Go for the Gold with General Education Assessment

September 02, 2026 / Tags: Assessment, Academic Affairs, Academic Affairs News, General Education

(Photos) Faculty engage in activities to strengthen student success in General Education during the Undergraduate Studies interactive workshops held on August 11.

Undergraduate Studies (UGS) champions academic excellence that transcends degree programs, including General Education (Gen Ed), sustainability, writing, and civic literacy. Central to that work is General Education Assessment, a shared-governance process where faculty, staff, and stakeholders across campus review assessment data to inform continuous improvement of Gen Ed courses and competencies.

The 2025–26 General Education Assessment marked a milestone for FGCU and UGS. For the first time, a majority of Gen Ed sections contributed course-embedded assessment data in Spring 2026, including over 70% of sections in the two targeted competencies, Human Expression & Society and Quantitative Reasoning.

Over the summer, eighteen faculty evaluators from across campus conducted a juried assessment of these competencies, providing a nuanced view of student learning in our foundational courses.

On August 11, UGS held two interactive workshops, giving twenty-three faculty, across all the disciplines in general education, a first look at the results and an opportunity to provide feedback on the process.

The full assessment report will be presented at Gen Ed Palooza: Go for the Gold! on Wednesday, September 23 (12:30–2:30 p.m.) in Cohen 201. Faculty who earned gold, silver, and bronze medals for their participation will be recognized, and lunch will be provided. This event will also be the official kickoff for this year's assessment, which will focus on the Writing & Communication and Scientific Inquiry competencies. Contact Dr. Joe Ross at jross@fgcu.edu to learn more.