CO-CURRICULAR ASSESSMENT AT GEORGE MASON

UNIVERSITY
Janet Athanasiou, Matthew Boyce, Ryan Bradshaw, Charvis Campbell, John
Cicchetti, and Leticia Guzman

INTRODUCTION

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Are co-curricular experiences a part of our peer institutions

general education curriculum?
How do our peer institutions assess co-curricular experiences?
How are co-curricular experiences currently assessed at GMU?

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

ASSESSMENT OF NON-COGNITIVE SKILLS

Assessment of soft skills

Student skill development takes place in the classroom and outside

of it through participation in campus activities (Foubert &
Grainger, 2006; Kuh, 1995).
Skills developed:
Communication
Teamwork
Leadership
Skills that are developed match with the skills that employers and
graduates believe make qualified workers.

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

ASSESSMENT OF NON-COGNITIVE SKILLS

Assessment of soft skills

Assessment of non-cognitive skill development is a challenge for

both the higher education field and employers.
Standardized tests and most course exams do not assess (Heckman
& Kautz, 2012)
Most assessments of non-cognitive skills take place through state
your level of agreement with the following statement style
questions (Kyllonen, 2013).
Masons Patriot Experience, administered through University Life,
assesses 4 pillars of student learning:
Career readiness
Civic and community engagement
Global and multicultural
Well-being
Alaskas PEAK and Iowas GROW programs are potential
G E O R G Emodels
MASON UNIVERSITY

CURRICULUM MAPPING

Assessment of soft skills

Curriculum mapping is a process of examining the
strengths and weaknesses of a curriculum in
teaching and assessing the capabilities of
graduates (Spencer, Riddle, & Knewstubb, 2012).
Landaus (2015) recently developed curriculum
mapping tool allows users to visualize this process
in an interactive online tool.
Educators and students to see which learning
outcomes are gained in which course, how they
are assesses, and how they relate to the programs
learning outcomes

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

PEER RESEARCH APPROACH

Targeted 10 Institutions
Georgia State Univ.

Univ. of Central Florida

Univ. of Cincinnati

University of Houston

Univ. of MD Baltimore
County

Univ. of MA Lowell

UNC Charlotte

SUNY Stony Brook

Towson University

Virginia Commonwealth
Univ.
Campus Labs survey
and follow-up phone

Data Collection:
interviews , personal email communication with program
Director (VCU)
Data Sources: survey- UMBC & VUC, interview- only UMBC
UMBC:
focused on co-curricular opportunities for
undergraduates but
lacks a clear assessment plan
VCU:
focused assessment on one particular opportunity for
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
upperclassmen

ASSESSMENT AT UMBC

Mission statement: Distinctive Undergraduate Experience

Assessment is silo-ed- different offices tracking their own interests
Need to develop an integrated tracking system that allows
departments to openly communicate and share data across the
institution
Future goal to require a higher percentage of students to complete
some form of co-curricular experience
Upcoming strategic plan- specific emphasis on identifying which cocurricular experiences students identify as meaningful or
worthwhile

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

ASSESSMENT AT VCU

Brief Overview of Academic Scholars Program in Real Environment

(ASPiRE)

Learning Categories

Established in 2012- Enrich and deepen students understanding of their capacity to

create positive change in communities and address critical societal needs;
In part due to a trend noted of low graduation rates 34% (GMU-42%)
Similarities
Differences
Engaging w/Community; Leading Co-Curricular Activities;
Learning-lectures, workshops, and community events; and Livingsocial activities
GE reinforce and overlapping goals Dr. EB Brown

Assessment

Quantitative/Qualitative Data
Hours spent in community; Pre/Post Tests measure KSAs using UIPUIs Civic Minded
Graduate Prompt
Reflections (co-curricular activities, courses and social activities)
Annual Reports (2012, 2013,2014) to tell their story

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RECOMMENDATIONS

Clearly define co-curricular experience

Modify existing assessment plans implemented at smaller
institutions
Curricular mapping

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QUESTIONS