee 04/22/2010)

Students will be able to 1. Identify the basic properties and principles of matter. 2. Identify the creative and systematic aspects of scientific method and give

examples of the power of theory and prediction within the framework of empirical/experimental modes of inquiry.

3. Articulate a model of the relationship between faith and science both historically and in the current culture.

4. Demonstrate sufficient comprehension of science to read intelligently about and express informed opinions on science-related issues that affect individuals and society.

C. Exploring the Life Sciences Student Learning Outcomes (Provisionally Approved by the GE Committee

04/22/2010)

Students will be able to 1. Describe the investigative approaches of the life sciences. 2. List, describe and explain processes in living systems as appropriate to the

course’s subject domain. 3. Describe and explain diversity and variability in living organisms as

appropriate to the subject of the course.

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4. Identify and describe controversies, positions and approaches to the interdisciplinary and theological implications of the life sciences.

D. Reasoning Abstractly

Student Learning Outcomes (Proposed) Students will be able to 1. Identify instances of abstract deductive reasoning about abstract objects or

concepts (in the form of arguments, explanations, proofs, analyses, modeling, or processes of problem solving) and can distinguish premises from conclusions (or their analogues).

2. Construct an instance of valid deductive reasoning about abstract objects or concepts (in the form of arguments, explanations, proofs, analyses, modeling, or processes of problem solving).

3. Distinguish valid forms of deductive reasoning about abstract objects or concepts (in the form of arguments, explanations, proofs, analyses, modeling, or processes of problem solving) from invalid and/or fallacious forms of reasoning.

E. Performing and Interpreting the Arts Student Learning Outcomes (Proposed)

In thinking, speaking, and writing students will use 1. Correct language and terminology for varying artistic types, forms,

movements. 2. Appropriate methods and processes for analyzing, interpreting, and enjoying

artistic production, including with respect to the Christian faith. In their making and performing students will demonstrate competence in 1. Creative / interpretive methods for artistic production and expressiveness.

2. Physical processes and manifestations necessary for artistic realization and

production.

Thinking Globally Student Learning Outcomes (Proposed)

Students will be able to 1. Describe differences between at least two cultures (one of which is non-

western) and can offer explanations or historical contexts for those differences.

2. Recognize the value and significance of other cultures without romanticizing. 3. Identify ways in which cultures influence formulations of knowledge. They

will identify ways in which they personally are affected. 4. Recognize global inequities, injustices, and/or inter-religious issues and

commit themselves to thoughtful, concrete responses growing out of their Christian faith.

5. Recognize the limits of their global understanding.

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Thinking Historically.

Student Learning Outcomes (Proposed) Students will be able to 1. Read primary sources historically – asking and answering basic questions

about historical sources (historical context, author, audience, genre); drawing historical conclusions from the sources and assessing their reliability and usefulness; and reflecting on how their own background shapes their interpretation.

2. Appreciate the contextuality of historical narrative and interpretation – understanding that the ways in which historians tell the story is shaped by their context (intellectual, social, etc.) and recognizing that interpretations of history are subject to change; they will understand the term “historiography” and its implications

3. Articulate with less naiveté how the past is relevant for the present – making connections between their historical study and their responsibilities within the larger world. Students will appreciate what separates us from the past and avoid presentism.

Understanding Society

Student Learning Outcomes (Draft) In regard to the five basic societal structures (Family, Religion, Education, Government, Economy), students will be able to 1. Identify foundational theories of the discipline that offer explanations of social

phenomena, 2. Articulate dimensions of individual, group and institutional dynamics in

society, paying attention to issues of diversity and media where applicable 3. Explain the basic methods of inquiry of the discipline, and 4. Make personal and social application of various theories—informed by a

biblical perspective.

III. Common Skills Three Writing-Intensive or Speech-Intensive Courses.

Student Learning Outcomes (Approved by the GE Committee 11/12/2009) Students will improve in 1. Their ability to construct a clear central message that includes purposeful and

inviting ideas, insightful arguments and reasons to accept these arguments, relevant and substantive supporting material, and various audience-centered appeals.

2. The organization of their messages, providing appropriately creative introductions, compelling and strategic structure, smooth transitions, and an effective conclusion.

3. Their communication style, engaging their audiences with discipline-appropriate language use and artfully constructed sentences.

4. Their presentational skills, which range from oral communication specifics (good posture, gesture, eye contact, vocal expressiveness, etc.), to written

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communication specifics (appropriate citations, professional appearance, good grammar, etc.). Good communication presentations will demonstrate civility and intellectual curiosity.

Quantitative and Analytical Reasoning Student Learning Outcomes (Approved by the GE Committee 04/08/2010)

Students will be able to 1. Make use of mathematical models for physical or social systems

AND/OR Compute and interpret numeric data, summative statistics and/or graphical representations.

2. Reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of particular quantitative models or methods as tools in the natural and social sciences

Modern/Foreign Languages Student Learning Outcomes

1 (Approved by the GE Committee 03/25/2010) Students will be able to 1. Understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics. 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between some of the

practices and perspectives of the culture studied. 3. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of language by comparing the

language they study and their own. 4. Use the language both within and beyond the classroom setting. 5. Articulate the importance of learning another language in order to engage

people unlike them in terms that affirm others as persons created in God’s image.

Physical Education

Student Learning Outcomes (Proposed)

Fitness for Life requirement:

Students will be able to 1. Write and successfully implement an appropriate 9 week fitness program

based on the training principles of frequency, intensity, and duration. 2. Discriminate between healthy and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors.

Physical activity courses:

1 The first four learning objectives of the Foreign Language GE are based directly on the national criteria set by ACTFL (The American Council of the Teaching of Foreign Languages).

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Students will improve in 1. One or more of the five components of fitness, including cardiovascular,

muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition. AND/OR

2. One or more cognitive, affective or skill-specific components related to successful participation in the sport or activity.

IV. Competent and Compassionate Action

Complete one of the following three options at an advanced level:

1. Productions and Presentations Student Learning Outcomes (Approved by the GE Committee 01/21/2010)

Students will 1. Perform or create a substantial work, artistic or otherwise. 2. Demonstrate in their creative work an understanding of the theoretical

principles of their field. 3. Present their work in an appropriate public venue.

2. Research Student Learning Outcomes (Not developed)

3. Integrating the Major Discipline

Student Learning Outcomes (Approved by the GE Committee 03/04/2010)

Students will show some competence in each of the following areas and strong facility in at least one area. Students will be able to

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the core issues in the history and methodology of their discipline and manifest an integrated perspective of its breadth and depth.

2. Articulate a sense of the relationship between their particular discipline and other disciplines in a liberal arts context.

3. Apply their faith to their academic discipline by evincing an understanding of how Christian values influence one’s approach to the discipline, as well as how one’s approach to the discipline shapes one’s understanding of Christian institutions and values.

In addition to the above, all students also complete one of the following two options:

1. Serving Society; Enacting Justice Student Learning Outcomes (Approved by Academic Senate 11/04/2008)

Students will be able to 1. Identify theological motivations for service; the needs of the population being

served; the effects and affects resulting from those needs; and the causes of those needs, such as involuntary circumstances, individual choices and structural injustices.

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2. Articulate how they have been affected by their experience (for example, changes in beliefs, attitudes or values) and how their experiences might inform their calling to discipleship, citizenship and future service.

2. Communicating Cross-Culturally Student Learning Outcomes (Proposed)

Students will increase in their 1. Abilities to communicate cross-culturally and to adapt effectively to new

cultural environments. 2. Capacities for building relationship of mutual respect across cultures. 3. Appreciation for the variety and richness of human cultures. 4. Awareness of their own culture.

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Appendix X: Common Contexts Report – Biblical and Theological Canons

RS GE student learning outcomes. RS courses will constitute a center for the GE curriculum by establishing a common core of Christian knowledge and ways of thinking, and by providing a foundation for fruitful conversation with and among all the disciplines of the liberal arts. Our students will recognize that Christian faith is not an isolated mental or spiritual compartment, but that it takes shape within, and decisively shapes, personal, church, family, academic, and public life.

1. Students will know the content of the Old and New Testaments. (E.g., books, genres, literary structures, themes, stories, chronology, major characters, histories, and theologies.)

2. Students will understand interpretive approaches to both testaments in order to recover original meaning and subsequent significance of the biblical texts (for church, Kingdom, and wider world), taking into account historical backgrounds and critical issues.

3. Students will be able to identify the central doctrines of Christian faith and the forces shaping the history of global Christianity (e.g., major events, texts, and debates).

4. Students will have basic skills of careful reading and observation, critical thinking, analysis, and communication with respect to Scripture and other theological sources, and basic competence with a range of disciplinary tools.

Evidence. Evidence focused on biblical and theological literacy (goals 1 and 3 above). Pre- and post-tests were administered in RS001, RS010, and RS020. Not all of the items on these tests are necessarily covered in class, though most are; the department has not sought to “teach to the test.” Results from early in our six-year cycle is described and analyzed in our 2006 report (appendix 8.Q). Results for spring 2008-spring 2009 (summarized in appendix 8.K.1-3) are below.

Conversations. The department met over several regularly scheduled department meeting times in fall 2009 to examine the tabulated results, analyze, and reflect.

Conclusions. For RS001, on a test of 37 content questions (appendix 8.K.1.a), scaled from 0 (no better than chance) to 1 (all correct), students moved from .27 to .54, closing 37% of the gap between ‘knowing nothing and knowing everything’ (so to speak). Literacy in historical and critical knowledge was lower at the beginning than literacy in Bible content (.21 versus .30) but caught up by the end of the semester (moving to .55 for both). See appendix 8.K.1.b of the Religious Studies 6-year Program Review Report.

For RS010, on a 26-question content test (appendix 8.K.2.a of the Religious Studies 6-year Program Review Report.), students moved from .50 to .70, closing 39% of the gap. (Honors students moved from .69 to .84, closing 48% of their smaller gap.) The greatest movement was not in biblical literacy per se, which moved little, but in knowledge of historical context and conclusions of biblical criticism that are commonly known in the academy: Original literacy in historical and critical knowledge was much lower than literacy in Bible content (.37 versus .81 in the honors section, .25 versus .60 in regular sections), and didn’t quite catch up (.70 versus .89 in the honors section, .59 versus .74 in regular sections). Honors students came in knowing more, and closed more of the gap between that and knowing all the test answers, than students in

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regular sections. See appendix 8.K.2.b of the Religious Studies 6-year Program Review Report.

For RS020, on a long test with 13 content questions (first page of appendix 8.K.3.a of the Religious Studies 6-year Program Review Report), averages went from .4 to .65, closing 42% of the gap. (On the same test in spring 2009, results went from .45 to .61, closing 30% of the gap.) RS020 students in Work’s sections took a much longer test of 84 questions (all of appendix 8.K.3.a of the Religious Studies 6-year Program Review Report). Questions after the first 13 gauge students’ theological convictions, degrees of confidence in various statements, agreement with terms of identity (using language identical to Gallup polls on the subject, so our results can be compared with national and historical data), and habits of Christian practice. Results here were uneven too: Students’ strongest improvement came in Christology and ecclesiology, whereas there was less change in eschatology and doctrine of creation, and still less change in other major doctrines such as soteriology. Strong in-class emphasis on argumentation tended to be more effective in moving students towards historic Christian orthodoxy. Nevertheless, in sections of the test devoted to personal convictions on doctrinal matters, post-tests showed a persistent minority (20-25%) of “hold-outs” who refused to agree with orthodox positions. Doctrine students left somewhat more strongly embracing ‘evangelical’ identity. Their familiarity with key theological texts such as the Apostles’ Creed rose. However, the course had no marked immediate impact on spiritual practices such as Bible study, devotion, evangelism, and prayer. Finally, student satisfaction with Westmont grew (.71 to .86), closing half of the distance to universal satisfaction. See appendix 8.K.3.b of the Religious Studies 6-year Program Review Report., whose markings note the most significant findings.

It is hard to generalize from three different tests on three different subjects. Prior knowledge of certain OT and NT facts varies extremely widely, from complete ignorance on some questions to nearly universal prior awareness of others. So a different set of test questions could make students look anywhere from extremely well informed of biblical content to entirely ignorant of it. Nevertheless, the pattern of these averages suggests, however weakly, that prior literacy is highest in New Testament, then in theology, then in Old Testament. Class-wide improvement in all three areas runs from 30-50% of what is possible. These rates of improvement appear to correlate reasonably well with what we faculty already know through exam and course grades (though course grades reflect assessment for more than mere factual literacy). The Doctrine course seems neither immediately beneficial nor immediately detrimental to students’ Christian practices, though it has some positive impact on their orthodoxy and theological convictions.

Changes. It is good to see improved literacies, as well as some signs that RS GE courses are constructive rather than deleterious for students’ ecclesial engagement and theological and hermeneutical competence.

The results of the Doctrine pre-post tests strengthened Lee’s and Work’s commitment to focus on training students for critical thinking according to orthodox Christian faith rather than simply teaching a doctrinal ‘laundry list.’ Because of the power of connections between course content and the rest of our students’ lives, all RS GE courses will pursue closer ties between themselves and extracurricular events.

Some of our biblical studies faculty (specifically Longman and Fisk) have already been orienting their GE courses away from exclusive emphasis on content and critical literacies. Having examined the findings of the assessment instruments we adopted several years ago, the department generally agrees that we need an improved instrument that will capture more than

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just literacies, without the inordinate length of Work’s pre-post tests. Maurice Lee is developing a pre-post test for Doctrine for fall 2010.

Other developments. Several important developments in GE courses are not captured in these assessment discussions and instruments. These include regular requests for additional GE sections in fall semesters for incoming first-year students, which put further pressure on course offerings for majors and other departmental activities; a move away from writing-intensive courses in Work’s Doctrine sections because of growing extracurricular demands from the college; successful adaptation of upper-division courses to meet Common Inquiries and Competent and Compassionate Action requirements; and dissatisfaction with uneven quality in (hard to find) adjunct teachers for RS GE courses.

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Appendix XI: Common Contexts Report – World History

In the Fall of 2006 and the Spring of 2007, the department worked on defining outcomes for History 10 (Christian Perspectives on World History). It worked off of previous collaborative reflections that occurred when the Faculty revised General Education requirements (see Course description and template for HIS 10 –appendix 7. The discussions started in the Fall included adjuncts (Jana Mullen) as well as tenure-track faculty who shared their current practices in the class (see History department meeting notes, December 2006, CD-Rom). In March and April 2007, we worked on the outcomes. In April 2007, we articulated three outcomes for the course:

1. Knowledge

• Acquire a general literacy about the locations, the events, the people and the ideas in world history from 1500-present.

• Be familiar with main narratives in the field of world history (e. g. modernity, interdependence, globalization) -See details in appendix 8

2. Global Perspective

• Students will be able to describe, with examples, the world’s religious and cultural diversity, and will appreciate the complexity within various world cultures.

• Students will be able to reflect comparatively on their own culture in a world context

• Students will be able to articulate a relationship between a global issue and their personal commitment and/or vocational choices

Therefore, students will be able to locate themselves in the community of the living and the dead -See appendix 9 –this is still work in progress

3. Christian Liberal Arts

• Grow in their understanding of the meaning and value of their education in a Christian Liberal Arts college -See appendix 10: we are still struggling to articulate reasonable outcomes for this category. Appendix 10 provides two ways to frame the outcomes and a list of questions we are still working to resolve

In the 2007-2008 academic year, we focused on assessing outcomes 1 and 3 –since outcome 2 needs some work. Knowledge In the Summer 2007, we put together a short pre- and post- test to assess the progress of our students in geographical and chronological literacy (see appendix 11 for a copy of the test). The test was administered on the first day of class and again in the last week of class. In the Fall, three sections took the test, and in the Spring four sections took the test. Please see the results for each semester on the following page (a list of results for each section and a calculation of average grades are available on the CD Rom).


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Overall, here are the striking features of the results:

• students improved their scores in all sections and both semesters. However o students scores and improvements were markedly higher in the Fall semester o students’ chronological literacy does not improve as much as geographical

literacy; in some cases, the improvement is extremely limited.

• In light of these results, there appears to be a need to improve the way we cultivate chronological awareness among our students. Either that or we need to find a more effective tool for measuring exactly what is being achieved in our history courses in terms of knowledge and chronology. It may be the case that chronology may need to be mediated/spelled out as a specific goal in history course syllabi and that faculty need to better explain expectations in this area throughout the course. Alternately, we may need to ask whether the tool we have used to measure chronological knowledge provides an accurate measurement of real growth. Other questions: What degree of parity exists in the way historical knowledge is measured in History 10 exams given by the different faculty? What accounts for varying degree of improvement in the three classes both in Fall and Spring?

• It appears that we need to find ways of compensating for the clear lag in performance during spring semester. Should this entail more rigorous standards to maintain high achievement?

FALL 2007 Timeline Map Total Grade

AVERAGES

Lemmond His-10-2 3,073

Before 4,5877 5,8684 10,4561

After 5,8 7,7 13,5

Improvement 1,21 1,83 3,1

Chapman HIS-10-3 2,692

Before 4,6122 6 10,7142

After 6,1 8,1 14,2


Robins His-10-4 2,698

Before 4,7767 5,4642 10,3303

After 6,3 7,9 14,2


SPRING 2008 Timeline Map Total

AVERAGES

Lemmond His-010-3 2,96

Before 3,32 5,2 8,52

After 3,59 7,5 11,11



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Conclusions It is clear that this assessment encouraged all of us to modify our teaching to be more affective –see all reports. The changes occurred the very next semester for faculty teaching the same course in the Spring 2008.

Assessing Grasp of “Christian Liberal Arts” in History 10 (September 2009) In three sections of History 10, we assessed the students’ grasp of the Christian

Liberal Arts. We did so by way of a “free write” exercise, which posed two questions: 1) What is a Liberal Arts education, and 2) Why is a Liberal Arts education fitting for a Christian? The three History 10 professors met on two occasions in March 2009 to arrive at an instrument for measuring the students’ grasp of the Christian Liberal Arts. After arriving at the above instrument and conducting the free write exercise, we met again (September 2009) to arrive at a rubric for measuring the results. For the first question, we measured how well students addressed: a) Breadth, interdisciplinary thinking, appreciation of different views, and b) Cultivation of the whole person, preparation for life, vocation, self-knowledge. For the second question, we measured how well students addressed: a) Creation: All truth is God's truth. Knowing God better through all dimensions of His creation, importance of the disciplines toward this end, and b) Redemption: Preparation for Christian service/involvement through Evangelism and working for social justice. For a) and b) of each question we classified student responses according to the following scale: “No mention,” “Mention,” and “Shows understanding.”

Chapman HIS-010-2 3,176

Before 3,13725 5,960

78 9,09803

After 3,29032 7,483

87 10,77419

Improvement 0,15307 1,52 1,68

Orozco 3,017

Before 3,1 4,824

5 7,87719

After 3,2 5,844

4 9,04444


Lemmond His 10-4 2,803

Before 2,8125 4,967

7 7,625

After 3,2682 7,317

1 10,585



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Results

Note: The three numbers in each box correspond to numbers of student responses in

each of the three sections of History 10 (Example: 1, 0, 3 = 1 for Section 1, 0 for

Section 2 and 3 for Section 3). The totals combine results from the three classes.

1. What is a Liberal Arts education?

Not mentioned

Mentioned Showed Understanding

Breadth; interdisciplinary; appreciation of different views

1,0,3 Total = 4

17, 21, 34 Total=72

28,10, 2 Total =30

Cultivation of whole person; preparation for life; vocation

12,18, 13 Total = 43

18, 10, 16 Total = 44

14, 3, 0 Total = 17

2. Why is a Liberal Arts education fitting for a Christian?

Not mentioned

Mentioned Showed Understanding

Creation: all truth is God’s; knowing God better through disciplines

14,17, 16 Total =47

8, 13, 15 Total =36

23, 1, 0 Total = 24

Redemption: preparation for Christian service; justice, evangelism

12, 13, 11 Total = 36

14, 18, 24 Total =56

20, 0, 0 Total =20

Interpretation of Results

Summary: Under question #1, students clearly demonstrated greater grasp of the interdisciplinary aspect of the Liberal Arts than factors relating to personal cultivation. Under question #2, students identified more strongly with the “redemptive” aspect than the “creation” one. This is somewhat ironic, because part of the “redemptive” aspect pertains to personal cultivation, which is the very aspect that they were less attentive to in the first question. What these results suggest is that History 10 instructors should exercise more deliberate care in providing balanced treatment of the Christian Liberal Arts. Instructors should encourage students to appreciate not only the fact that they are studying broadly and synthesizing knowledge from multiple fields, but also that many aspects of their personhood are cultivated through their curriculum at Westmont. Moreover, instructors should find ways of fleshing out with students, connections between the Liberal Arts and the Christian doctrines of creation and redemption. This encompasses discussions of vocation and calling, clearly an area that required more development in student responses.

Question 1: What is a Liberal Arts Education

Comments from Instructor for Section 1:

• I was surprised not to see more on the applicability of a liberal arts education to life, in terms of transferable skills, vocation etc.


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• Students seemed to have little sense of how their education was changing them as people. Answers tended to focus on a breadth of subjects, with little sense of why that might be of practical import.

• I was pleased to see that students had a strong sense of the interconnectedness of different subjects in a liberal arts education.

• I clearly need to do more to help students think more carefully about the ways that their education is shaping them as people.


The rubric provides some interesting perceptions of History 10’s relationship to the Liberal Arts. First, students readily define a Liberal Arts education as “broad” and “interdisciplinary.” A number of students who “showed understanding” offered examples of how the course interacted and engaged with other courses reflecting a good understanding of the concept as well as an appreciation of its effect in their studies overall. Second, it is surprising that very few students tied the Liberal Arts to vocational skills though the number does increase when considering question two.


Few of my students “showed understanding” of the Liberal Arts, in connection to either the interdisciplinary or the “whole person” aspect of the first question. This most likely is due to inadequate discussion of the topic through the course of the semester. But of the aspects of the Liberal Arts that came through most clearly in student responses, the “breadth of learning and interdisciplinary” aspect seemed to be strongest. They demonstrated a weaker grasp of the Liberal Arts as it pertains to the cultivation of the whole person.

Question #2: Why is a Christian Liberal Arts Education Fitting for a Christian?


• Many students talked about how a liberal arts education can foster love for God and deepen their theological knowledge, something that did not feel easily into our categories.

• Related to that, students talked more about how their education shapes their spirituality than about how it shapes their work.

• When they did talk about “redemption,” they frequently used the word “kingdom.” Few mentioned justice or evangelism specifically: students tended to talk more generally about service in the world.

• Many students had a good sense of how God as Creator calls for a liberal arts education.

• Very few, however, talked intelligently about the redemption of all things, which was a major theme in Plantinga’s book that we discussed in detail in class.



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That students would connect vocational choices to their faith remains, in my mind, a positive thing. [Third], the most surprising element of the rubric, however, is the high number that appears under the “nothing” category associated with “redemption.” Most troubling is the reality that not one student mentioned his or her “responsibility track” (poverty, peace making, and gender equality) [note: this is an important aspect of this instructor’s course, built into the syllabus] as a connecting point for the Liberal Arts to Christian practice. … students who mention the conception of redemption often simply use the term “evangelism” or “sharing their faith” with no broader connections to justice, kingdom ethics, or social activism. Fourth, students rarely speak of “creation” as a concept linking divine truth and broad knowledge.


Students clearly associated the Christian Liberal Arts more strongly with redemptive activity in the world than with the doctrine of creation. In fact, the number of “no mentions” in the “creation” category is striking. With regard to redemption, however, their responses were largely limited to the issue of evangelism, with little or no references to the redemption of social structures and institutions. A pattern that can be observed among my students is a tendency to score more highly on the more “objective” interdisciplinary knowledge aspect of the first question and lower on the “whole person” aspect. In the second question, they clearly scored higher on the “redemption” side of the question, but did not typically apply this to their vocations.

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Appendix XII: Common Contexts Report – Philosophy

Excerpt from 2010 Annual Assessment and Program Review Report David Vander Laan, Philosophy Department

General Education Student Learning Goals

Philosophical Reflections on Truth and Value: Students will be able to state in basic terms the contribution of philosophical reflection to their Christian liberal arts education.

General Education Student Learning Outcomes

Philosophical Reflections on Truth and Value: Students will be able (a) to recognize and articulate foundational questions of philosophy – especially foundational questions of particular interest to Christians –, (b) to articulate some of the main components of a Christian liberal arts education and the interrelation of philosophy and other areas of academic study in the liberal arts, (c) to articulate the relationship between philosophical commitments and their beliefs, feelings, commitments, and practices as components of a whole life.

II. Data and Interpretation Student Learning Outcomes

During the 2009-10 academic year the philosophy department collected and discussed data relating to conform to two of the GE goals (Philosophical Reflections and Reasoning Abstractly) and one major program goal (Knowledge).

In the 2010-11 academic year, the department plans to assess its work on the Philosophical Reflections and Reasoning Abstractly goals, in accord with the institutional multi-year assessment plan. It will also work on it Virtue and Skills goals in preparation for the 6-year report next fall.

Data Data from the spring 2010 classes PHI-006-2 Philosophical Perspectives, PHI-012-1 Critical Reasoning and Logic, and PHI-195-1 Senior Seminar (assessing Philosophical Reflections, Reasoning Abstractly, and Knowledge, respectively) are all available in the Assessment Data folder of the shared drive. Data from the other two spring sections of Philosophical Perspectives and from the evaluated fall courses (four sections of Philosophical Perspectives, Christian Apologetics, and Ethics) are available in hard copy in the respective instructors’ offices. Summaries and interpretations of the data in each case are contained in the

Philosophical Reflections on Truth and Value

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instructors’ assessment reports to the chair, which are stored in the assessment folder on the chair’s computer.

The assessment methods used for the various goals are described below. The results have been interpreted both individually and collectively: individually in each semester’s assessment reports to the chair, and collectively in the departmental meeting of Sept. 7, 2010.

Philosophical Reflections: Assessment of the Philosophical Reflections goal has focused on the outcomes of (1) articulating and thinking critically about foundational questions in philosophy and (2) articulating the contribution of philosophy to the Christian liberal arts. In the fall section of PHI-006-2 these outcomes were assessed with an essay assignment. The outcome (or outcomes) of articulating and thinking critically about foundational questions in philosophy were assessed separately. 93.8% of students were judged to have done “OK” or better with respect to the first outcome, and 91.1% were judged to have done “OK” or better on the second. In the fall section of PHI-006-3 outcomes (1) and (2) were assessed by way of questions on three essay exams. 95% of the students did either acceptable or exemplary work relative to the first outcome (58% exemplary and 37% acceptable) and 90% did either acceptable or exemplary work relative to the second (25% exemplary and 65% acceptable). Two sections of Philosophical Perspectives (PHI-006-1 and PHI-006-4) were taught by adjunct instructors in fall 2009. In both sections, students were evaluated on outcomes (1) and (2) via short (3-5 page) papers. The results in both sections were remarkably similar. In PHI-006-1 34 students scored “acceptable,” 4 “exemplary,” and none “deficient” with respect to both of the two outcomes. In PHI-006-4 with respect to the first outcome 31 students scored “acceptable,” 4 “exemplary,” and none “deficient;” with respect to the second outcome 33 students scored “acceptable,” 2 “exemplary,” and none “deficient.” In the spring section of PHI-006-2 outcomes were assessed with an essay assignment. All students were judged to have done acceptable or exemplary work with respect to the first outcome and 87% were judged to have do acceptable or exemplary work with respect to the second. In the spring section of PHI-006-3 outcomes were assessed via a short paper. All students scored either “acceptable” (41 of 49) or “exemplary” (8 of 49) on the first outcome. Likewise all students scored either “acceptable” (47 of 49) or “exemplary” (2 of 49) on the second outcome. In the spring section of PHI-006H-1 students were assessed on the first outcome, and all did exemplary work. (As in the fall section of PHI-006-2, the two parts of


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this outcome were assessed separately. One student did “acceptable” work on the first part of the outcome.)

Interpretation of the Results

Based on the department’s reflection on the results, the department’s GE and major goals are being met. Nonetheless there are areas in which the department can likely improve, and there are others which it will be keen to keep an eye on. Details follow.

Philosophical Reflections: Overall it seems that the Philosophical Reflections goal is being met, and increasingly so in the sections of Philosophical Perspectives taught by regular faculty (i.e., by those who have taught the course for more than one year). Instructors’ efforts in this area seem to be paying off. In particular, students are learning to think about the topics and questions that the instructors specifically set out to highlight in their courses. There is room for improvement, particularly in adjunct’s sections, though it is to be expected that courses with a high percentage of first-year students (as the adjuncts’ sections apparently were) will not produce results as strong as courses with a greater proportion of sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

III. Using the Results and Next Steps

The changes suggested by our interpretation of the above results are primarily changes of course content and pedagogy. Naturally, these vary from case to case.

In Philosophical Perspectives Prof. Taylor plans to develop more resources for the second goal (articulating the relationship between philosophy and the Christian liberal arts).

The chair will continue to communicate with adjunct instructors (since the 2009-10 adjuncts have both moved on) about how to meet the department’s GE goals for Philosophical Perspectives.

…

A number of changes have been results of the assessment process to this point, and the department continues to discuss both course-level and program-level changes for the future. For example, in PHI-006-3 both the increased number of tests including questions that assessed the Philosophical Reflections goal and the instructor-written essay on the contribution of philosophy to the Christian liberal arts were changes implemented as a result of earlier assessment activities. The program-level changes the department has been discussing include:

• Whether another faculty member can be hired. This would help broaden the curriculum, would potentially increase the diversity of the department, and would make a badly needed improvement in the faculty/student ratio in GE courses. The


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department regards this last item as particularly important. Students learn philosophy in large measure through active discussion, and there is very little opportunity for many students to be actively involved in classes of 35-40 students.

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Appendix XIII: Area Report – Reasoning Abstractly

I. Learning Outcomes

1. Recognition: Students can identify instances of abstract deductive reasoning about

abstract objects or concepts (in the form of arguments, explanations, proofs, analyses, modeling, or processes of problem solving) and can distinguish premises from conclusions (or their analogues).

2. Construction: Students can construct an instance of valid deductive reasoning about

abstract objects or concepts (in the form of arguments, explanations, proofs, analyses, modeling, or processes of problem solving).

3. Evaluation: Students can distinguish valid forms of deductive reasoning about

abstract objects or concepts (in the form of arguments, explanations, proofs, analyses, modeling, or processes of problem solving) from invalid and/or fallacious forms of reasoning.

II. Data and Interpretation

Selected student work was gathered from Fall 2008 Reasoning Abstractly courses.

Course #

Course ID Number of Students

1 PHI 101:Ancient and Medieval Philosophy

15

2 CS 010: Introduction to Computer Science

25

3 MA 019: Multivariable Calculus 10 4 MA 160: Fundamentals of Mathematics 20 5 MA 005: Introduction to Statistics 50 6 RS 103: Apologetics 7 7 MA 009: Calculus 17

The prompts for the student work and the rubrics used to classify the work can be found in the individual class reports. In all but one case, students’ abilities to construct an argument were assessed. In the remaining class, (#1) PHI 101: Ancient and Medieval Philosophy, assessed students’ abilities to evaluate arguments. Due to the greatly varying nature of the courses and therefore the prompts, rubrics were constructed for each of the individual sets of responses. The prompts and rubrics were reviewed at a February 18, 2009 meeting of


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the faculty teaching Reasoning Abstractly courses to verify their appropriateness and consistency. Sample questions and rubrics are included in the appendix. The following table indicates the number of students in each course that were classified as performing at each level.

Course # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Total Percent

Mastery 4 15 0 15 37 3 3 77 52%

Some Proficiency 3 9 3 3 4 3 8 33 23%

No Proficiency 8 3 7 2 9 1 6 36 25%

One of the themes that stood out clearly when the data was discussed by Reasoning Abstractly instructors is the strong dependence of the assessment questions on area-specific knowledge. In order to assess students’ abilities to reason abstractly, students must be given something to reason about. Most naturally, students are asked to reason about the subject material of the course. When the question involves knowledge that is particularly technical, there is the potential complication that the abstract reasoning abilities of students may be obscured by deficient knowledge of the background material. In such cases, low student responses may reflect a lack of mastery of the subject matter more than their underdeveloped reasoning abilities. This is almost surely the case with one of the questions originally used in (#4) MA 160 (see that individual report). In at least this case, the effect has been mitigated by not using the data from the problematic question for the institutional level report. A similar phenomenon may have been observed in the (#7) Calculus course, though in this case, the difficulties that students experienced working with the material probably reflect a combination of technical and reasoning deficiencies. There is a suspicion, but no clear evidence, that something similar is occurring without adjustment in (#3) MA 019 as well. The data from (#1) PHI 101 comes from the first question of the scattered exam (an exam whose questions were distributed throughout the semester). The fourth question of the scattered exam was also designed to test these skills, but the question was preempted by the Tea Fire and the consequent evacuation of campus. Nevertheless, the results were lower than expected at that point of the term and course changes are planned (expanded syllabus instructions and increased class time) in response to the low performance. While the results from (#5) MA 005 appear to be strong, in the opinion of the instructor and other area instructors, the question used for assessment did not really require students to reason abstractly. Since the assessment task was the course work most closely aligned with the Reasoning Abstractly objectives but still failed to address the central ability, serious question arose about the appropriateness of continuing to list the course as a Reasoning Abstractly course. This discussion was continued at length within the Department of Mathematics.


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III. Next Steps The Mathematics Department considered ways in which more abstract reasoning could be added to MA 005. It was determined that, while it might be possible to add sufficient discussion of and use of proofs so that the course would legitimately be a Reasoning Abstractly course, the addition of such material would (1) result in the loss of significant course content, (2) would make the course less coherent and more awkward to teach and (3) would run counter to current pedagogical recommendations for elementary statistics. Consequently, the department requested that the GE Committee de-list the course from the Reasoning Abstractly category. Over the course of three sessions, the GE Committee discussed the implications of such a change and explored multiple alternatives such as adding additional material to the course. At the conclusion of these discussions, the GE Committee approved the request to de-list MA 005: Elementary Statistics as a Reasoning Abstractly course on March 9, 2009. A series of meetings was scheduled for spring 2010 to discuss the assessment results and our procedures. Category Labels A change in the way that the categories are labeled was discussed. It was agreed to use Mastery, Acceptable (proficiency) and Deficient (proficiency). The Review Cycle In the GE assessment cycle the reviews of Reasoning Abstractly are scheduled 2011-2012 and every sixth subsequent year. Because we have not been on a regular cycle, a special series of meeting has been scheduled for this year (2009 – 2010) to tie up questions from last year’s initial work and to provide a report of the GE Program’s six-year Program Review Report. Between review years, data should be collected and stored for analysis during the review year. Let me propose the following schedule:

Odd years (2009 – 2010) Calculus Courses MA 004 PH 012 RS 103

Even Years (2010 – 2011) All Computer Science courses (including CS 015) MA 160 PH 101 PH 102

After the 2011 – 2012 review when the process is more settled, we may want to consider shifting to an every third year cycle. When a course is offered in multiple sections, the instructors should coordinate their assessment and use a common set of assessment-relevant questions as part of the final exam.


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Construction and Evaluation While there are three stated outcomes for Reasoning Abstractly, almost all of the formal assessment work has been on the construction of argument. Dave Hunter shared an informal example of a question he used on one of his exams this term. The student responses indicate that students could use some help in this area. In the course of the conversation, several examples of ways existing questions could be modified to elicit information about students’ abilities to evaluate arguments were identified. All instructors are encouraged to think of ways to get at this information. Review of Proposed Questions and Rubrics RS 103

• The exercise was deemed to be relevant to task of assessing students’ abilities to construct an argument.

• It appears that the exercise might also lend itself to the assessment of students’ abilities to evaluate and argument.

• The group would be more comfortable if the rubric’s description of Mastery if it included an explicit reference to reasoning from the premises to the conclusion rather than leaving that process implicit.

CS 005

• The group found the proposed questions to be excellent for the task at hand.

• There were some questions about the rubric until the minor-errors/errors/major-errors progression was pointed out.

MA/CS 015

• The proposed question and rubric were viewed as appropriate.

• The group suggested using more than one question for the assessment. In particular, a question similar to the one presented earlier in the discussion seemed particularly pertinent.

MA 160

• The questions and rubrics were appropriate.

• A suggestion was offered to add a question asking how the proof in the third

question broke down when applied to 4 rather than 3 . MA 019, 010, 009

• The questions for MA 019 explicitly called for students to make their reasoning evident.

• The questions for MA 010 and MA 009 were substantial and would require students to reason, but the reasoning in the responses would likely be rather implicit rather than explicit. This will make it difficult to evaluate the reasoning as opposed to the solution. It would be good to modify or replace the questions to elicit responses where the reasoning is explicit.


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• More stable results would likely be obtained if more than one question were used for assessment.

MA 009

• The questions provide students the opportunity to demonstrate the steps in formal reasoning, but the assessment would be improved by asking them to supply the formal justifications at each step for at least some of the problems.

• The rubric was not discussed for lack of time, but some modification will be required as the rubric employs four rather that three levels.


91

Sample questions and rubrics

From MA 106: Fundamentals of Mathematics

Electronic copies of the student responses are stored on the Mathematics shared drive. Rubrics:

Question Mastery Some Proficiency No Proficiency

I (2) Complete proof with correct reasons supplied at each step.

Proof is essentially complete, but may have an incorrect justification supplied at some stage or may not clearly identify the connection between the derived contradiction and the final conclusion.

Multiple steps or justifications are faulty or missing.

II (4) &

III (5)

A correct answer is supplied with an appropriate justification.

A correct answer is given without justification or a relevant but slightly erroneous line of reasoning has produced an incorrect answer.

Both answer and argument are either erroneous or missing.

From CS010 Introduction to Computer Science I, Fall 2008

Question 3 from week 6:

Given the structure definition: (definestruct schnoodle (kaboodle)), we have the following data definition:

A schnoodle is either

1. the symbol 'eBoo, or

2. a (makeschnoodle c) where c is a schnoodle. Schnoodles and their kaboodles are kind of like nested Russian dolls. Write the


92

function nestschnoodles, that consumes a natural number, n, and produces a schnoodle containing n schnoodles in its kaboodle, if it has a kaboodle. Since the 'eBoo schnoodle has no kaboodle, we say it has zero schnoodles in its kaboodle. You do not need to write a template for schnoodles but show the natura number template. We identified four error types related to the abstraction component of the question. (Student answers may be found in our summary document.) These error types included:

1. mis-understanding of the "eBoo" base-case in the data definition (3 instances); 2. mis-use of the base-case at the coding stage (1 instance); 3. inappropriate use of list-processing methods at the coding stage (6 instances); 4. and lack or mis-use of recursion in coding (2 instances).

Rubric: Errors of type 4 were classified as no proficiency. Two or more of the other error types by the same student were also classified as no proficiency. A single error of types 1, 2 or 3 are classified as acceptable proficiency. Students who did not make any of these errors were deemed to have mastery of this problem.

Question from final exam: Consider the following data definition and select the correct lettered statement. A gak is either: 1. the string "a", 2. the string "b", 3. the string "c", 4. the string resulting from (string-append X Y X) where X and Y are gaks, 5. the string resulting from (string-append Y X Y X) where X and Y are gaks. Given this data definition, which of the following strings are gaks? (a) "abcbcbc" (b) "abc" (c) "bcbca" (d) "acacbacac" (e) Both (a) and (b) are gaks (f) Both (c) and (d) are gaks (g) None of them are gaks Rubric: Students are deemed to: have mastery if they select the correct answer; have acceptable proficiency if they either include the correct answer but also have false alarms or if they identify the correct rejections but also have an incorrect rejection; have no proficiency if they have only false alarms and incorrect rejections.

Exploring the Physical Sciences

93

Appendix XIV: Area Report – Physical Science


Students will be able to 1. Identify the basic properties and principles of matter. 2. Identify the creative and systematic aspects of scientific method and give

examples of the power of theory and prediction within the framework of empirical/experimental modes of inquiry.

3. Articulate a model of the relationship between faith and science both historically and in the current culture.

4. Demonstrate sufficient comprehension of science to read intelligently about and express informed opinions on science-related issues that affect individuals and society.


A diagnostic assessment instrument developed during the 2007-2008 academic year and modified slightly in September 2008 was administered to approximately 150 students in fall 2009 Exploring the Physical Sciences courses. A copy of the instrument can be found at the end of this appendix. A summary of the data is provided on the next page.

The data for questions 23 and 24 is missing for the CHM 004 students. The affected boxes have been grayed in the table of results. All percentages are computed based on questions or classes for which data is available.

Questions 1 through 14 relate to Outcome 1. Questions 15 through 24 are related to outcome 2. Questions 25 through 28 and 29 through 33 assess outcomes 3 and 4 respectively.

During the spring 2010 semester, the area faculty met three times: February 12, March 10, and April 7. The meetings were dedicated to discussions of the meaning of the results and ways in which the instrument could be improved.

Questions 9 through 14, which assess students' general physical science knowledge, are taken from a National Science Foundation quiz that has been given internationally. For reference purposes, a figure displaying the international results is provided in a following page. The question number in the original instrument is provided for the (physical science) questions that were part of the assessment instrument.

Westmont student responses in this area are more than acceptable. The faculty decided to insert an additional companion question about the age of the earth to assess not only what students understand about the current understandings of science but also the students' personal views on the topic.


Fall 2009

94

Question

PH 021

PH 011

CHM 005H

PHS 007

CHM 004

Total

Area

%

1

21 19

90%

48

96%

13

87%

35

100%

26

100%

141

97%

2

22 21

100%

42

88%

15

100%

34

97%

25

96%

137

94%

3

23 20

95%

45

92%

15

100%

32

91%

20

77%

132

90%

4

24 20

95%

45

92%

13

93%

35

100%

25

96%

138

95%

5

25 19

90%

33

67%

14

93%

32

91%

24

92%

122

84%

6

26 20

95%

34

69%

15

100%

24

69%

24

92%

117

80%

7

27 19

90%

43

88%

14

93%

25

71%

18

69%

119

82%

8

28 19

90%

43

88%

10

71%

32

91%

23

88%

127

87%

9

30 19

90%

37

76%

15

100%

27

77%

17

65%

115

79%

10

31 19

90%

46

94%

15

100%

34

97%

23

88%

137

94%

11

32 20

95%

48

98%

13

87%

34

97%

23

88%

138

95%

12

33 21

100%

41

84%

13

87%

31

89%

25

96%

131

90%

13

34 19

90%

48

98%

14

93%

32

91%

18

69%

131

90%

14

35 21

100%

94% 49

100% 88% 14

100% 93% 35

100% 90% 26

100% 87%

145

99%

90%

15

1 18

86%

37

76%

13

87%

27

77%

22

85%

117

80%

16

2 21

100%

47

96%

14

93%

32

91%

23

88%

137

94%

17

3 20

95%

46

94%

13

87%

33

94%

23

88%

135

92%

18

4 19

90%

45

92%

14

93%

31

89%

24

92%

133

91%

19

5 21

100%

46

94%

13

87%

35

100%

26

100%

141

97%

20

6 14

67%

33

67%

11

73%

24

53%

25

96%

107

73%

21

7 15

71%

38

78%

11

73%

35

100%

23

88%

122

84%

22

8

8

38%

12

24%

3

20%

12

34%

15

58%

50

34%

23

9 18

95%

18

58%

12

80%

24

69%

0%

72

60%

24

10 16

84%

83% 18

58% 74% 10

67% 76% 14

40% 75%

0% 87%

58

48%

75%

25

15

71%

24

49%

11

73%

20

57%

12

46%

82

56%

26

13 19

90%

38

78%

9

60%

34

97%

26

100%

126

86%

27

12 20

95%

30

61%

11

73%

30

86%

22

85%

113

77%

28

16

76%

83% 34

69% 64% 11

73% 70% 26

74% 79% 14

54% 71%

101

69%

72%

29

14 21

100%

16

33%

13

87%

24

69%

17

65%

91

62%

30

15 21

100%

45

92%

14

93%

35

100%

24

92%

139

95%

31

16 18

86%

40

82%

14

93%

29

51%

22

85%

123

84%

32

17 18

86%

40

80%

10

67%

20

57%

20

77%

108

74%

33

18

7

33%

81%

8

16% 60%

4

29% 74%

8

23% 60%

6

23% 68%

33

23%

68%

# students

21

49

15

35

26

146


95

Student responses from later sections are less satisfactory. There is a suspicion that test fatigue has depressed the results from the end of the instrument. To investigate this further, the sections from the instrument will be rotated in the next administration to put the basic knowledge questions at the end. The changes in numbering and questions are notated in a second column using a smaller font. These are the numbers used in the attached version of the instrument. Of the questions assessing students' understanding of the nature of science (Outcome 2), questions 20, 22, 23, and 24 had noticeably lower scores. Questions 22 and 23 included wording which was misinterpreted by students. These questions have been rewritten to eliminate this problem. Though questions 20 and 24 were modified slightly, the instructors

9

10

0

11

13

12

14


96

judged them to be fundamentally sound. As a response instructors will need to give additional attention to

• the nature of scientific theory and

• prediction and empirical verification in scientific investigation in our physical science courses. Student's demonstrated ability to read and interpret general science articles was depressingly low. One of the questions (33) seemed to confuse students and has been rewritten. The remaining questions seem to be sound. The high error rate may be a result of test fatigue as these questions require careful reading appear at the end of the exam. The revised instrument has moved the questions requiring the most careful reading forward to reduce this effect. Students responses related to the interaction of faith and science were likewise troubling. One of the questions related to the faith-science relationship (25) could be interpreted on multiple levels. This resulted in confusing responses. A second question (27) was deemed to be too narrow to supply helpful information about our students. The two questions have been replaced by a single question that asks students to identify the position on the relationship of faith and science with which they most identify. The brunt of assessment in this area will be born by the essay question. Unfortunately, after addressing the other assessment data, insufficient time remained to properly review the essays as a whole. While instructors have reviewed the responses from the students in their own classes, area instructors have not discussed the results. III. Next Steps The next area assessment is scheduled for 2014-2015. Data should be collected in the prior year. In the meantime, the following should be addressed.

1. More attention needs to be given to the issues of a. the nature of scientific theory and b. prediction and empirical verification in scientific investigation.

2. At least one area instructor has serious reservations about the use the NSF questions to assess general student knowledge of the physical sciences. In part this concern stems from the fact that the course in questions deals with a completely different set of questions than the NSF instrument.

3. Particular attention should be paid to the questions 14 - 18 used to gage students'

abilities to read and interpret general science articles. If the reordering of the sections does not produce significantly better results, some instructional changes will be required.

4. A plan needs to be established for more effective processing of the essays related to

the interaction of science with faith and societal issues.


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Physical Science Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Questions (Revised 4/12/2010)

Sometimes a more sophisticated grasp of a subject leads a person to more nuanced approach to what others might view as a simple question. Since we are interested in the level of your understanding, you are encouraged to identify the answer that you think is most accurate, supplying a brief explanation in those cases when you suspect your answer might be atypical.

1) True or False: Science makes generalizations from a large number of observations.

2) True or False: An important aspect of a scientific theory is its testability (certain outcomes to experiments could prove it wrong).

3) True or False: The scientific method does not require experimental results to support

a theory.

4) True or False: A hypothesis is an initial attempt to explain observations systematically.

5) True or False: An experiment that does not produce the predicted results is flawed

and the results always should be discarded.

6) Which of the following statements best describes a scientific theory? a. A highly tentative form of scientific knowledge with little evidence to

support it. b. One of the highest forms of scientific knowledge with a great deal of

evidence to support it. c. An initial guess that a scientist makes in order to understand a particular

phenomenon. d. Science is concerned only with facts, and theories have no place in

science.

7) Which of the following statements most closely characterizes scientific work? a. Modern science can be developed based on pure logic without reliance

on experiments. b. Science can address questions concerning ultimate meaning and morality. c. Science relies primarily on the intuition of scientists. d. Science relies on observation and experiment to support ideas.

8) Which of the following best describes a scientific law (such as the gas laws)?

a. Scientific laws represent absolute truth and once established have no exceptions.

b. Scientific laws are generalizations made from observations and have great predictive power.

c. Scientific laws provide an initial guess as to the way the universe operates.


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9) Give an example of the physical law of “conservation of energy” in action. (This is not a question about reducing energy consumption.)

10) Give an example of a prediction made by a scientific theory and its empirical

confirmation. 11) Which of the following most closely describes your view of the interaction of

faith and science when there seems to be conflict between the two? a. When they conflict I generally believe the answer from faith is correct

and the answer from science is wrong. b. When they conflict I generally believe that the answer from science is

correct and the answer from faith is wrong. c. I believe faith and science address totally different realms (spiritual vs.

physical) so they can peacefully coexist. d. I believe faith and science can and should be integrated to allow each

to inform and strengthen the other.

12) True or false: From the beginning of science until the present, many scientists were also devoted in their faith and supportive of the church.

13) True or False: The writers intended the Bible to be read as a scientifically accurate text.


99

Consider the following graph, which shows the levels of carbon dioxide (an important greenhouse gas) in our atmosphere.

14) Which of the following statements best describes the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide between 1750 and the present?

a. The amount of carbon dioxide has doubled. b. The amount of carbon dioxide has increased by a factor of five. c. The amount of carbon dioxide has increased by 5 %. d. The amount of carbon dioxide has increased by 35%.

15) Which of the following statements best describes the rate of change in atmospheric

carbon dioxide between 1750 and the present? a. The amount of carbon dioxide is increasing at a constant rate. b. The amount of carbon dioxide is decreasing at an increasing rate. c. The amount of carbon dioxide is increasing at an increasing rate. d. The amount of carbon dioxide is increasing at a decreasing rate.


100

Read the following article from the New York Times Science pages.

New Ways to Store Solar Energy for Nighttime and Cloudy Days

MATTHEW L. WALD

Published: April 15, 2008

Solar power, the holy grail of renewable energy, has always faced the problem of how to store the energy captured from the sun’s rays so that demand for electricity can be met at night or whenever the sun is not shining.

The difficulty is that electricity is hard to store. Batteries are not up to efficiently storing energy on a large scale. A different approach being tried by the solar power industry could eliminate the problem.

The idea is to capture the sun’s heat. Heat, unlike electric current, is something that industry knows how to store cost-effectively. For example, a coffee thermos and a laptop computer’s battery store about the same amount of energy, said John S. O’Donnell, executive vice president of a company in the solar thermal business, Ausra. The thermos costs about $5 and the laptop battery $150, he said, and “that’s why solar thermal is going to be the dominant form.”

Solar thermal systems are built to gather heat from the sun, boil water into steam, spin a turbine and make power, as existing solar thermal power plants do — but not immediately. The heat would be stored for hours or even days, like water behind a dam.

A plant that could store its output could pick the time to sell the production based on expected price, as wheat farmers and cattle ranchers do. Ausra, of Palo Alto, Calif., is making components for plants to which thermal storage could be added, if the cost were justified by higher prices after sunset or for production that could be realistically promised even if the weather forecast was iffy. Ausra uses Fresnel lenses, which have a short focal length but focus light intensely, to heat miles of black-painted pipe with a fluid inside.

A competitor a step behind in signing contracts, but with major corporate backing, plans a slightly different technique in which adding storage seems almost trivial. It is a “power tower,” a little bit like a water tank on stilts surrounded by hundreds of mirrors that tilt on two axes, one to follow the sun across the sky in the course of the day and the other in the course of the year. In the tower and in a tank below are tens of thousands of gallons of molten salt that can be heated to very high temperatures and not reach high pressure.

“You take the energy the sun is putting into the earth that day, store it and capture it, put it into the reservoir, and use it on demand,” said Terry Murphy, president and chief executive of SolarReserve, a company backed in part by United Technologies, the Hartford conglomerate.

Power plants are typically designed with a heat production system matched to their electric generators. Mr. Murphy sees no reason why his should. His design is for a power tower that can supply 540 megawatts of heat. At the high temperatures it could achieve, that would produce 250 megawatts of electricity, enough to run a fair-size city.

It might make more sense to produce a smaller quantity and run well into the evening or around the clock or for several days when it is cloudy, he said.


101

At Black & Veatch, a builder of power plants, Larry Stoddard, the manager of renewable energy consulting, said that with a molten salt design, “your turbine is totally buffered from the vagaries of the sun.” By contrast, “if I’ve got a 50 megawatt photovoltaic plant, covering 300 acres or so, and a large cloud comes over, I lose 50 megawatts in something like 100 to 120 seconds,” he said, adding, “That strikes fear into the hearts of utility dispatchers.”

Thermal storage using molten salt can work in a system like Ausra’s, with miles of piping, but if the salt is spread out through a serpentine pipe, rather than held in a heavily insulated tank, it has to be kept warm at night so it does not solidify, among other complications.

A tower design could also allow for operation at higher latitudes or places with less sun. Designers could simply put in bigger fields of mirrors, proponents say. A small start-up, eSolar, is pursuing that design, backed by Google, which has announced a program to try to make renewable electricity for less than the price of coal-fired power.

Mr. Murphy helped build a power tower at a plant in Barstow, Calif., sponsored by the Energy Department in the late ’90s. It ran well, he said, but natural gas, a competing fuel, collapsed in price, and the state had few requirements for renewable power.

“There were not renewable portfolio standards,” Mr. Murphy said. “Nobody cared about global warming, and we weren’t killing people in Iraq.”

16) According to this article, which of the following is the cheaper way to store energy?

a. as heat in a insulated container b. as energy in a battery c. as kinetic energy in a turbine d. none of the above

17) According the article, an important obstacle to overcome in utilizing solar energy is:

a. the lack of solar energy b. the expense of solar energy c. the intermittence of solar energy d. the inability to harness solar energy to make electricity

18) According to the article, one important reason for storing solar energy as heat and later converting it to electricity is:

a. It is easier to convert heat to electricity (in comparison to converting light into electricity).

b. It allows one to produce electricity at night. c. It keeps more people employed. d. None of the above.


102

19) Identify one important scientific issue that affects our society, explain or describe

the issue, and state your opinion on this issue. Use relevant scientific evidence to develop your descriptions of the issue and support your opinion. Address relevant moral, social, and economic issues.

20) Describe your view of the relationship between faith and science and explain why

you hold this view. Identify and explain relevant characteristics of science and faith, supporting and developing your view of their relationship using arguments and examples.


103

21) True or False: A speck containing a thousand atoms would be clearly visible to the naked eye.

22) True or False: All atoms and molecules have mass, even those in air.

23) Which of the following statements best describes light?

a. Light is a form of energy. a. Light is a form of matter. b. Light is not part of the physical world. c. Light is composed of molecules.

24) True or False: Elements/Atoms are the building blocks of all normal matter. 25) True or False: Chemical reactions such as burning destroy matter. 26) True or False: If we truly had the desire, we could build an electric car that would

use its motion recharge itself while driving so that no external energy would be required for its operation.

27) True or False: The distance between earth and distant galaxies is essentially fixed. 28) According to current scientific understanding which of the following most closely

reflects the age of the earth? a. 4 to 5 trillion years old. b. 4 to 5 billion years old. c. 4 to 5 million years old. d. 4 to 5 thousand years old.

29) In your opinion, which of the following most closely reflects the age of the earth? a. 4 to 5 trillion years old. b. 4 to 5 billion years old. c. 4 to 5 million years old. d. 4 to 5 thousand years old.

30) True or False: Lasers work by focusing sound waves. 31) True or False: All radioactivity is human-made. 32) True or False: The center of the earth is very hot. 33) True or False: Electrons are smaller than atoms. 34) True or False: According to most astronomers, the universe began with a big

explosion. 35) Circle the correct answer: Does the Earth go around the Sun or does the Sun go

around the Earth?


104

Rubric for Scoring Physical Sciences Essay Responses

Unacceptable Acceptable Exceptional

Question 19

Articulates a scientific issue affecting society

Names an issue without elaboration.

Names and explains an issue and elaborates with some relevant scientific information.

In addition, addresses the strength of relevant competing scientific claims.

Gives opinion of issue

No opinion stated or stated without connecting to the science.

Opinion is supported with some scientific information.

In addition, provides a careful scientific analysis or addresses social and economic implications

Question 20

Articulates an view of the relationship between faith and science

No view of the relationship between science and faith is articulated or makes general, formulaic statements.

Identifies one or more specific characteristics of science and faith and makes connections.

Develops a meaningful expression of the relationship between science and faith supported by arguments and examples.

Performing and Interpreting the Arts

105

Appendix XV: Area Report – Performing and Interpreting the Arts


In thinking, speaking, and writing students will use 1. Correct language and terminology for varying artistic types, forms, movements. 2. Appropriate methods and processes for analyzing, interpreting, and enjoying

artistic production, including with respect to the Christian faith. In their making and performing students will demonstrate competence in 1. Creative / interpretive methods for artistic production and expressiveness. 2. Physical processes and manifestations necessary for artistic realization and

production and manifestations necessary for artistic realization and production Changes: These outcomes have recently been revised. A previous version was reviewed by the Academic Senate that noted that outcomes did not address any connection between one’s work as an artist and one’s Christian faith. The current outcomes have been revised to address this defect. In addition, while working to process the data from the fall semester (see below), the area faculty realized that the distinction between the first and second pairs of objectives was artificial and unhelpful. Consequently, the separation was removed with the understanding that in some courses is may be assess the first three with a single assignment while in other courses one might use a single assignment to assess the lower three.


On September 22, 2008, area faculty met to review the data that had been collected from sections of ART 001 and MU 021 in the spring of 2008 to assess the first two objectives. This data consisted of pre and post quizzes over vocabulary and capacity to describe an artistic work of the types studied in the courses. Students were presented with a work of art (visual or musical) and asked to identify relevant terms from a list and to offer interpretations and conjectures about the artist’s intentions. These data reflected the work of approximately 35 students in all. In the process preparing to apply the draft rubric, it soon became clear that, for many area faculty, the data was not truly suited to address the issues of greatest concern. Some concerns about the adequacy the approach had been expressed much earlier in the process, but the hope had been that by collecting the data, we would be better equipped to take the next steps. In addition to concerns about the relevance of the data, there was considerable discussion about how to accommodate the various emphases within Performing and Interpreting the Arts courses. This discussion was continued into a second meeting on November 12, 2008. On the basis of these discussions, a revised rubric (attached) and framework for assessment have been developed that will work for the range of courses approved to fulfill Performing and Interpreting the Arts. In particular, the reporting form (attached)


106

will have a place to identify the particular emphasis (lecture, studio or both) of the course. This information will inform the expectations to be met by students in the class. While students in all classes are expected to demonstrate basic proficiency in all areas, students in lecture courses are be expected to demonstrate a higher level of achievement in the use of terminology and interpretive abilities while students in studio-emphasis classes are expected to demonstrate higher levels of artistic expressiveness. The specifics will be determined at our next meeting. A final meeting of area instructors was held on March 1, 2010. Discussion of the Rubric The group discussed whether to simplify the rubric to use only the categories of Unacceptable, Acceptable, and Exemplary. While this initially seemed attractive, the group elected to maintain the current categories since they provide more nuance. The rubric will be modified to more clearly distinguish between Emerging and Developing in the “Use of Terminology” outcome. Maintaining the current categories also provides more flexibility in accommodating the various emphases of courses fulfilling this GE category. Improving learning John Carlander’s work in ART 10 was singled out as providing an exemplary model for both effective instruction and assessment of bona fide student work. The particular characteristics of the assignment were:

1. The assignment was built upon an exercise in which students were called upon to demonstrate their skill in a particular technique (color mixing in this case) according to criteria communicated to the students as part of the assignment.

2. The production assignment was coupled with a reflective exercise in which students were asked to describe their design and production processes and to analyze the results of their efforts. As part of the prompt, students were provided with a list of some 100 terms that had been introduced in the course of the semester. The student responses were evaluated on the basis of their correct choice and use of the supplied (or other appropriate) terms.

This work has resulted in a process that now has strong buy in across the disciplines offering Performing and Interpreting the Arts and has generated some excitement about the way the results might inform future work.

IV. Next Steps Connecting to the Christian Faith None of the surveyed student work demonstrated an engagement with the interplay between art and faith. At this point this lack most likely reflects a failure on the part of the prompts. The difficulty of helping students address this question without clichés was discussed at length. Several draft alternative prompts were floated in the discussion. This is a point to which we will want to return when beginning the next round of assessment.


107

Vocabulary Some of the instruments used to judge students’ use of vocabulary instead called for students to define or select terms. From both assessment and pedagogical points of view, we need to make sure that exercises are assigned that require students to employ disciplinary terms to describe either their own or other’s work.

Question for future discussion Performing and Interpreting the Arts is one of the GE areas often fulfilled off-campus programs such as Europe Semester. Since the program leaders are not always faculty who regularly teach courses carrying Performing and Interpreting the Arts credit, we need to discuss ways of involving those program leaders in discussions of best practice and in the assessment of how well those programs are meeting the area goals.


108

Rubric for Evaluating Performing and Interpreting the Arts Evidence

(0) Nonexistent (1) Emerging (2) Developing (3) Effective

Use of terminology No use of appropriate disciplinary terminology.

Disciplinary terminology is used but ineffectively or inappropriately.

Correct terminology is used but is undeveloped or important considerations are missing

Correct terminology is used in a complete and integrated manner that captures essential elements

Analytic and

interpretive

abilities

The work is described solely in terms of personal reaction.

The work is described in terms of the artist’s possible intent, but without providing evidence.

Specific elements are cited that support a particular interpretation of the artist’s intent. Possible connections with the Christian faith are mentioned but not developed.

The cited elements are critiqued for success of execution and efficacy in achieving the (presumed) desired effect. Significant connections between a work and Christian though are identified and explored.

Demonstration of

artistic

production/

expressiveness

Demonstrates a lack of understanding of principles and elements. No original thinking is evident.

Demonstrates a basic understanding of principles and elements. Work is based on other’s ideas.

Relates principles and elements to artistic work. Applies critical and creative thinking skills to personal work.

Relates understanding of artistic concepts to personal experience and knowledge from other disciplines. Shows originality, creativity, or tries unusual combinations.

Physical processes With guidance, demonstrates

basic skills.

Demonstrates basic skills.

Demonstrates care and skill.

Plans work carefully. Demonstrates advanced skills


109

Summary of Performing and Interpreting the Arts Evidence

Course ID and Name: Semester This course is primarily Lecture Studio Both Number of Students: Briefly describe the student work on which this report is based. (Please attach copies of the prompts. If relevant, explain the specific criteria used to classify the student work.) Where are copies of the student work archived? (You may send electronic copies of the work to the Office of the Provost to be archived.)

For each of the student learning outcomes, please enter the number of student work samples that were classified into each of the categories.

(0) Nonexistent (1) Emerging (2) Developing (3) Effective

Use of terminology

Analytic and interpretive abilities

Demonstration of artistic production/ expressiveness

Physical processes

General Observations/Comments:

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110

Appendix XVI: Area Report – Thinking Globally


Students will be able to 6. Describe differences between at least two cultures (one of which is non-western)

and can offer explanations or historical contexts for those differences. 7. Recognize the value and significance of other cultures without romanticizing. 8. Identify ways in which cultures influence formulations of knowledge. They will

identify ways in which they personally are affected. 9. Recognize global inequities, injustices, and/or inter-religious issues and commit

themselves to thoughtful, concrete responses growing out of their Christian faith. 10. Recognize the limits of their global understanding.


Instructors in Thinking Globally courses for the 2007-2008 academic year collected approximately 250 student essays in response to the following prompt:

Write a two to three page essay on the subject of the ways in which this course has better equipped you to think globally. Focus on the changes that have occurred in your understanding and thinking. Your essay should be informed by your reflections on the following themes:

• How has your knowledge of global issues expanded?

• How has your appreciation of other cultures’ ways of thinking and world views changed?

• In what ways are you better equipped to think about your own assumptions and predispositions?

• How will what you have learned in this course affect your future choices and actions?

Copies of these essays were collected in the Provost’s office where they are currently stored in paper form. We expect to scan them to electronic archives shortly. A sampling of these essays was used for inter-rater reliability training at a February 13, 2009 meeting of area instructors. At the conclusion of the meeting, each instructor received a set of additional responses to evaluate. These sets were constructed from 60 randomly selected essays from across the offered courses. To facilitate consistency checking, two copies were made of each selected essay. The copies were randomly separated into eight-essay sets which were distributed to instructors at the end of the session. A total of 71 sets of scores were returned to the provost office. These scored essays reflect the work of students from 12 sections representing 10 distinct classes and 9 different instructors. The distribution of rankings and the mean for each of the five areas is found in the following table.

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111

Summary of Thinking Globally Data

Percentage of scores at Level

SLO 0 1 2 3

Mean Score

I 10 34 28 28 1.72 II 3 24 51 23 1.92 III 1 27 46 25 1.96 IV 21 18 35 25 1.63 V 41 23 18 18 1.11

Average % in level

15 (9)

25 (26)

36 (40)

24 (25)

Average Excluding SLO V in parentheses

I Cultural Differences II Value and Significance III Formulation of Knowledge IV Issues and Responses V Limits of Understanding

Expanded definitions of the categories can be found in the Thinking Globally Learning Outcomes found at the beginning of this area report.

It is important to note that Area V: Limits of Understanding was added as an outcome after discussions at the fall 2008 Faculty Retreat. Since Area V was not an identified outcome at the time the assessment was conducted, the 2007-2008 prompt did not explicitly invite students to address the issue. It is therefore to be expected that student responses frequently did not speak to the area. When this category is dropped from the calculations, the average percentage of students performing at level 0 falls to less than 9%.

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Disrtibution of Performance

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

I II III IV V

Area

Percentage

in Level

Level 0

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

The previous Thinking Globally assessment study, conducted in fall 2007 using work from spring 2007, produced widely varying results. At the time, it was conjectured that much of the variation was the result of differences in the degree of seriousness with which students completed the assignment. In addition, students may not have been clear about how to address the question. In response, the area instructors changed the prompt to the one displayed at the beginning of this report and adopted a more uniform context for using it. Specifically, the work was consistently incorporated into students’ grade. We decided to gather another set of data using the revised prompt. Depending on subsequent results, we would either make additional changes to the prompt and/or to the courses and do additional assessment or, if we were satisfied with the results, we would redirect our assessment energies to other areas of the GE curriculum.

Previous Prompt Giving particular attention to this course, in what ways and to what extent has your Westmont education to this point better equipped you to think globally? Please provide specific examples from your own experience and study which have contributed to your intellectual development in this area. What do you foresee as resultant impacts on your future choices and actions?

The prompt and procedural changes seem to have been effective in reducing course to course variability of effort as the current set of essays exhibit a much more consistent level of effort even when the quality of the response varies. In addition, whether as a result of changes in teaching strategies or as a consequence of taking greater care to call forth students’ best efforts, there are no classes with exceptionally low scores in the current data. In the current data, (excluding results from Area V) only one area mean in one class fell below 1.0. (The meaningfulness of this score is highly questionable since

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only three evaluated papers were returned for this class.) The most recent results are in sharp contrast with the 2007 results in which over 25% of the class area means fell below 1.0 with most of the sub-1.0 scores hovering around 0.5. In addition to the summary information in the table above, the data was reviewed for patterns of variation due to evaluators and courses/sections. The scores of pairs of evaluators who were given the same papers were compared. In addition, the average scores of the evaluators were compared in each of the categories. In general, the evaluators seemed to be relatively consistent in the way that papers were classified, but there is room for improvement. Both methods of analysis were consistent in identifying one pair of evaluators that scored papers more harshly and another pair that scored papers rather more generously. Additional training should be planned for in the next assessment cycle. Mean scores in each area were computed for each of the classes. While the total number of papers read from any one particular course was small enough that strong conclusions are not warranted, instructors were informed when one or more area averages fell into the top or bottom 15%. Those with scores in the bottom 15% were encouraged to review additional papers to check on the reliability of the reported results and to consider what steps they might take to improve their students’ development. Instructors in with top 15% scores will be asked to share what they are doing at a general meeting of area instructors. It was conjectured that humanities courses such as World Literature and World Art would not prove as effective in helping students develop a global perspective as Social Science courses would be. This did not prove to be the case. In fact, the highest average course scores were found among these classes. A meeting of area instructors was held September 9, 2009 to discussion the combined results.

III. Next Steps

In 2007, a target average score of 1.5 was set for areas I (Cultural Differences), II (Value and Significance) and IV (Issues and Responses). These values were selected since level-3 scores reflect performance that goes beyond the instruction that takes place in the Thinking Globally courses. It represents a target of personal synthesis and application toward which we hope to have launched our students. Since area III (Formulation of Knowledge) involves rather more sophisticated processing, we expected scores in this area to be somewhat lower and would be content with a mean score of 1.25. In the 2007 assessment cycle, this criterion was met (barely) in only one area. In the current assessment cycle, the standard was met in each of the established areas. While the mean for the newly added area V (Limits of Understanding) fell below 1.5, this seems to be largely due to the fact than the prompt did not elicit a relevant response from

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114

students. Given this evidence of area success, we the next planned Thinking Globally assessment will take place in the 2013-2014 academic year. One additional meeting was held on September 9, 2009 to bring closure to the current round of assessment. The meeting had two agenda items beyond reviewing the final report.

1. Instructors with high scores in an area shared what they are doing that might have contributed to their success. There seemed to be some relationship between students’ performing field work, but the results were somewhat tenuous. No clear generalizations could be drawn from the exercise.

2. There is a sense among at least some faculty teaching in this area that the current

prompt is artificial. As a result, the assessment essay typically is not assigned as an integral part of the course. Consequently, students may not take the exercise as seriously as other assignments. In addition, the time spent administering the particular assessment instrument may come at the expense of other work in the course. Faculty teaching Thinking Globally courses had a very preliminary discussion of ways in which the assessment process can be more naturally integrated into the courses by making use of existing work that students are already producing. Area faculty were encouraged to experiment with alternative approaches in advance of the next area assessment. The conversation will be resumed in the fall of 2012 and will form the starting point for data gathering for the area review to be conducted the following academic year.

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Appendix XVII: Area Report – Language

I. Learning Outcomes2

Students will be able to 1. Understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics. 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between some of the practices

and perspectives of the culture studied. 3. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of language by comparing the

language they study and their own. 4. Use the language both within and beyond the classroom setting. 5. Articulate the importance of learning another language in order to engage

people unlike them in terms that affirm others as persons created in God’s image.

From the current 2010 Report on Language Fluency: Oral Component

A. Summary for the Results of Oral Interview at the Various Levels. To continue to assess the area of language fluency, we decided to examine student oral production of lower-division language courses. One additional assessment for language fluency was to administer oral exams/interviews based on the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) guidelines to students in SP 1 and SP 3 at the end of the semester. The oral proficiency guidelines, included in Appendix C, allowed us to evaluate student oral production in a uniform manner. Below we are including the statistical results of the 2008 to 2010 interviews as a whole.

Spanish 1 ACTFL Speaking Guidelines Levels

Spring 2009 (23 Students)

Fall 2009 (41 Students)


Totals (114 Students)

Total Percentages (99.97%)

Novice-Low 0 1 0 1 .87%

Novice-Mid 3 10 3 16 14.03%

Novice-High 2 15 7 24 21.05%

Intermediate-Low

4 9 16 29 25.43%

Intermediate-Mid

14 6 24 44 38.59 %

2 The first four learning objectives of the Foreign Language GE are based directly on the national criteria set by ACTFL (The American Council of the Teaching of Foreign Languages).

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Spanish 3 ACTFL Speaking Guidelines Levels




Totals (62 Students)


Novice 0 2 0 2 3.22%

Intermediate-Low

0 1 4 5 8.06%

Intermediate-Mid

3 3 6 12 19.35%

Intermediate-High

11 5 2 18 29.03%

Advanced 7 13 4 24 38.71%

Advanced-High 0 0 1 1 1.61%

B. Intepretation of Data: Both professors who taught SP 1 and SP 3 were delighted

with the oral production of the students at the end of the semester. According to the ETS Oral Proficiency Testing Manual by Judith Liskin Gasparro, the length of training to achieve an Intermediate (Mid to High) rating is 240 hours. We have 48.5 contact hours with SP 1 students and two thirds of them are achieving Intermediate proficiency after the first semester. If a student has taken SP 1-3 at Westmont, they have had 144.75 contact hours. Hence, for SP 3 the proficiency level is estimated to be at the Intermediate level. As a department we were very encouraged by student success. According to our results, Westmont students continue to place above the expected norms.

C. Response: For the next year our goal is to implement the oral proficiency testing based on the ACTFL Guidelines for SP 2 and SP 4 and assess the results as well. According to the results For SP 1 and SP 3, we hypothesize that the majority of students finishing Sp 4 will test into Advanced. One drawback to our results is that the students who dropped out of the course are not included in these totals hence the grades seem to be high.

D. Summary of the Results for SP 100: We are implementing strategies that help SP 100 students transition between language acquisition and the assimilation of content for higher order thinking. The skills necessary for critical thinking and research are taught in progressively more complex exercises that culminate in a final paper based on literary analysis. Advanced grammar and a series of compositions lead students from sentence structures to paragraph development and finally to the production of an original text. This is achieved through instruction from both the professor and a librarian as well as peer review and editing.

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Spanish 100

Fall 2009 Grades Total Number of Students: 12


A 1 8.33%

A- 1 8.33%

B+ 4 33.33%

B 4 33.33%

B- 0 0%

C+ 2 16.66%

Research Paper Grades

Total Number of Students: 12

Total Percentages

A 1 8.33%

A- 1 8.33%

B+ 4 33.33%

B 4 33.33%

B- 0 0%

C+ 2 16.66%

E. Interpretation: The rubric that we used to evaluate student work is included in the

appendix (D). Unfortunately, we did not keep copies of the rubric for individual students’ work. Hence we included the final grade for the essay. As can be gleaned from the table above, every student was capable of writing a critical analysis at the end of the course. This included the following skills: research, use of data bases, use of MLA style, adapting computer programs to the Spanish language, correct use of grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary. By writing a literary analysis they all demonstrated various degrees of critical thinking.

F. Response: As a department, we find the outcomes of this exercise encouraging. Since students write literary analysis for their upper division literature courses, we expect them to continue improving their critical thinking and writing skills in Spanish throughout the department’s curriculum.

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Appendix XVIII: Area Report – Physical Education

Physical Education Assessment Report (2009-2010)

From the Westmont College Catalog: The physical education program is designed to provide instruction and exposure to fitness, skill-based and leisure activities. All students are required to take Fitness for Life and three 1-unit physical activity courses. A wellness-based foundation is laid in the Fitness for Life (FFL), with the additional three activity courses providing reinforcement for a lifetime of physical activity.

Structurally, the PEA program can be divided into three components: The FFL (which is required of all students), Fitness-related activity courses (i.e. pilates, functional training, boot camp, weight training) and Skill-related activity courses (i.e. mountain biking, SCUBA, badminton, tennis, outdoor education, ball room dancing).


The Multi-Year Assessment Plan for the General Ed PEA Department is provided in Appendix A. Seven outcomes were established in total. One outcome was established for the 2007-08 school year and three outcomes were assessed for both the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years. Of these, five pertained to Fit for Life (FFL). Structurally, the PEA program can be divided into three components: The FFL (which is required of all students), Fitness-related activity courses (i.e. pilates, functional training, boot camp, weight training) and Skill-related activity courses (i.e. mountain biking, SCUBA, badminton, tennis, outdoor education, ball room dancing).

Pertaining to Fit for Life, students will

• Be able to write and successfully implement a physical training program.

• Demonstrate improvements in body satisfaction

• Be able to discriminate between healthy and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors Pertaining to fitness-related courses, students will

• Improve in one or more of the five components of fitness: cardiovascular, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition

Pertaining to skill-related courses, students will

• Improve in one or more cognitive, affective or skill-specific components related to successful participation in the sport or activity.

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Fit for Life.

A Fit for Life class taught in the Spring of 2009 school year evaluated the effectiveness of the computerized nutritional analysis project required of all students. 72% of the students did not fall within the USDA nutritional guidelines for carbohydrates, 40% of the students did not fall within the USDA nutritional guidelines for fats and 26% were outside the guidelines for protein. All students (100%) decided that a change in their diet was necessary. Written student comments on this exercise are provided in Appendix B. Fit for Life instructors in fall 2009 and 2010 evaluated changes in three (four in the Spring) fitness categories demonstrated over a nine week period. Four FFL classes were assessed, totaling 133 students. For all classes, changes were noted in: one minute sit-up test, push-ups and flexibility. For the Spring 2010 FFL classes one additional measure was added – the 12 min run/walk. The college’s track was not available for use in the Fall 2009 semester. A summary of the FFL fitness data is provided below.

Summary of FFL Fitness Data

Courses Evaluated

12 min run/walk Sit-ups Push-ups

Flexibility (sit-reach)

Fall 2009 PEA 032-2 (n=42) +13.8 +13% +14% Fall 2009 PEA 032-3 (n=42) +14.2% +16.6% +24% SP 2010 PEA 032-1 (n=33) +3.4% +13.4% +7.5% +10% SP 2010 PEA 032-4 (n=16) +10% +3.7% +14.7% +8.8%

Fitness improvement in the area of 10% or greater is typical and expected for a college students undergoing a nine week conditioning program. In the spring of 2010 two FFL classes were used to determine if Planks might be a better assessment tool than timed sit-ups as a measure of muscular endurance. Planks are where you support your upper body on your elbows while the rest of the body is rigid and straight. Proficiency is based on how long the student can maintain this position without breaking form.

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A total of 59 students from the two FFL classes completed all four scores (Sit-ups Pre, Sit-ups Post, Planks Pre, Planks Post). The resulting scores were as follows:

Comparison Sit-ups vs. Planks

Sit-ups Pre Sit-ups Post Planks Pre Planks Post

AVG 36.3 40.2 73.9 76.7

S.D. 10.68 9.14 35.23 34.78 Sit-up improvement over the duration of the class demonstrated +7.4% improvement and the improvement using the Plank evaluation was at +3.8%. The large variance (S.D.) suggests very little correlation between the two techniques. This could be due to the lack of specific training around the Plank technique. Based on the above data, further evaluative work is needed before we can justify replacing the sit-ups test with planks.

Fitness Related Assessment.

With respect to assessing a fitness related course, PEA 040 (Functional Training) was evaluated for it’s effectiveness in eight fitness measures: the straight leg raise, shoulder mobility, trunk stability push ups, in line split squats, rotary stability, overhead squat, hurdle step, vertical jump. A summary of the fitness related course data is provided below. A rubric describing the scoring of each measure as well as the raw data is provided in Appendix C.

Summary of Fitness Related Course Data

Course Evaluated

Straight Leg Raise

Shoulder Mobility

Trunk Stability Push Up

In Line Lunge

Functional Training (SP 2010 PEA 040) (n=21) (+20.5%) (+19%) (17.6%) (+8.7%)

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Measures Cont. Rotary Stability

Deep Squat

Hurdle step

Vertical Jump

Functional Training (SP 2010 PEA 040) (n=21) (+21%) (+38%) (+67%) (+12.5%)

A benchmark of 10% improvement over a nine week period is quite typical for students of this age. Since the data was collected is over a 15 week period it would be expected that the improvement would be greater than 10%.

Skill Related Assessment.

With respect to evaluating a skill related course, PEA 050 (Mountain Biking) was evaluated for it’s effectiveness in five measures: The bench climb is performed in Parma Park and is a very steady steep climb. This test requires a combination of conditioning, balance and forward positioning on the bike. The balance test requires a high degree of balance and discipline against oversteering. The bunny hop is a standard mountain biking technique designed to clear obstacles along the trail. It requires the rider to have both wheels airborne at the same time. The ledge technique is used to “climb” over obstacles and requires the rider to “pull up” the front wheel and “pick up” the back wheel. The final test is a competency evaluation assessing a student’s ability to repair a flat tire. A summary of skill attainment is provided table below and the following chart shows the time within the course when a skill was accomplished.

Summary of Skill Related Course Data

Course Evaluated

Bench Climb Balance Test Bunny Hop

Clearing Ledge

Flat Repair

Mountain Biking (F 2009 PEA 050)

(n=8) (+67%) (+100%) (+89%)

(+100%) (+100%)

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Mountain Biking PEA 050

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

BENCH CLIMB BALANCE TEST BUNNY HOP CLEARING

LEDGE

FLAT REPAIR

SKILL ATTAINMENT

Count

10-Sep

17-Sep

18-Oct

1-Nov

3-Dec

With respect to the skills assessed in mountain biking, a benchmark of 80% attainment has been set. The bench climb falls short of the established benchmark,.

V. Next Steps A meeting of area instructors was held September 7, 2010. The goal of the meeting was to discuss the results of our work with particular attention given to: 1. The clarity of the objectives and the rubric. (Are we capturing what we want to

capture in a relatively efficient way?) 2. Our satisfaction with the level of development exhibited by this work. 3. What we plan to accomplish in our future assessment efforts.

The following points for future discussion and action were identified at the meeting. 1. In referring to the Multi-year assessment plan (see appendix A), we have yet to implement the assessment for measuring body satisfaction in FFL. 2. We still lack a standardized system of assessing our PEA offerings. Within the fitness related offerings a reporting method needs to be established whereby we can note changes within the five fitness domains. Within the PEA skill related offerings we need to establish a reporting method flexible enough to encompass the various skills and their appropriate benchmarks.

3. As a department, we are interested in developing a test instrument for all PEA courses that tend to assess objective measures. In addition, our department was interested in developing a test instrument for courses that measure more in the subjective domain.

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MULTI-YEAR ASSESSMENT PLA

N

GENERAL ED PEA Department

Outcomes

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

Means of Assessment

1. Test instrument established.

X

Six year

review

Test instrument underwent two permutations

and attained approval by GEN ED Committee.

2. Seven PEA courses evaluated.

X

Course professors used PEA test instrument to

evaluated activity courses.

3. Diet analysis evaluated in FFL.

X

Student responses from computerized nutrition

analysis lab were evaluated.

4. FFL pilot study conducted regarding

shaping a better body image.

X

Professor Milner to extract results from

student evaluations.

5. Measurement of core strength introduced

in FFL (planks).

X

Two FFL classes will add planks to testing

form

at. Norm

s will be calculated against sit-

ups.

6. Changed text in FFL.

X

The new

text Christian Paths to W

ellness will

be reviewed and evaluated at semester’s end

by all instructors.

7. Develop assessm

ent for measuring body

satisfaction for FFL.

X

Questionnaire generated from the body image

ideals questionnaire by Cash, Thomas F. –

Body Image Research Consulting.

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Fitness for Life Assessment:

Using Nutritional Analysis to Determine Lifestyle

Changes The sample size was one of the three classes taught during the 2008 Spring Semester.

1) How do students’ dietary habits compare with the USDA Guidelines?

• 72% of the students did not fall within the USDA nutritional guidelines for carbohydrates. • 40% of the students did not fall within the USDA nutritional guidelines for fats. • 26% of the students did not fall within the USDA nutritional guidelines for protein.

2) What percentage of students decided to make a change in their diet as a result of the nutritional analysis

assignment?

• 100% of students decided that a change in their diet was necessary.

The following are excerpts from student’s reflections on

their nutritional analysis:

• “I should have a more consistent consumption of vegetables and fruits in order to keep a healthy diet.”

• “I need to cut back on fats, oils, and sweets. I definitely don’t ‘use sparingly’

as the pyramid recommends.” • “The amount of sodium that I eat is somewhat worrying as it averaged out to

250% of what I actually should be eating.” • “Based on the results, I need to cut back on Fats, Oils, and Sweets. This could

include fried foods such as tater tots and French fries, as well as drinks, including Brisk Raspberry iced tea, that I choose which is too sweet.”

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• “I need to increase my carbs. I can focus more on beans, potatoes, and cereal. I need more fiber and . . . those foods will give me carbohydrates.”

• “I need to add some dairy to my diet because I only had .7 servings when 2-3

are suggested.” • “I need to cut back on the fats, oils, and sweets category. I far surpassed what

was normal and recommended. This could be why my cholesterol intake was so extraordinarily high.”

• “It would be beneficial to me to eat some more fruit throughout the day as

snacks and incorporate more vegetables into my meals.”

• “I noticed that my calcium intake is low, so I am going to try to make an effort to drink more milk and eat foods that are high in calcium so that I can get that ‘bone in the bank.’”

• “The food that I need to cut back on the most is fats. I am going to try to be

more careful about not adding fats such as butter, oil, cheese, and other such things when I don’t have to.”

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Functional Training Rubric for Evaluating the Fitness Measures

Score

3

2

1

0

Upper torso is parallel

with tibia or toward

vertical

Upper torso is parallel with tibia or

toward vertical

Tibia and upper torso are not

parallel.

Femur is below

horizontal.

Femur is below horizontal.

Femur is not below horizontal.

Knees are aligned over

feet.

Knees are not aligned over feet.

Knees are not aligned over feet.

Deep Squat

Dowel is aligned over

feet/body.

Dowel is aligned over feet/body.

Lumbar flexion is noted.

Hips, knees, ankles

remain aligned in the

sagittal plane.

Alignment lost between hips, knees,

ankles.

Contact between foot and hurdle

occurs.

Minimal to no

movement is noted in

lumbar spine.

Movement is noted in lumbar spine.

Loss of balance is noted.

Hurdle Step

Dowel and hurdle

remain parallel.

Dowel and hurdle do not remain

parallel.

Minimal to no torso

movement is noted.

Movement is noted in torso.

Loss of balance is noted.

Feet remain in sagittal

plane on the 2x6.

Feet do not remain in sagittal plane.

In Line Lunge

Knee touches the 2x6

behind heel of lead

foot.

Knee does not touch behind heel of

lead foot.

Shoulder Mobility

Fists are within one

hand length

Fists are within 1.5 hand lengths.

Fists are not within 1.5 hand

lengths

The athlete will

receive a score of

"0" if pain is

associated with any

portion of the test or

if pain is noted

during the

associated

secondary test. A

medical

professional or

sports medicine

doctor should

perform

a thorough

evaluation of the

painful area(s).

QuickTime™ and a

TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

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Shoulder Stability Test:

If pain then------------------------------------------------------------------------------>

Active Straight Leg

Raise

Dowel/doorway resides

between m

idthigh and

ASIS.

Dowel/doorway resides between

midthigh and jointline.

Dowel/doorway resides below

jointline.

Male: 1 rep with

thumbs aligned with

forehead.

Male: 1 rep with thumbs aligned with

chin.

Female: unable to perform

1 rep in

modified position.

Female: 1 rep with

thumbs aligned with

chin.

Female: 1 rep with thumbs aligned with

clavicle.

Male: unable to perform

1 rep in

modified position.

Trunk Stability

Push Up

Lumbar Extension

Test: If pain then------------------------------------------------------------------------------>

Athlete perform

s 1 rep

with torso parallel to

the board and

elbow/knee in line with

board.

Athlete perform

s 1 opposites rep with

torso parallel to the board and

elbow/knee in line with board.

Athlete is unable to perform

opposites rep.

Rotary Stability

Lumbar Flexion Test:

If pain then------------------------------------------------------------------------------>

Adapted from "High Performance Sports

Conditioning"


128

Appendix XIX: Area Report – Serving Society; Enacting Justice


Students will identify

• Theological motivations for service.

• The needs of the population being served.

• The effects and affects resulting from those needs.

• Causes of those needs, such as involuntary circumstances, individual choices and structural injustices.

Students will reflect on

• How they have been affected by their experience (for example, changes in beliefs, attitudes or values).

• How their experiences might inform their calling to discipleship, citizenship and future service.


Instructors in spring 2009 Serving Society; Enacting Justice courses evaluated selected student work according to the attached rubric. A total of 94 papers were evaluated. This represents student work from 12 different courses offered by 9 distinct instructors. Copies of most of the papers are available electronically in the Office of the Provost. A few papers have been archived in individual departments.

Summary of spring 2009 Serving Society Data

Summary Lacking UD Developing Developed

Initial Theological Motivations 48% 21% 30% 1% Population Needs 23% 54% 24% 0% Effects and Affects 30% 42% 28% 0% Causes 23% 48% 30% 0%

Final Theological Motivations 11% 14% 42% 33% Population Needs 5% 15% 49% 31% Effects and Affects 6% 18% 44% 32% Causes 6% 17% 43% 34%

Personal Changes 3% 14% 36% 47% Future Implications 5% 19% 43% 34%


129

Initial Distribution

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Theological

Motivations

Population

Needs

Effects and

Affects

Causes

Lacking

UD

Developing

Developed

Final Distribution

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Theological

Motivations

Population

Needs

Effects and

Affects

Causes Personal

Changes

Future

Implications

At this first stage of review, instructors were asked to assess the student work in their own classes. Presumably, has provided a less stressful context in which to evaluate the effectiveness of the rubric, check alignment between course activities and the leaning outcomes and make initial adjustments to both. Clearly, this approach restricts the types of conclusions that can be drawn from the data at this stage. Only tentative and very general conclusions are warranted until the process has been more refined and we have implemented an alternate method of review involving cross-course evaluation of student work to ensure inter-rater reliability. The initial results are encouraging, however, and seem to give evidence that our students are experiencing significant growth as the result of their Serving Society; Enacting Justice placements and reflections.


130

A meeting of area instructors was held Sept. 16, 2009. The goal of the meeting was to discuss the results of our work with particular attention given to

1. The clarity of the objectives and the rubric. (Are we capturing what we want to capture in a relatively efficient way?)

2. The level of consistency in scoring. (How much inter-rater reliability training should we plan for the next round of assessment?)

3. Our satisfaction with the level of development exhibited by this work. 4. Initial discussion of benchmarks.

The following points for future discussion and action were identified at the meeting.

1. It is not completely clear what we expect from student responses addressing their theological motivations. The group was in good agreement as to the level of the student’s response for the papers we had time to review during the meeting. (Everyone agreed that it was on the border between developing and developed with a majority leaning toward developed.)

2. There is some frustration between the amount of effort expended on theological motivations in some classes compared to the lack of or low level of student response to that portion of the prompt.

3. Many instructors noted a general drop off in the level of thoughtfulness of responses and journal entries toward the end of the term.

4. The group found exceedingly high correlation between the ratings for “effects and affects” and “causes.” Consequently, the rubric will be rewritten to merge those two categories and to open space for students who are working with structural issues.

5. Similar observations were made about the categories of “personal change” and “future implications.” These categories will be merged in future versions of the rubric.

6. Due to the nature of some of the courses, it is awkward to conduct the early measurement of the “Identification” category. We will continue to do the early assessment where feasible, but we recognize that the most important measure is that which reflects students’ development at the end of the course.

7. We need to have additional discussion about the “theological motivations” category and conduct significant inter-rater training before the next round of evaluation.

8. At first look, the results seem encouraging, but we need to establish benchmarks for student performance.

9. Additional data was gatherd in the fall semester to be reviewed in the spring. An additional meeting was held on March 22, 2010 to review the results of the fall 2009 assessment work in the GE area of Serving Society; Enacting Justice using the rewritten rubric. Ten of the fourteen faculty who offer course in this area were present. Two of the absent instructors teach at the Urban program in San Francisco and so are not available to attend these meetings.


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Summary of fall 2009 Serving Society Data

Summary Lacking UD Developing Developed Initial

Theological Motivations 23% 50% 27% 0%

Population Needs 22% 50% 28% 0%

Causes 18% 65% 18% 0%

Final

Theological Motivations 5% 17% 58% 37%

Population Needs 0% 13% 65% 32%

Causes 0% 13% 53% 37%

Personal Changes 0% 12% 22% 43%

Initial Distribution

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Theological

Motivations

Population

Needs

Causes

Lacking

UD

Developing

Developed

Final Distribution

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Theological

Motivations

Population

Needs

Causes Personal

Changes


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In general, there was agreement that the courses went well. At least one instructor noted that students in the current (spring 2010) term seem to be less well prepared to engage the relevant issues with a lack of developed theological motivations for engaging in service being particularly notable. Inter-rater reliability: To ensure that the rubric was being applied in a consistent manner, the group individually evaluated several randomly selected papers and compared the results. The ensuing discussion made clear that, with only couple of exceptions which turned out to be related to an instructor who knew the student being disappointed about the gap between student capacity and performance, everyone present was in good agreement as to how the essays should be rated. Too often, however, everyone was in agreement that a paper’s rating fell on the boundary between two rubric levels. This seemed to be a result, not of disagreement about the strength of the student work, but rather a deficiency in the rubric. Specifically, the boundaries between levels were not a clear as would be helpful. In an effort to address this problem, the rubric has again been revised to make the levels more distinct. Student performance: In each outcome category, 80% or more of students’ final work was judged to fall into the ‘Developing’ or ‘Developed’ levels. This result was judged to be more than satisfactory. Indeed, the Serving Society; Enacting Justice faculty were of the opinion that significantly higher percentages should be met with suspicion. We expect that at least 10% of our student require several more years of life experience before they will be equipped to process the experience at more than an ‘Undeveloped’ level. III. Next Steps Common instrument: The idea of using a common instrument across all of the courses that fulfill Serving Society; Enacting Justice was introduced. After some discussion the group decided that the experiences across the courses were too varied to use a common prompt or instrument. This is particularly true for the more important, final assessment in the course. It was agreed that instructors will continue to use assessment instruments tailored to the individual course experiences and will usie the common rubric to evaluate the students’ responses. Faculty teaching Serving Society; Enacting Justice courses will continue to monitor student performance and collect data using the revised rubric. The next review of the data will take place in fall 2012.


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Rubric for Serving Society; Enacting Justice Modified March 2010

Outcome Underdeveloped Acceptable Exemplary

Identification

Theological

Motivations

Theological motivations are not addressed in any meaningful way.

Theological motivations are identified and connected to the work but are not well developed.

Theological motivations are well developed and related to the work in a thoughtful manner.

Needs and

Consequences

Only the most superficial and obvious needs are identified.

The most significant issues are identified but with minimal development and without respecting the client’s perspective.

An insightful analysis of the range of needs and their consequences is provided; the analysis respects the client’s perspective.

Causes Not addressed or the analysis is perfunctory.

The analysis is multifaceted but without great depth.

An insightful analysis of the interactions of personal institutional and structural contributions to the problems is presented.

Reflection

Personal

Changes and

Future

Implications

Resulting From

the Experience

Not present

Particular experiences, personal changes (or deepened understandings) and future implications are identified but they are not connected.

The student presents an integrated statement that makes connections between the experience, personal changes and future plans.

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Appendix XX: Area Report – Communicating Cross-Culturally

NOT YET AVAILABLE

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Appendix XXI: Collegiate Learning Assessment

To: Westmont College Faculty and Staff

Date: 9/16/2009

Re: Collegiate Learning Assessment Results

In order to provide an outside perspective on our institutional effectiveness, Westmont College incorporates the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) into our overall program review strategy. The CLA is designed to evaluate general thinking and communication skills. Each participating student is assigned to do one of two types of tasks: a performance task or an analytic writing task.

Each Performance Task requires students to use an integrated set of critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication skills to answer several open-ended questions about a hypothetical but realistic situation. In addition to directions and questions, each Performance Task also has its own document library that includes a range of information sources, such as letters, memos, summaries of research reports, newspaper articles, maps, photographs, diagrams, tables, charts, and interview notes or transcripts. Students are instructed to use these materials in preparing their answers to the Performance Task’s questions within the allotted 90 minutes. Students write answers to two types of essay prompts, namely: a “Make-an-Argument” question that asks them to support or reject a position on some issue; and a “Critique-an-Argument” question that asks them to evaluate the validity of an argument made by someone else. Both of these tasks measure a student’s skill in articulating complex ideas, examining claims and evidence, supporting ideas with relevant reasons and examples, sustaining a coherent discussion, and using standard written English.

– From the Institutional Report prepared by CAE

Sample questions can be found at the Council for Aid to Education (CAE) web site at http://www.cae.org/content/pro_collegiate_sample_measures.htm. Westmont has adopted an alternate year schedule for administering the CLA. The 2008-2009 academic year marks the second administration of the instrument. Once again our seniors scored at the highest levels. Excerpts from the Institutional Report are included at the end of this memo. CLA results:

• 104 entering students and 57 graduating students participated in the assessment.

Collegiate Learning Assessment

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• The entering students’ average total score fell at the 93rd percentile meaning that Westmont ranked 13th out of the 189 participating schools.

• Our graduates’ average total score fell at the 97th percentile (6th of 189) with particular strength in the writing tasks demonstrated by a 98th percentile (4th of 189) average.

• The only (relative) weakness in our graduates was in the performance task in which students are asked to use multiple documents of varying types and relevance to write

a memo addressing a related question and to make a recommendation. Westmont graduates scored at the 91st (17th of 189) at this task. This is somewhat in contrast to the 2006-2007 CLA assessment in which Westmont graduates scored at the 97th percentile. Since the groups taking this portion of the exam were rather small both years, some variation is to be expected and there is no particular cause for concern.

• Westmont students, both entering and graduating, have significantly higher SAT scores than students at other institutions. As such, it is expected that they will perform better on tests such as the CLA. CAE provides adjusted CLA scores to reflect this expectation. Using a linear regression model, a predicted CLA score is computed from a student’s SAT score. The adjusted score is the difference between the actual and the predicted score. Scores that are higher than predicted receive positive values and negative values represent scores that are lower than predicted. When the adjusted institutional scores are compared, Westmont’s entering and graduating students scored at the 84th and 64th percentiles respectively. It is conjectured that the relatively lower percentile ranking of the adjusted scores is due in large part to ceiling effects of the exam. (With a maximum score of 1500, it is probably significantly more difficult to increase from 1250 to 1350 than from 1000 to 1100.) In this regard, performance on the CLA appears to be analogous to fitness. Even modest gains for a highly fit individual represent a significant achievement whereas a person of modest fitness level can realize noticeably improved fitness with relatively less effort. This effect seems to be visible on the graph on page 6 of the full report where the scores appear to plateau around 1375 even as SAT scores continue to increase. (Of the 6 school with visibly higher average SAT scores than Westmont, only one school had a higher than predicted CLA score.)

The entire report from CAE can be read at http://www.westmont.edu/_offices/institutional_portfolio/program_review/documents/CLA%20Reports/CLA%200809%20Institutional%20Report_Westmont%20College.pdf Benchmarks: In 2006, the benchmark that “scores in [the Analytic Writing] area are at or above those of

schools with a similar academic profile.” This corresponds to having an adjusted percentile ranking of 50% or higher. This benchmark is well exceeded with an Analytic Writing adjusted percentile ranking of 71. It is recommended that we adopt the additional benchmarks that the total CLA percentile ranking be at least 80 with a total adjusted ranking of at least 50. Again these benchmarks were well exceeded in this administration of the instrument.

Local Option Questions:


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In addition to the standard assessment, the CLA provides institutions with the option of adding up to nine institution-specific questions to be answered by the graduating seniors. These questions are not related to the CLA itself but are intended to make use of the pool of students who are already gathered to take the CLA to glean additional information. Westmont used these questions to probe issues related to frequency of oral presentation, interaction with faculty, and church attendance as well as students’ experience with the Serving Society portion of the General Education program. The information that can be obtained from the local option questions is limited since institutions may use at most nine multiple choice questions. Significant/Interesting findings:

• 40% of graduating seniors made 5 or more formal oral presentations during their time at Westmont. Only 6% had presented 2 or fewer times. In addition, 58% of graduating seniors gave five or more informal presentations to peers in non-classroom setting while 30% made two or fewer informal presentations. Between the two types of presentations, only one student did not make at least four. This is a significantly better showing than might have been predicted based on the small number of explicitly identified speech-intensive courses in our GE curriculum.

• 72% of graduating seniors found that their Serving Society; Enacting Justice placement was moderately or extremely valuable to their academic development. 82% found the experience moderately or extremely valuable to their personal development. While it is not clear exactly what students mean in these self reports, it does seem clear that students are having a positive experience. This confirms the choice to add this requirement to the GE program when it was revised.

• 57% of graduating seniors reported that they attended an off-campus worship service weekly. On the other hand, 37% said they did so at most monthly with 21% attending only once or twice per term if at all.

A complete summary of the data can be read at http://www.westmont.edu/_offices/institutional_portfolio/program_review/documents/CLA%20Reports/Local%20Response%20Report.pdf. One will note that there is some confusion in the coding of the responses to question 8. Apparently, text oriented responses were coded as if they were numeric. We have not been able to resolve this issue with the CAE staff. We expect that the responses are listed in order of increasing frequency of visits, but we are not able to verify this.


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