Embedded Files
Sign up to participate in the Fall semester GER Assessment!
Who is involved?
Who is involved?
GER Faculty – Provide student work and align courses to learning outcomes.
EAGER – Leads rubric development, scoring, and review of results.
GER Governance Committees – Oversee outcomes and curriculum alignment.
Assessment Support Staff – Coordinate data collection, reporting, and accreditation needs.
Academic Leadership – Use findings to inform planning and improvement.
How was the Assessment Developed?
How was the Assessment Developed?
Faculty-defined learning outcomes for General Education.
Shared rubrics created and refined through cross-disciplinary collaboration.
A rotating assessment cycle to ensure manageable participation.
Pilot reviews and norming sessions to strengthen consistency and clarity.
Ongoing refinement based on faculty feedback and assessment results.
The Assessment Cycle
The Assessment Cycle
The GER Assessment Cycle at UAF promotes sustainability, clarity, and actionable feedback. Under the model:
GER Learning Outcomes 1 and 2 are assessed in alternating years.
The GER Summit occurs every third year to review assessment findings, provide faculty development, and guide program-level improvements.
This cycle creates a predictable, faculty-led rhythm for data collection, review, and feedback, while ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and accreditation standards.
Assessment Ecologies
Assessment Ecologies
This figure is from Asao Inoue's book Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies. These interrelated elements have been adapted to UAF's General Education Assessment model to showcase the non-linear interaction and relationships that are set in motion as we come together to participate in the ecology. Open source book available here.
An ecological approach to learning assessment means that we focus holistically and relationally. We can design a healthy ecosystem together by recognizing how feedback from our system can be used to not only improve and strengthen but also to grow the quality of the connections between contexts, both institutional and community-based.
Source: Inoue, A. B. (2015). Figure 1. Seven interrelated elements constitute a writing assessment ecology. . In Antiracist writing assessment ecologies: teaching and assessing writing for a socially just future (pp. 176–176). The WAC Clearinghouse. https://doi.org/https://wac.colostate.edu/docs/books/inoue/ecologies.pdf
Accreditation Context and External Validation
Accreditation Context and External Validation
During accreditation review, peer evaluators identified GER assessment as a strength of the institution. No recommendations for changes were issued. Informal feedback from peer reviewers has affirmed that UAF’s faculty-driven signature assignment model is seen as strong and replicable; at least one peer institution adopted a similar approach after reviewing UAF’s process.
This external validation confirms that the structure and philosophy of UAF’s GER assessment are sound.
The General Education Requirements Assessment Guidebook
The General Education Requirements Assessment Guidebook
The GER Guidelines Manual provides a comprehensive framework for implementing and sustaining effective General Education assessment. It outlines shared learning outcomes, assessment expectations, faculty roles, submission procedures, and the cyclical review process that guides continuous improvement.
Designed as a practical resource, the manual clarifies how courses align with GER outcomes, how student work is selected and evaluated, and how results are used at the program level. It also includes guidance on rubric use, timelines, reporting structures, and governance responsibilities.
This manual serves as both a reference and a roadmap — supporting faculty, committees, and academic leaders in maintaining a rigorous, transparent, and faculty-driven General Education program.
Page updated
Report abuse