Identification of College-Level Competencies through Curriculum Review

Nicholls State University is committed to the principle that all students, regardless of their major field of study, should benefit from the common learning experience provided by a strong general education core. The Nicholls core curriculum provides students with an integrative body of knowledge, fundamental skills, attitudes, and values, which are necessary for students to become responsible and engaged citizens, able to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex, diverse, and global society.

Identification of college-level competencies within the core has been and continues to be part of a dynamic process through which the University undergoes periodic curriculum reviews of the general education program to ensure that (1) goals and objectives continue to reflect the philosophy and mission of general education at Nicholls; (2) students have the opportunity to attain competencies through the core curriculum requirements; and that (3) students have attained those competencies upon completion of the core requirements.

The 1993-1995 general education initiative to review the core curriculum resulted in a significant revision of core requirements and in the identification of goals and student learning outcomes. This initiative was part of the campus-wide discussion effecting the formal incorporation of assessment into campus culture. With the conclusion of this first cycle of curriculum review, the University Assessment Committee directed Institutional Research to implement annual use of a nationally norm-referenced general education test, the Academic Profile (AP) [1]. From then on, the University Courses and Curricula Committee monitored core offerings and their alignment with general education goals.

In 2003, the University, responding to the need for a more centralized focus for general education assessment, charged a second general education task force to review assessment procedures. Working with student learning outcomes identified by the 1993-1995 review, the 2003-2004 task force further refined general education competencies, evaluated then-current assessment procedures, and made recommendations for more effective assessment [2]. In response to the 2003-2004 report's recommendations for the use of a greater variety of assessment methods and for a more formal process for use of results to improve student learning, the University created a new academic standing committee, the General Education Assessment Committee (GEAC), to oversee assessment of the General Education program [3].

The GEAC's first responsibility in assessing student achievement in the core was to evaluate the viability and clarity of those learning outcomes and assessable objectives refined by the task force and to review their alignment with current core requirements.

In its initial curriculum review, the GEAC used the previous task force's findings [4], the results of the Fall 2004 Faculty Institute's Focus Group discussions [5], and campus-wide faculty input [6]. The assessment activities of 2004 resulted in the articulation of the following general education goals, approved by the Faculty Senate in the spring of 2005 [7]:

Table 1: General Education Goals

*Note: The above goals operate in accordance with the Louisiana Board of Regents' Statewide General Education Requirements, as described in Academic Affairs Policy 2.16 [8]. A listing of student learning objectives for each goal is available on Nicholls' General Education Web site [9].

The general education goals are met by a 39- to 42-hour core curriculum that addresses specific core proficiencies and breadth of knowledge areas and by University requirements that, reinforcing core competencies, provide students with opportunities to further foster academic proficiencies in communication and in computer and information literacy. See Core Requirement 2.7.3 for further description of these goals [10].

The GEAC also reviewed the alignment of general education goals with core requirements:

•	Core proficiencies, the foundational skills necessary for success in all fields of study, are integrated throughout the core curriculum, as shown in the table below:

Table 2: Integration of Core Proficiencies throughout the General Education Requirements

CORE COURSES	Effective Reading Comprehension	Effective Communication	Higher-Order Thinking and Independent Learning	Quantitative Reasoning	Information Literacy	Computer Literacy
English 101	XD	XD	XD		X
English 102	XD	XD (C1)	XD		XD
English Literature Elective	XD	XD	XD		XD
Writing-Intensive Course	X	XD	XD		XD	XD
Math 101	X	X	XD	XD (C2)
Math Elective	X	X	XD	XD
Natural Science	XD	X	X		X
Physical Science	XD	X	X		X
Art or Music Elective	X	X	X		X
History Sequence	XD	X	X		X
Social Science Electives	XD	X	X		X
University Requirements Reinforcing Academic Proficiencies
Oral Competency Elective		XD	XD
Computer Competency Elective						XD

    X = objectives are practiced in the course
    D = objectives are directly emphasized and assessed
    C1= course designated as basic competency course for effective writing
    C2= course designated as basic competency course for college algebra

Table 3: Breadth of Knowledge, Disposition Goals and Core Requirements