The assessment of general education learning outcomes at JCCC began in response to the requirements for North Central accreditation. In preparation for the North Central visit during the 1996-97 academic year, a faculty committee developed and piloted our current general education plan.

The purpose of the entire general education assessment process is to evaluate how our institution and its curriculum are equipping our students with the basic general education skills - and then, as a result of the evaluation, to adjust the curriculum if necessary to assure that these outcomes are being adequately addressed. So, the assessment is formative rather than summative.

Several principles underlie the process. First, the general education learning outcomes are the responsibility of the faculty as a whole, not merely the responsibility of isolated departments. Next, the process was designed to be minimally intrusive for faculty. Also, the plan was designed to use existing samples of student work, eliminating the need for extrinsic incentives to motivate student participation. Finally, it is important to note that neither names of students nor names of faculty are attached to any of the work when it is evaluated, and as a result, no names are attached to the data as it is analyzed and reported.

The six general education learning outcomes are:

Culture and Ethics Outcome

Mathematics Outcome

Modes of Inquiry Outcome

Problem Solving Outcome

Speaking Outcome

Writing Outcome