Recertification & Assessment FAQs
The signature assignment must meet the assignment parameters established for each goal and the minimum number of rubric criteria indicated.
Yes, you are welcome to use or modify an existing assignment if it meets the assignment parameters.
Courses will be expected to incorporate their signature assignment and identify it in the course Canvas shell in Spring 2025 or the first semester taught after Spring 2025.
Faculty and instructors who teach multiple sections of the same course should discuss their signature assignment and the rubric measures being used with each other. While the signature assignment can vary between sections based on the instructor teaching style and expertise, the instructors should collaborate to ensure expectations are similar for students across sections, the KU Core 34 learning outcomes are met, and the assignment meets the rubric parameters.
For example, a general assignment structure -- say, a 3-4 page paper with a strong thesis statement and a bibliography -- could be adopted across course sections, with each instructor using that structure to address a different topic or specialization with their students. By contrast, considerably broader variation -- like students writing a 5-paragraph essay in one course section while students in another section write a 15-page paper -- would not meet this expectation of consistency.
It is important to note that, aside from this one signature assignment requirement, other areas of the course may vary across individual instructors at the department's discretion.
The UCCC expects courses to meet all learning outcomes and the milestones outlined in the rubric throughout their courses but acknowledges it may be challenging to do that within one assignment. The assignment parameters indicate how many criteria the signature assignment is expected to meet.
Faculty will be asked to submit the signature assignment prompt and identify the rubric criteria the assignment meets.
Signature assignments will be centrally retrieved at the end of each semester the course is offered. Beginning in Spring 2025 or the next time the course is offered, instructors teaching KU Core 34 courses will be required to "tag" their signature assignment in Canvas.
Instructors will add a "tag" to the title of their assignment that corresponds with the KU Core 34 Goal. Instructions for tagging assignments are available here.
According to FERPA, you are not required to inform students that their artifacts will be shared. However, we have crafted language to include on your syllabus and/or within the assignment prompts if you'd like to inform or students
Assignment/Syllabus Notification
Student submissions for this assignment may be used during the University Assessment Council’s assessment of the KU Core 34 general education [Insert Goal Name] goal. Names and student ID numbers will be removed prior to review by the University Assessment Council. This practice complies with FERPA regulations regarding disclosure of student educational records.
The Center for Teaching Excellence is available to assist faculty in creating or modifying signature assignments.
A variety of the AAC&U rubrics were used in the development of the KU Core 34 rubrics including, written communication, oral communication, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, inquiry and analysis, integrative learning, ethical reasoning, global learning, and intercultural knowledge and competence.
No. Faculty and instructors will continue to evaluate students’ work independently of the KU Core 34 rubrics.
KU Core 34 assessment is not designed to assess courses individually but to assess how the entire goal is meeting the learning outcomes and goal.
Results of the assessment are provided to all instructors teaching courses within a particular KU Core 34 goal. All faculty teaching within each goal will be invited to a debriefing session where the results will be shared and discussed.
Course instructors will be asked to reflect on the results during the University Core Curriculum Committee’s (UCCC) recertification process which occurs during the academic year following the goal’s assessment.
The staggering of the assessment and recertification process allows for instructors to reflect on the results of assessment and inform the UCCC and University Assessment Committee how they plan to incorporate those results into their course as needed.