Assessment is essential to maintaining a quality General Education program for our students. We use evidence from our assessments to reflect on our program and make continual revisions for improvement. The University of Arizona's assessment plan for General Education includes:

Assessment of Learning
  • Assessment of student learning through instruments developed in collaboration with Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University to fulfill the requirements of the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) General Education policy
  • Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes for the UArizona General Education Program (listed below)
Assessment of Instruction
  • Review of course proposals for General Education by the University-Wide General Education Committee (UWGEC), including recertification of courses in the General Education program every five years
  • Formative assessment of instruction through reviews of teaching (process to be determined by UWGEC)

ABOR Assessment of Student Learning

The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) requires that the three state universities collaborate on the design of assessments of the following areas of student learning:

  • Written Communication (assessment to be launched in Fall 2021)
  • Quantitative Reasoning (expected 2022)
  • Critical Thinking (expected 2023)
  • Civic Knowledge (expected 2024)

Subject matter and assessment experts from all three universities have met continuously since April 2020 to work on designing the assessments, starting with Written Communication. They will be launched in consecutive years and then rotated in order so that one assessment is conducted each year and reported to the Regents on an ongoing basis.

Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes for the UA General Education Program

All General Education courses must demonstrate how they will address the four learning outcomes of the UArizona General Education Program, and these learning outcomes are assessed on a rotating annual basis in the General Education program, beginning with "Communicate Effectively" in the 2021-2022 academic year:

  • Exercise synthetic, analytic and/or computational/quantitative reasoning as needed to solve problems.

  • Raise salient questions about the evidence, inferences, and conclusions of inquiries, including one’s own inquiries.

  • Infer and assess the ambiguities, assumptions, values, and purposes at issue in inquiries, including one’s own work.

  • Interpret and clearly present information in varied formats, such as graphs, charts, and multimedia projects.

  • Compose correct and clear written material in multiple formats such as research logs, researched reports, exam answers, and reflective essays.

  • Improve written and visual documents in response to feedback.

  • Assess how different modes of inquiry and expression are appropriate in varied cultural and disciplinary contexts.

  • Exercise flexible habits of mind when exposed to diverse opinions, new ideas, and complex societal problems.

  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the nature of interpersonal, intragroup and intergroup dynamics, and skills.

  • Access and evaluate the reliability of information from varied sources, such as internet and library resources.

  • Use information sources ethically and responsibly.

ABOR General Education Content Requirements 

The following competencies and knowledge areas from the ABOR General Education policy are central to the University of Arizona General Education program. Some requirements are distinct areas of focus in specific classes and some requirements are embedded throughout the curriculum. For example, intercultural competency and quantitative reasoning are attributes attached to specific courses in our General Education program, while oral communication, written communication, and civic knowledge are both addressed intentionally in many classes throughout the curriculum and also areas of focus in specific classes.

Note: Courses in General Education are currently being reviewed to identify which ones cover Oral Communication and Civic Knowledge in depth as we finalize the curriculum for the Spring 2022 launch.

  • Written and Oral Communication

  • Critical Thinking

  • Intercultural Competencies

  • Civility

  • Diversity and Inclusion

  • Application of Ideas to Real World Situations

  • Ethics

  • Teamwork

  • Time Management

  • Quantitative Reasoning

  • Economic Theory

  • US History

  • Communication

  • Rhetoric

  • Composition

  • Literature

  • Fine Arts

  • Humanities

  • Social & Behavioral Studies

  • American Institutions

  • Natural Sciences