Goal 6 Guidance

Capstone Requirement Guidance - Summer 2023

 

Overview

On March 30, 2023, in response to the KBOR Systemwide General Education Framework (KBOR Core) and in an effort to align our existing KU Core Curriculum with this package, faculty voted to amend the USRR code, Article 3, Section 1.1, to integrate the capstone requirement previously reflected in the KU Core (Goal 6) into the Bachelor's Degree. The new amendment reads: 

USSR Section 1. Requirements for Graduation with the Bachelor's Degree:  

3.1.1 The minimum requirement for graduation with a bachelor's degree shall be 120 credit hours  and at least 45 hours shall be in junior-senior courses  (including a 3 credit capstone course or equivalent, as determined by the relevant academic unit), at least 30 hours of residence courses at the University of Kansas (as defined in Article IV of the Faculty Senate Rules and Regulations) and a 2.0 minimum cumulative grade point average for the coursework taken in residence at the University of Kansas. 

What is a Capstone? 

A capstone is meant to be a culminating experience that integrates or synthesizes learning within a student’s area(s) of study and provides students an opportunity to reflect on their experience as they prepare for their career or graduate/professional studies upon completion of their bachelor's degree. 

According to the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U): 

Whether they’re called “senior capstones” or some other name, these culminating experiences require students nearing the end of their college years to create a project of some sort that integrates and applies what they’ve learned. The project might be a research paper, a performance, a portfolio of “best work,” or an exhibit of artwork (AAC&U, 2023). 

Why a Required Capstone?

A successful education promotes thinking within or across disciplines to generate original ideas, to be creative, and to find new ways of perception and expression. With such capabilities, students can make new and innovative discoveries that can change the world. Inherent in this goal is the integration of knowledge, creative thinking, and problem-solving across multiple courses and experiences.  

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has identified capstone courses and projects as High-Impact Practices (HIPs), “based on evidence of significant educational benefits for students who participate in them—including and especially those from demographic groups historically underserved by higher education” (AAC&U, 2023).  

Research has shown that students who participate in capstone experiences are more likely to engage with their peers and instructors, perceive their college or university as a place of learning and support, and engage in higher-order learning (Kuh, 2008; NSSE 2021). 

Approval & Assessment of Capstone Experiences

New capstone courses or experiences are still required to meet either learning outcome one or two (listed below) and criteria for a capstone experience originally outlined in KU Core Goal 6: 

Learning Outcome 1 

Upon reaching this goal, students will be able to analyze and combine information from different areas within or across disciples to approach and explain existing questions and problems from new perspectives, to pose new questions, and to generate new ideas. 

 

-or- 

Learning Outcome 2 

Upon reaching this goal, students will be able to think, react, and work in imaginative ways that produce innovative expressions and original perspectives. 

Criteria 

Courses, programs, educational experiences, and combinations of courses/experiences that meet these outcomes must satisfy the following: 

  1. Lead to integration of knowledge within or across disciplines. 

  1. Include instruction or a project that explicitly involves integration of knowledge within or across disciplines. 

  1. Require a creative product (for example, a performance, paper, or presentation). 

  1. Be evaluated for integration and/or creative thinking. 

  1. Be completed at the junior or senior level. 

 

Rubric 

AAC&U’s Integrative and Applied Learning VALUE Rubric will be used by the University Assessment Committee to assess student learning across all Capstone courses at KU.  

New courses should continue to be submitted to the UCCC for approval. The UCCC will continue partner with the University Assessment Committee. The focus of the assessment conducted will be at the institutional level, rather than the individual courses or departments. Therefore, instructors and departments should continue their own internal assessment processes for assessing student achievement of Core learning outcomes.   

All Capstone courses should expect to maintain an archive of artifacts of student learning demonstrating achievement of learning outcome one or two and provide in the academic year Capstones are being assessed institutionally. 

FAQs

If you plan to continue to offer the course or experience to fulfill the capstone requirement, we recommend you review your capstone course(s) to ensure they are still in alignment with the learning outcomes and criteria for a capstone course.  

Additionally, verify that degree requirements note the course or experience fulfills the capstone requirement (effective Fall 2024).   

No action is needed on your part to decertify or remove the course from the KU Core unless you need to retire the course.  

If your department grants undergraduate degrees, your students must complete a capstone course or experience (effective Fall 2024). Your department can create a new course or may elect to allow students to complete a capstone course or experience offered by another department. If you’d like to use an experiential learning option for completing the capstone requirement, consider using LA&S 490: Internship Exploration, the Service-Learning Certificate, or an Alternative Break trip (UNIV 492) to meet the requirements. Email experience@ku.edu for more details about these options. 

Capstone courses and experiences must align with the Capstone Learning Outcomes and Criteria (formerly used for KU Core Goal 6).  

Once a department has identified their plans for the capstone requirement, they should submit the course or experience to the UCCC for approval.  

The Center for Teaching Excellence (cte.ku.edu) is a resource for developing a new capstone course or enhancing an existing course. 

The UCCC in partnership with AIRE has created a dashboard in OAC to help departments understand how their students have historically fulfilled Goal 6. For assistance in accessing this information, please contact the KU Core Support Team at kucore@ku.edu.  

While departments determine their specific capstone course or experience requirements, the UCCC in partnership with Academic Affairs will continue to assess student learning and alignment with the Capstone Learning Outcomes and Criteria (formerly used for KU Core Goal 6). 

The UCCC has received feedback throughout the Systemwide Gen Ed Alignment process that there is a need to update or add clarity to the learning outcomes and criteria for several KU Core Goals, including Goal 6. Beginning this summer and continuing into the Fall semester, the UCCC will review the learning outcomes and criteria. The UCCC will provide updates as the work unfolds and opportunities for the campus community to provide feedback.   

In the meantime, instructors should continue to use the existing KU Core Learning Outcomes and Criteria.  

References

 

Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2023). High-impact practices. https://www.aacu.org/trending-topics/high-impact  

Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2009). Integrative and applied learning VALUE rubric. https://www.aacu.org/initiatives/value-initiative/value-rubrics/value-rubrics-integrative-and-applied-learning  

Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities. 

National Survey of Student Engagement. (2021). High-impact practices. https://nsse.indiana.edu/nsse/survey-instruments/high-impact-practices.html