Annual Assessment Meeting

The Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts will be holding the Third Annual Assessment Conference on August 8- 10, 2004. We will be focusing on two initiatives: the Center of Inquiry’s longitudinal study, Liberal Arts Education: A Study of Practices and Outcomes, and American Association of Colleges and Universities’ Liberal Education and America’s Promise: Engaging the Public with What Matters in Colleges.  Participants from around the country will gather in conversation and discussion about these two initiatives, which are early in their development.

Agenda

Summary

The Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts welcomed representatives from a variety of organizations with interests in higher education for their Third Annual Assessment Conference August 8-10, 2004.

Ernie Pascarella (University of Iowa), Patricia King (University of Michigan), Marcia Baxter Magolda (Miami University), and Carol Schneider (AAC&U) gave presentations and led discussions at the Monday/Tuesday meetings. Dr. Pascarella described the quantitative portion of the Center of Inquiry’s longitudinal study of practices and outcomes of liberal arts education. Dr. King and Dr. Baxter Magolda discussed the in-depth campus study and interview components of this research. Dr. Schneider presented the initiatives of the AAC&U with a focus on policy leaders and the public becoming engaged with the learning outcomes of liberal arts education. She also addressed the topic of possible connections with the Center of Inquiry’s longitudinal study and with other research.

Conference attendees posed challenging questions to the presenters and offered valuable ideas for improvements to the current research plans. Some suggestions were to find ways to track students who do not stay at one institution for their whole undergraduate experience; to collect examples of student work over time to evaluate development; and to intentionally include a mix of institutions in the studies. One participant remarked on the rich data available if researchers could follow subgroups of students and it was noted that these types of investigations have been planned and will take place. Many lively discussions broached topics including preferred terminology and the need for more concrete definitions of liberal arts outcomes/liberal arts education; current public impressions of liberal arts and how to better inform this audience; and what results the Center's studies might uncover.