|
Placement tests are administered to incoming students for the purpose of assigning them to appropriate courses in Critical Thinking, Effective Writing, and Quantitative Reasoning.
In the Core Curriculum, faculty, working individually or collegially, design exercises to understand how well students think and communicate within a discipline. These may be administered at the beginning and at the end of Core courses. Specific assignments within the context of courses may also be used for assessment purposes.
Each department or program defines each transferable skill (critical thinking, effective writing, effective oral communication, quantitative reasoning, technology competency, information literacy, and moral reasoning) within the context of the major and then divides the skill into specific competencies for students to develop from the freshman year through the senior year in both Core and major courses. Each plan includes a definition of each competency, an indication of courses and assignments designed to help students develop the competence, and specific criteria faculty and students use to gauge the quality of student performance. These plans are guides for the faculty; students see them translated into syllabi and instructions for assignments within courses.
Each department or program designs a screening exercise, usually conducted within a required sophomore or junior course for the major, to determine each student's ability to transfer critical thinking and effective communication (writing and speaking) to an appropriate project related to the major field of study. Faculty interacts with students throughout the project and share results with them. If the proper level of skill is not apparent, the student is referred to an appropriate office (such as the Academic Skills Center) for assistance. The process also evaluates the student's likelihood of success in the major.
Each department or program designs an exercise, usually in the context of a required senior course, a capstone seminar, or a project, to allow the faculty and student to examine the latter's success in integrating learning in the major with advanced levels of the transferable skills of liberal learning.
Since that time King's curriculum has been featured in various national publications such as Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Barron's Best Buys in Education. It has also been praised by national educational associations, including the Society for Values in Higher Education. |
