The English faculty this year chose to assess items from three of the stated Goals: Goal 1 (outcomes 1-4) dealing with knowledge of literary works and authors from both the Anglo-American tradition and works from other world traditions, Goal 4 (outcomes 1-2) dealing with classifying works by genre and identifying the elements of literature, and Goal 5 (Outcomes 1-4) dealing with the location and use of appropriate research resources.

In order to assess Outcome 1, the faculty administered the Educational Testing Service Major Field Examination: Literature in English to English majors nearing graduation. Fifteen seniors took examination. The students as a cohort scored above the national average for all seniors nationally taking the examination. The examination will be administered for at least two more years in order to determine its relevance and reliability in assessing the faculty’s goals. Furthermore, the examination provides subscores in four areas which will allow faculty to make adjustments in curriculum or major requirements in response to these scores.

To analyze Outcome 4 and Outcome 5, English faculty collected portfolios containing three papers from eight graduating seniors enrolled in the ENG-L495 Senior Seminar. Students supplied a paper reflecting primary literary analysis, one reflecting the combination of primary and secondary sources in literary analysis, and a third reflecting the use of literary theory to conduct literary analysis. These portfolios were evaluated by the English faculty. The English faculty continues to refine the process of evaluating these portfolios.

The English faculty this year chose to assess items from two of the stated Goals: Goal 1 (outcomes 1-4) dealing with knowledge of literary works and authors from both the Anglo-American tradition and works from other world traditions and Goal 5 (Outcomes 1-2) dealing with the location and use of appropriate research resources.

In order to assess Outcome 1, the faculty administered the Educational Testing Service Major Field Examination: Literature in English to English majors nearing graduation. Fourteen seniors took the initial online administration of the examination. The students as a cohort scored near the national average for all seniors nationally taking the examination. The examination will be administered for at least two more years in order to determine its relevance and reliability in assessing the faculty’s goals. Furthermore, the examination provides subscores in four areas which will allow faculty to make adjustments in curriculum or major requirements in response to these scores.

As an initial step in analyzing Outcome 5, English faculty compiled information concerning what research requirements exist in current courses. The survey identified a wide range of resources--indexes, journals, reference works, and websites—that are employed in our courses. The results of this survey will become the basis for identifying which resources should be introduced to students and where. A complete list is included in the full assessment report.