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San Francisco State University
General Education Program
Assessment Plan, Roles, and Responsibilities

1. Assessment of GE Courses/Clusters: GE course expectations and student leaning outcomes will be reviewed in the same year in a given GE Segment and/or Area, during a five year period, and on a rotating schedule as follows:
   • Segment I-Basic Subjects: Written Communications, Oral Communications, Critical Thinking, and Quantitative Reasoning.
   • Segment III and the Cultural, Ethnic, or Social Diversity Requirement (CESD).
   • Segment II: The Physical and Biological Sciences (PBS) Area and the Laboratory and Field Requirement (L/F).
   • Segment II: The Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA) Area and the American Ethnic and Racial Minorities Requirement (AERM).
   • Segment II: The Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSS) Area and the Lifelong Development Requirement (LLD).
   For the course expectation review, all courses in the Segment and/or Area will be assessed based on the Course Expectations Matrix and the syllabus submitted by the department or program in terms of the degree to which they meet course expectations. For the student learning outcomes review, in the fall semester of the year prior to the planned GE assessment, the GEC will invite relevant GE Committees, department chairs offering GE courses in the Segment and/or Area to be assessed, and the Office of Academic Planning and Assessment to discuss how the assessment of student learning outcomes will be conducted (henceforth referred to as the "Approved Assessment Method". Following this meeting, the GEC shall select, in consultation and collaboration with relevant departments, GE Committees, and the Office of Academic Planning and Assessment, a sample of courses/sections (henceforth referred to as the 'Sample Assessment Courses' in which the achievement of general education student learning outcomes will be assessed based on the "Approved Assessment Method" to include the Student Learning Outcomes Matrices. Since GE Segment I consists of multiple sections of a few courses, the "Sample of Assessment Courses" will consist of multiple sections of GE Segment I courses. In GE Segments II and III, a single section of a given course may be selected as a "Sample Assessment Course". Due to the complexity and size of GE Segment III, clusters and courses in GE Segment III may be reviewed on an incremental annual basis with the final report due every five years.
2. GE Assessment Roles and Responsibilities
   A. The Dean of Undergraduate Studies: The Dean of Undergraduate Studies is responsible for providing current and accurate GE data and information to the college deans, department chairs, GE Committees, and the GEC regarding student access, demand, completion rates, and appropriate support services related to GE courses and/or clusters under review. After the "Sample Assessment Courses" and the "Approved Assessment Method" are determined in the manner specified in Item I above, the Dean of Undergraduate Studies is responsible for determining the need for, and coordinating the attainment of, funds needed to conduct the assessment.
   B. The Departments: Each department offering GE courses should maintain a file of current GE course syllabi, a GE Course Expectations Matrix, and a GE Student Learning Outcomes Matrix for each approved GE course. Faculty teaching GE courses should be informed of the course expectations and student learning outcomes for approved GE courses and/or clusters and of the relevant GE policies and procedures that pertain to the GE Segments, Areas and/or Requirements (i.e., AERM, LLD, and CESD) for which those GE courses are approved. For the GE course expectations review, departments shall submit 1) a current GE course syllabus that is representative of the sections taught, 2) a GE Course Expectations Matrix, and 3) a GE Student Learning Outcomes Matrix each time an approved GE course is in a GE Segment or Area scheduled for review. For courses in Category E - Languages Other Than English of the Humanities and Creative Arts Area, departments and programs may elect to submit one Course Expectations Matrix, one Student Learning Outcomes Matrix, and one sample syllabus that is representative of the courses that department or program offers in Category E. This exception applies to Category E courses only. For all other GE Segments, Areas, Categories, and Requirements these documents must be submitted for each course. These three documents must be submitted even if the particular course is not part of the "Sample Assessment Courses" selected for assessing the achievement of student learning outcomes. These documents should be submitted through college deans to the Office of Undergraduate Studies for transmittal to the appropriate GE Committees. The rotating GE review process will result in these documents being submitted for each GE course at least once every five years. For the student learning outcomes review, departments will submit documentation agreed upon through the consultative process outlined above.
   C. The GE Committees: The GE Committees are responsible for reviewing GE course syllabi, matrices, and data provided by the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. The GE Committees participate in the development of GE assessment procedures and the review of GE assessment reports to determine the extent to which courses approved for GE are fulfilling the course expectations and student learning outcomes for their respective GE Segments, Areas, and/or Requirements. The GE Segment III Committee will initiate a consultative process with Segment III cluster coordinators and department chairs regarding courses and clusters under assessment review. The GE Segment III Committee is responsible for ensuring that cluster coordinators provide department chairs and college deans with copies of the Cluster Cover Sheet, the Course Expectations Matrices and the Student Learning Outcomes Matrices for Segment III courses in their departments and colleges. The GE Committees shall forward a written summary report of their course/cluster reviews, their written reviews of specific GE course syllabi, matrices, and GE assessment reports along with their written analysis and recommendations to the GEC.
   D. The General Education Council (GEC): The GEC is responsible for reviewing the written GE assessment reports, recommendations, and analyses of the GE Committees, for assessing the adequacy of institutional support, for requesting additional information to assist in its evaluation process, and for making recommendation to the Academic Senate and to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies on GE assessment activities and results. The GEC will work with the GE Committees to provide feedback to all departments and colleges, to acknowledge successful programs, and to initiate a discussion with departments to facilitate any curricular improvements if necessary. In the case of the continued failure to meet GE course expectations or GE student learning outcomes, or to respond to GEC and/or GE Committee requests for information, the GEC may delete specific courses and/or clusters from the GE program.
   The GEC will encourage the faculty to use the results of the GE assessment process to make curricular changes that foster the improvement, currency, and effectiveness of student learning at SFSU through its general education program. The GEC will recommend the deletion from GE of any course that consistently fails to meet the specified course expectations or student learning outcomes.