NewCu Final Report
Preamble
ASU is developing a new model for the American research university, creating an institution that measures its academic quality by the education that its graduates have received rather than the academic credentials of its incoming freshman class; one where researchers, while pursuing their scholarly interests, also consider the public good; one that assumes responsibility for the economic, social, and cultural vitality of its community. Graduates will therefore be ready to be constructive influences in their community.
Graduates from Arizona State University reflect the values of the New American University. These graduates, like those from other universities, are skilled in the competencies of communication, analytical and critical thinking, and quantitative analysis. They are also knowledgeable about history and culture, local and global. They have studied a range of knowledge areas, and have practiced, at some level, a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary methodologies. They have been introduced to the concepts of liberal education. They are thoughtful, reflective, and engaged citizens.
What distinguishes ASU graduates is the particular influence of place and time. Living in a desert city at the beginning of the 21st century, a city at the crossroads of cultures, ASU graduates have the opportunity to develop a unique understanding of the nature of social change. They are aware of the fragility of human living in a place where water resources are scarce and the climate can be unforgiving. The ebb and tide of political systems, cultural mores, and economic structures are vividly etched in the very surroundings of the university. By virtue of its identity as one of the fastest growing urban areas in the world, its proximity to international borders, its particular mix of industries, and its diverse cultural heritage, the Valley of the Sun is in a unique position to provide the graduates of ASU with rich experiences that prepare them for the challenges they will face.
Living and learning in this environment will create ASU graduates who are practically-minded and entrepreneurial, in the broadest sense. They will promote active knowledge creation and application so that humanity can better and more easily use resources for improved quality of life in the present and the future. They will be citizens of the world who celebrate the energizing effects of intellectual and cultural diversity. They will be confident in the potential for alternative ways of thinking, knowing, and doing. As products of a transformative liberal education, ASU graduates will take responsibility for living examined lives.
Education at the New American University focuses on learning outcomes, accomplished through a range of experiences in and out of the classroom. The entire undergraduate curriculum is coherent, integrating foundational general education with specific fields of study. Learning outcomes are central in the design of co-curricular programs.
Process
The task force was charged by the university senates and the University Provost on December 10, 2004 (see Appendix 1). For the next five months, the committee met at least once a month as a whole. It did most of its work in subcommittees and in email and blackboard discussion.
The conversation was extended to the university community through a series of forums in March, April, and May. In addition, the task force created a website on which its discussions could be posted and by which the university community members could pose questions and comments: http://www.asu.edu/provost/newcu/.
Foundational Principles
The Task Force on the Curriculum of the New American University was charged with six areas of inquiry. At the beginning of its discussion, the members agreed to the following basic principles:
1. Learning objectives for ASU’s undergraduate curriculum must be aligned with the design imperatives of the New American University.
2. Partnerships among faculty, administrators, academic professionals and staff will be forged to further learning outcomes inside and outside the classroom.
3. The faculty in each program, department, and college are responsible for assuring that their students acquire the knowledge, skills, and attributes expected in graduates of the New American University, ASU.
4. The administration and staff at ASU are responsible for providing the setting, facilities, services, and other appropriate resources that foster a learning environment appropriate for the New American University.
5. General education begins with foundational coursework, and continues throughout undergraduate studies at the university.
6. The university culture and reward structure must support the development and implementation of the new curricular philosophy and content.
- Assessment must be an integral part of the educational process at ASU.
These principles inform the responses to the six parts of the task force charge.
1. Survey the three campuses for quality undergraduate programs that include both learning goals and quality assessment strategies
See Appendix 2
2. Become familiar with the conversation regarding undergraduate education, including model programs and assessment practices, occurring at the national level
The task force familiarized itself with a variety of publications from the Association of American Colleges & Universities addressing its signature initiative, Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College. Using the Greater Expectations paradigm of liberal learning, the task force began to shift the discussion from input (courses, syllabi) to output (students, learning outcomes). The student became the central focus of the discussion, not course content. The following texts from the Greater Expectations Executive Report summarize this critical idea:
“Across all fields, the panel calls for higher education to help college students become intentional learners who can adapt to new environments, integrate knowledge from different sources, and continue learning throughout their lives. To thrive in a complex world, these intentional learners should also become:
Empowered through the mastery of intellectual and practical skills
Informed by knowledge about the natural and social worlds and about forms of inquiry basic to these studies
Responsible for their personal actions and for civic values.
In reviewing the model programs of liberal education and assessment practices at other institutions, the task force recognized that most large state institutions rely heavily on distribution requirements for their general studies programs. Also, smaller schools were able to most successfully initiate learning outcomes assessment. ASU was charting new ground in that our interest in articulating and assessing learning outcomes that could encompass both general education and specialized fields of study across the entire university was unique for an institution of our size.
3. Identify learning outcomes for the university overall that can be applied to all four campuses
Liberal learning has long been defined as “ways of approaching knowledge that expands imaginative horizons, develops intellectual powers and judgment, and instills in students the capacity and resolve to exercise leadership in multiple spheres of life, both societal and vocational. It is a mode of thought and action.” The task force took this definition and identified ten broad learning outcomes for ASU.
“Areas of Knowledge”
Learning Outcome 1: Methods of Inquiry
Human beings understand the world through knowledge categories that are often traditionally-defined. ASU graduates will understand the content and methodology of these knowledge areas and of emerging knowledge areas, and will be prepared to develop new ways of knowing. The mission of the university is to present all of these knowledge areas in significant depth and to provide students with opportunities and experiences in basic knowledge and its application.
Learning Outcome 2: Interdisciplinarity
Citizens and scholars who have interdisciplinary training will be able to work across areas of knowledge. They will understand the issues and the languages of other fields of study and be able to integrate this information into new ideas and solutions. Students will collaborate across traditional areas of knowledge. Not only will they understand what is being said in other fields, but they will also incorporate it into their own approach to complex problems.
Students will:
· Open their minds to a diversity of ideas
· Identify and solve problems not approachable from a single discipline
· Incorporate multiple disciplinary perspectives
· Integrate information from multiple perspectives
· Value intellectual fusion
“Ways of Using and Creating Knowledge”
Learning Outcome 3: Communication Skills
Communication is the fabric of society. Being able to communicate is essential for a student’s success and well being. Students will acquire strong communication skills, both the obvious ones of reading, writing, and speaking, but also the skills necessary to navigate an increasingly cross-cultural world. Students will learn to listen. They will study language(s) beyond English or at least read world literature and develop knowledge of other languages and cultures. Students will be made aware of the skills necessary to employ changing technologies in their lives – in a creative and not complacent or reactive way. Students will acquire media and visual literacy and will be proficient in managing communication in a highly mediated world. The development and refinement of communication skills will be ubiquitous and continuous throughout the curriculum.
Learning Outcome 4: Literacies
ASU graduates live and work in a world characterized by the interaction of information, technology, and computing. Students will have the ability to access, evaluate, synthesize, integrate, and communicate information toward the creation of knowledge. Technologically competent students will develop and apply tools and processes that solve problems and communicate meaning. Students will have the capacity to acquire, process, and disseminate knowledge in a global context. Students will have the ability to use technologies in the creation of knowledge.
Students will:
· Define research and information needs
· Understand the origins of knowledge, and create knowledge in and across disciplines
· Contextualize information culled from multiple intellectual traditions
· Examine, create and evaluate strategies for locating information in an ethical manner
· Show the ability to apply technology to solve problems
Learning Outcome 5: Critical Thinking and Analysis
Critical thinking includes the ability to recognize and define a problem or issue; identify relevant approaches, sources, and information; formulate well reasoned arguments; and evaluate arguments. Students will learn the ability to distinguish information from supposition, to challenge ideas, and to develop new ways of seeing the world. Students must be able to challenge accepted knowledge and to be creators of new knowledge. Critical thinking is naturally embedded in any discipline and is built through examined assessment of the products, logic, and processes of those disciplines. Both quantitative and qualitative reasoning are necessary in the development of critical thinking.
Learning Outcome 6: Creativity
Students will acquire a core depth of knowledge about standard methodologies, but will be aware of shortcomings in these traditional ways of knowing. Students will move beyond that awareness to envision a new poem, a new equation, new possibilities for the world. Students will understand creativity as a problem-solving tool and how it works across areas of knowledge. Students will acquire and apply empathy and imagination. Students will have flexibility, long-term vision, and curiosity. They will have an appreciation for the new and unproven, and confidence in the potential of alternative methods and ways of knowing.
“The Individual in Context”
Learning Outcome 7: Self-awareness
Students need to understand themselves. Students will become aware of their current intellectual abilities, strengths and weaknesses, personality characteristics, and needs. They will develop a clear understanding of their academic and vocational interests and how these interests relate to their future. Students will be aware of how their health practices affect their life and success. They will understand their own ethnic heritage and be able to articulate their spiritual, religious, or philosophical positions and understand how they relate to those of others. They will find the balance between self and other that allows them to discover and claim their own values while recognizing and respecting those of others. Students will understand that their education at ASU is the foundation for life-long learning.
Learning Outcome 8: Ethical Perspective
Ethics should positively inform and guide a student’s a course of action. A system of ethics should apply to not only emergency situations, but also day to day choices. Ethics include relations to others and a student’s well-being and happiness. Examination of one’s values precedes the ability to take informed action on those values. Students will examine their own values in the context of historical and contemporary perspectives.
Students will:
· Be proficient in dealing with personal values and responsibilities
· Discern consequences of actions
· Transform information into knowledge, judgment, and action
Learning Outcome 9: Community Identity and Engagement
Students will recognize the need to be engaged members of communities—both local and global. They will direct change in a positive way. Students will exhibit social responsibility, foster civic engagement, and take leadership in addressing social and professional issues.
Students will:
· Understand and practice civility
· Participate as a citizen of their national and international communities
· Develop knowledge and skills in the ethical and legal responsibilities of society
· Exercise and facilitate leadership in addressing issues of concern to the community
· Recognize the interrelations within global and cross-cultural communities
Learning Outcome 10: Transnational and Global Perspective
ASU students live in a global world where people are highly interdependent. Students will be globally engaged. They will be able to understand the diversity of cultures in the United States and around the world. They will be aware of the impact of culture on human behavior. They will be culturally competent and able to interact with multiple cultures. Students will understand the process of acculturation and the negotiations that arise when cultures meet.
4. Articulate the relationship between foundational (i.e., general studies) and advanced curricula (i.e., the major) in a school-centric model
The assumed separation between general education and the major is no longer useful, nor is it efficient. In fact, it compromises the goals of the new American university.
The shift in focus from coursework to learning outcomes will liberate the university from the notion that undergraduate education is merely a collection of classes. Rather, education is understood as a process whereby the student develops a maturity of outlook and a capacity for learning that will extend throughout their lifetimes. We envision students moving from gateway courses at the beginning of their undergraduate experience to integrative studies in their fields of specialization, and at each of these levels, learning outcomes will drive the pedagogy.