Colleges moving away from pure "cafeteria-style" general education requirements

Today AAC&U announced the findings of a new survey on trends in undergrad general education. Here are a few excerpts:

The survey of chief academic officers at 433 colleges and universities of all sorts (public and private, two-year and four-year, large and small) suggests that many colleges and universities are reforming their general education programs and developing new curricular approaches and ways to assess key learning outcomes. As institutions review their general education programs, many are choosing to incorporate more engaged and integrative curricular practices.

Only 15 percent of colleges and universities are now using a cafeteria-style general education program alone. More than two-thirds of colleges and universities use a model that combines course choice with other integrative features like learning communities or thematic required courses.

For example:

• 41 percent of institutions report incorporating common intellectual experiences
• 36 percent use thematic required courses
• 33 percent now have upper-level general education requirements, and
• 24 percent use learning communities in which a group of students take the same set of courses linked to a common theme.

Assessing General Education Outcomes

Almost all of the institutions surveyed (89 percent) are in some stage of either assessing or modifying their general education program. Assessment of cumulative learning outcomes in general education is, in fact, now becoming the norm. Fifty-two percent of institutions are currently assessing cumulative learning outcomes in general education beyond the level of individual course grades, with another 42 percent reporting that they are planning for assessment of cumulative general education learning outcomes.

Assessments of cumulative learning in general education vary widely, with 40 percent using rubrics applied to examples of student work, 37 percent assessing culminating or capstone projects, 26 percent using national tests of general skills, and another 23 percent using locally developed examinations.
Few institutions are using standardized national tests of general knowledge, such as science or the humanities, however. Only sixteen percent of those surveyed report using such tests.