Recertification and Assessment of Core Curriculum Courses Presented by the Core Curriculum Council of the Faculty Senate Created by Barbara West, Program Aide, Undergraduate Studies

Process http://CoreRecertification.tamu.edu Recertification Assessment

CORE CURRICULUM RECERTIFICATION “To remain in the core, courses must be recertified on a four-year cycle. To provide for a more evenly balanced recertification process, courses in the first round of approval will be randomly assigned a three-, four-, five- or six-year initial approval period and then move to a regular four-year cycle.” Resolution FS.29.187 (4/30/12), “New Core Curriculum for 2014,” as by EC (2/11/13)

Why do courses have to recertify every four years? The University must ensure the integrity of the Core Curriculum over time. Instructors may change, thus changing the way the course is taught. Course content may change over time. A course may be taught less frequently, or not at all, if key faculty leave the university.

What are the State and University requirements for a Core Curriculum course? The course meets the definition for the Foundational Component Area in which is it approved. (State) The course satisfies the required State Core Objectives for its Foundational Component Area. (State) The course has no prerequisites, other than classification. (State) The course must be open to all students, regardless of college, major, or program. (University) Average enrollment for the course is at least 30 students over the last three years during which the course has been taught. (University requirement; applies only to the College Station campus.)

What must be included with the recertification request? Cover Sheet* Foundational Component Area Form* Course Syllabus Artifacts of student work *Forms are available at corerecertification.tamu.edu.

Can I find out what was previously submitted for my course’s core curriculum approval? Go to the current Core Curriculum list of approved courses at core.tamu.edu. You may select your campus and Foundational Component Area in the first search area, OR Enter your course prefix and number in the “Search within results:” box. For your target course, click on the name of the Foundational Component Area to open the Request for a Course Addition to the Fall 2014 Core Curriculum (analogous to the FCA form). For your target course, click on the course prefix/number to open the syllabus submitted with the original request.

Click here to open original Core Curriculum request form. Click here to open course syllabus submitted with original request.

Cover Sheet Summarizes basic information about the course: Course prefix and number Course title Department offering the course Campus Faculty information for section used for recertification Foundational Component Area Enrollment history Signatures of the person submitting the request and the department head Completed Recertification Request Checklist to insure all materials are complete and included in submission

Foundational Component Area Form Unique to each Foundational Component Area (FCA) Justifies inclusion in a specific FCA: Describes how the course meets the description for the FCA Outlines required Core Objectives for the specific FCA Describes how students are informed of the Core Objectives Describes how the course addresses each of the required Core Objectives Describes how student learning related to each of the Core Objectives is evaluated

Foundational Component Area Form: American History

Foundational Component Area: Communication

Foundational Component Area: Creative Arts

Foundational Component Area: Language, Philosophy, and Culture

Foundational Component Area: Life and Physical Science

Foundational Component Area: Mathematics

Foundational Component Area: Social and Behavioral Sciences

Critical Information for FCA Form How students are informed of the core objectives Should be included on the syllabus; may also be specified in assignment instructions How the course fosters student development related to each core objective Assignments and activities that require use of skills inherent in core objectives How student learning related to each core objective is evaluated Grading criteria and methods, non-graded assignments, participation in group projects, etc.

Course Syllabus Must meet University minimum requirements Should clearly inform students that the class is a Core Curriculum Class and its accompanying requirements, including Clear delineation of Core Objectives as required for the course’s Foundational Component Area Week-by-week summary of topics covered, exam dates, and assignments and projects that support/correspond to the required Core Objectives Clear explanations of grading standards as related to Core Objectives

How will reviewers evaluate recertification submissions How will reviewers evaluate recertification submissions? Reviewers will receive a copy of this form for each course they evaluate.

How will reviewers evaluate recertification submissions? Reviewers first determine if the recertification packet includes the course syllabus, and if the syllabus adequately outlines the core objectives. They also evaluate whether the course, as described on the FCA form, satisfies the definition of the Foundational Component Area for which the course is seeking recertification.

How will reviewers evaluate recertification submissions? Score charts correspond with the three questions asked on the Foundational Component Area form.

How will reviewers evaluate recertification submissions? !. Students informed of core objectives May be implicit or explicit statements of core objectives; may include specific language on the syllabus; may be implied by grading standards, type of assignments, and exam formats.

How will reviewers evaluate recertification submissions? 2. …advances student learning related to each core objective… Assignments, required readings, projects, and exams should foster the specific types of learning reflected in the core objectives for the FCA in which the course is approved.

How will reviewers evaluate recertification submissions? 3. …how student learning is evaluated… How well do assignments, projects, exams, and in-class activities demonstrate students’ skills in each core objective for the FCA in which the course is approved?

Tips for a Successful Recertification Submission Demonstrate that the course addresses each of the Core Objectives directly and specifically. Core Objective “Communication” includes all three aspects: written, oral and visual. Be sure to include an explanation of how each type of communication is developed and evaluated. Maintain consistency between the course syllabus and the stated means of evaluating student learning. Example: If you evaluate “Teamwork” via group projects, be sure to include mention of the group project in your syllabus. Include a thorough description of the assignments, etc. that will be used to evaluate the Core Objectives. Ideally, this would include the assignment, exam questions, etc. used in the evaluation. Faculty can request specific details for their course(s) after the initial recertification reviews are complete.

Process http://CoreRecertification.tamu.edu Recertification Assessment

Assessment “The purpose of assessment of the Texas Common Core (TCC) is for institutions to discover, document and seek to improve student attainment of the TCC’s six core objectives.” From: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, TCC Assessment Guidelines

Recertification vs. Assessment Recertification and Assessment are parallel but independent activities. Recertification documents are narrative summaries of a course’s compliance with its Foundational Component Area definition AND fostering core objectives. Recertification requires submission of Assessment artifacts. Assessment artifacts are examined and evaluated to measure student learning in each of the core objectives and is reported to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Assessment artifacts ARE NOT available to recertification reviewers and ARE NOT used in the recertification review process.

Student Artifacts for Assessment IMPORTANT NOTE: Reviewers DO NOT have access to student artifacts; therefore, they are not used in the review process. Assessment artifacts are required and used by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Evaluation for reports to THECB/TCC/SASCOC. Must be submitted before the course can be approved for recertification. Examples must include work from all students in the same section as used for recertification documentation. Must include an example from each student of evaluation of learning related to each of the required core objectives. May include graded assignments, ungraded student work, written responses embedded in tests. Should not include grades or instructor comments.

How do I decide what artifacts to submit for assessment? Select artifacts that are able to be scored according to the rubrics developed for each Core Objective. Rubrics are available online at http://assessment.tamu.edu/Assessment/Core- Curriculum-Recertification/. For questions about the suitability and/or submission formatting of specific artifacts, contact the Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Evaluation.

How to Submit Materials for Core Curriculum Recertification*** Email completed and signed Cover Sheet, FCA form, and syllabus to the Core Curriculum Council at fso-ccc@tamu.edu, OR Submit hard copies of the signed Cover Sheet, FCA form, and syllabus to Kristin Harper, MS 1125, 10th Floor Rudder Tower. Submit student artifacts to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Evaluation via the portal at corerecertification.tamu.edu. *** If the Course Approval Request System (CARS) for core curriculum recertification becomes available, that will replace the Word documents as the preferred method for submitting recertification materials.

For assistance or questions about your Core Curriculum Recertification submission packet, please contact: Core Curriculum Council fso-ccc@tamu.edu For assistance or questions about Assessment and submitting student artifacts, please contact: Blair Alexander or Elizabeth Bledsoe Piwonka Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Evaluation assessment@tamu.edu