U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N O S H K O S H Liberal Education Reform Team Presentation on Learning Outcomes To all departments March and April 2008

U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N O S H K O S H What is LERT?  Team charged in May 2007 to develop a university-wide liberal education plan guided by the AAC&U report, College Learning for the New Global Century.  Charge and Report available on LERT homepage:

U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N O S H K O S H First task of LERT  Gather feedback from faculty, students, staff, and community to draft a set of Essential Learning Outcomes for UW Oshkosh

U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N O S H K O S H What are Essential Learning Outcomes?  A set of educational outcomes that all UW Oshkosh graduates should receive during their time at UW Oshkosh and may include:  Knowledge of human cultures and the natural world  Intellectual and practical skills  Personal and social responsibility  Integrative learning  A framework to guide university-wide administrative decisions, student progress, curricular alignment, and assessment

U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N O S H K O S H Discussion Questions What do students think they are going to get out of their college degree? How should students view their college education? What do we want a UW Oshkosh college graduate to look like?

U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N O S H K O S H What NSSE and SoTL surveys and HLC and UW O Self Study reports show  Students think  They’re here to get credentials for a job  Liberal/general education courses are totally irrelevant  Faculty think  We are teaching what matters in our discipline  We are engaging students inside and outside the classroom  We are preparing students for a more enriched life  Integrating the Essential Learning Outcomes throughout the student learning experience could help us bridge the gap in how students and faculty view general education requirements and the significance of a college degree

U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N O S H K O S H What will we do with the Essential Learning Outcomes?  Structure the broader college experience at UW Oshkosh; this may include Essential Learning Outcomes:  Aligned with General Education  Integrated with the majors  Connected to First Year Experience (so that students understand the value of liberal education)  As a framework for assessment

U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N O S H K O S H What’s next?  Presentations, discussions and feedback on Essential Learning Outcomes within each department  Rewrite/revise Learning Outcomes based on feedback to make the statement reflect UW Oshkosh  Open forums to discuss Essential Learning Outcomes  Revisions based on open forums  Governance groups vote on revised learning outcomes  Faculty Senate to appoint summer work group  To audit our General Education program to see how it aligns with approved learning outcomes, and  To develop recommendations to address shortcomings (if any are discovered).

U N I V E R S I T Y O F W I S C O N S I N O S H K O S H Feedback on Learning Outcomes  What would you want to keep?  What is missing?  What should be deleted or modified?  How would you convey the passion we all share for liberal education? nb: Additional feedback may be submitted anonymously on the LERT web page