» Core Competencies Assessment

Chapman University programs, General Education (GE), and degree majors, ensure that students develop the following core competencies: critical thinking (CT), written communication (WC), oral communication (OC), quantitative reasoning (QR), and information literacy (IL). The core competencies are best explained by the Association of American Colleges and Universities:

AAC&U Value Rubrics

While Chapman programs tweak some details of the core competencies to adapt to the programs’ curriculum, most of the qualities align with AAC&U’s description and rubric. Below is additional information on how Chapman programs incorporate the core competencies into their respective curriculum.

GE PROGRAM AND CORE COMPETENCIES
Chapman University’s GE Program is comprised of four requirements across nine inquiry areas. To satisfy the four requirements, students need to complete, on average, nine courses (approximately 45 units). All GE courses are aligned with their respective inquiry area learning outcomes, which overlap with the core competencies (see table below).

	Critical Thinking	Information Literacy	Oral Communication	Quantitative Reasoning	Written Communication
Artistic Inquiry	X				X
Citizenship, Community, and Service Inquiry	X	X			X
First-Year Focus	X	X			X
Exploration Focus	X				X
Global Studies Inquiry	X				X
Language Inquiry	X		X		X
Natural Sciences Inquiry	X			X	X
Quantitative Inquiry	X			X	X
Social Inquiry	X				X
Values and Ethics Inquiry	X				X
Written Inquiry	X				X

MAJOR DEGREE PROGRAMS AND CORE COMPETENCIES
Given the learning structure at Chapman University, summative core competencies assessment occurs in major degree programs. Each program creates its own core competencies assessment plan based on its curriculum and focus. Many programs’ core competencies assessment overlaps with their program learning outcomes assessment. The degree of the overlap is, again, dependent on the program’s curriculum.

The assessment reporting and review processes also are similar to the program’s learning outcomes assessment processes. Programs submit their core competencies assessment reports for review by the University Assessment Committee. The Assessment Committee reviews the work, rates the quality of the assessment (i.e., rating scale 1-4), and provides feedback across three sections: Process, Performance, and Progress. The process section focuses on the program’s assessment structure. The performance section focuses on data analysis. The progress section focuses on the program’s review of the data and improvement plans. Below are the core competencies report and review forms:

The program reports also are sent to the Provost Office for review. Below are the following:

Program reports of core competencies assessment (password protected)
Core competencies assessment data analysis
Core competencies assessment review analysis

1. Major Degree Program Assessment Reports

2. Core Competencies Assessment Data Analysis

	Critical Thinking	Information Literacy	Oral Communication	Quantitative Reasoning	Written Communication
2019	CT Data Analysis 2019	IL Data Analysis 2019	OC Data Analysis 2019	QR Data Analysis 2019	WC Data Analysis 2019
2020	CT Data Analysis 2020	IL Data Analysis 2020	OC Data Analysis 2020	QR Data Analysis 2020	WC Data Analysis 2020
2021	CT Data Analysis 2021	IL Data Analysis 2021	OC Data Analysis 2021	QR Data Analysis 2021	WC Data Analysis 2021

3. Core Competencies Assessment Review Analysis

	Critical Thinking	Information Literacy	Oral Communication	Quantitative Reasoning	Written Communication
2019	CT Review Analysis 2019	IL Review Analysis 2019	OC Review Analysis 2019	QR Review Analysis 2019	WC Review Analysis 2019
2020	CT Review Analysis 2020	IL Review Analysis 2020	OC Review Analysis 2020	QR Review Analysis 2020	WC Review Analysis 2020
2021	CT Review Analysis 2021	IL Review Analysis 2021	OC Review Analysis 2021	QR Review Analysis 2021	WC Review Analysis 2021