General Education assessment at LaGuardia flows from its mission as an open-access community college. Our assessment processes reflect our focus on students’ longitudinal growth. We believe that, to be effective, development of student learning requires recursive attention in both General Education core courses and in required courses in the major, from First Year Seminars to Capstone courses. Consequently, LaGuardia assesses its General Education Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) both in the Pathways Core and in three required courses in every major during early, middle and late points in the curriculum.
LaGuardia uses curriculum maps to structure its General Education work. Directors of every major and coordinators of Pathways courses submit curriculum maps matching courses and SLOs. The Assessment Leadership Team and the College-Wide Curriculum Committee, an arm of College governance, review these maps. Using the maps as a guide, faculty develop assignments that recursively and intentionally build student capacities related to the SLOs.
LaGuardia assesses SLOs by examining student-learning artifacts collected in our ePortfolio system organized according to the curriculum maps. Faculty and staff rate these artifacts using college-wide Core Competency and Ability rubrics. Shared with the College, findings inform changes in curriculum and instruction in both Pathways and required courses in each major. Regular Periodic Program Reviews (PPRs) require majors to use SLO data to make recommendations for improvement. Findings also shape the programs of the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL), supporting SLO-related improvement efforts.
Benchmark Reading data from 2018-2019 show how assessment helps to build professional learning and advance student learning and success.