General Education Assessment

Stony Brook University implemented a new general education curriculum for undergraduate students known as the Stony Brook Curriculum (SBC) in Fall 2014. The purpose of the SBC is to provide students with foundational knowledge, develop their critical thinking skills, enhance communication skills, and promote personal growth. The SBC aims to promote lifelong learning and increase the employability of our graduates. 

Assessment of the SBC is a critical component to ensuring that our curriculum is effective and meeting the needs of our student body. Through assessment, we can provide better student support and continue to attract high-quality students, faculty and funding.

For information see the University's General Education Advisory Committee. 

Spring 2023 Assessment Cycle

In collaboration with the Office of the Provost, the Office of Educational Effectiveness assessed the SBCs during the Spring 2023 semester through guided conversations.  Review the presentation slides from the overview session.  Review the final report from this assessment.

Our approach to general education assessment the 2023 cycle was led by the following principles:

• To improve our students’ educational experience;

• To align with Middle States Commission on Higher Education expectations;

• To limit unnecessary burdens on faculty and staff assessing general education courses through a streamlined process.

To support this assessment initiative, OEE facilitated the following actions in collaboration with Assessment Coordinators: 

FAQs for Spring 2023 Assessment Cycle

• I am an Assessment Coordinator. What do I need to do?
  You will receive an email with a comprehensive list of all SBC general education courses and instructors offered by your department during the Spring 2023 term. Please identify five faculty members from this list to participate in the general education assessment initiative. Reply to the email with your selections by April 5, 2023 to notify OEE. 
• How should Assessment Coordinators go about selecting a course and instructor to participate in this assessment initiative?

  We leave this at your discretion as the assessment coordinator for your area, although we offer the following considerations to guide your selection, if helpful:

  • The purpose of general education assessment is to understand the typical performance of non-majors in the SBC  and affiliated learning outcomes. You may want to focus on 100- or 200-level courses (as opposed to 300- and 400-level courses, which are more likely to consist primarily of major students). 
  • You may want to consult with your program director, chair or dean during the identification process about your selections.
  • You are welcome to select faculty members of any appointment type (full-time, part-time, adjunct, etc.).
  • You may want to speak with the individual instructors you plan to select prior to submitting their names to OEE, in order to ensure that they are willing and available to participate. 
  • We encourage you to select faculty who may be interested in supporting and cultivating a culture of assessment at Stony Brook University.
  • It may be helpful to reiterate to faculty members selected to participate that this assessment initiative is assessing student performance in the SBCs. It is not assessing faculty teaching in the SBCs.

  *Please note: Courses with fewer than 10 students enrolled have been excluded from the list.*

• I am an Assessment Coordinator and I teach an SBC during the Spring 2023 semester. Can I select myself to participate?
  Absolutely! We encourage you to participate as much as you are able. 
• What if I can't identify five faculty members to participate?
  Please contact OEE at EducationalEffectiveness@stonybrook.edu for guidance on your specific situation. 
• I am a faculty member who has been identified to participate. What do I need to do?
  Thank you for your participation! Once identified, OEE will reach out to schedule a 45-minute in-person or Zoom meeting with an Assessment Consultant. This meeting will consist of a guided conversation to better understand your course, assignments, and student performance in relation to the SBC categories and learning objective.  To find out what you need to bring to this meeting, see the following FAQ. 
• What information do faculty members need to bring to the meeting with the Assessment Consultants?
  Please come prepared with a copy of your syllabus, a list of your course assignments, and access to student performance results on those assignments. This is for your reference only and we will not keep these materials. 
• How do I access my course and assignment grade information for this meeting?

  For instructions on accessing grades in Brightspace, click here. 

  For assistance accessing information in learning tools embedded within Brightspace (Cengage, McGraw-Hill, Pearson's, Web Assign, etc.), click here. 

  For hands-on support with Brightspace, contact Academic Technology Services at (631) 632-9800 or contact the SUNY Helpdesk at 1-(844)-673-6786.

   

• Who are the Assessment Consultants? What is their role?

  Assessment Consultants are members of the Office of Educational Effectiveness, the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, and other members of the Office of the Provost who are trained to conduct the guided conversations on the topic of general education assessment. 

  Assessment Consultants will be prepared to facilitate the discussion and will already have a record of your course code, course title, applicable SBC categories, and a list of all SBC learning outcomes per category. 

• How will the results of this assessment initiative be used?

  The results of the general education assessment initiative will be used to evaluate student performance in the SBCs. Results will not be used to evaluate faculty teaching in the SBCs.

  Results will be reported in aggregate by SBC category. Aggregated results will not discuss specific courses or instructors. Participating instructors will receive a copy of the information collected during the guided conversation meeting for their records. 

Spring 2018 Assessment Cycle

In Spring 2018, SBU faculty and administration launched a pilot project to study the effectiveness of the SBC, intended to establish a baseline for future projects. At the time, the project was the first of its kind at SBU to aggregate measurements of multiple faculty-defined general education learning objectives across departments, colleges, and schools. The results of this pilot project are available in the final report and in the data visualization dashboard.