General Education Program
Administrative or Educational Support Unit
Fall 2003
Assessment Period Covered
January 2004
Date Submitted
Expanded Statement of Institutional Purpose Linkage:
Institutional Mission/Goal(s) Reference:
Texas A&M International University, a Member of The Texas A&M
University System, is committed to the preparation of students for leadership
roles in their chosen profession and in increasingly complex, culturally
diverse state, national, and global society … Through instruction, faculty
and student research, and public service, Texas A&M International
University is a strategic point of delivery for well-defined programs
and services that improve the quality of life for citizens of the border
region, the State of Texas, and national and international communities.
Administrative or Educational Support Unit Mission Statement:
At Texas A&M International University, the Core curriculum introduces
students to academic disciplines which form the foundation of human thought…Our
Core is conceived to open new areas of learning for our students and to foster
skills necessary for success in higher education. As they move through this course
of study, students are encouraged…to develop the capacity to articulate and
support a thesis, to think critically, to synthesize their observations and to
perceive analogies and relationships between seemingly diverse ideas and intellectual
pursuits.
Intended Administrative Objectives:
1. Compose an essay concerning a current events topic or a
literary topic
2. Read with understanding
3. Demonstrate basic mathematical skills
General Education Program
Administrative or Educational Support Unit
Fall 2003
Assessment Period Covered
January 2004
Date Submitted
Intended Administrative or Educational Support Objective:
1. Compose an essay concerning a current events topic or a literary
topic
First Means of Assessment for Objective Identified Above:
1a. Means of Unit Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Upon completion of six hours of core-mandated English, students
must take the University Writing Assessment (UWA), a locally developed
and scored writing assessment. 70% of students who have taken the
six hour core at TAMIU and are taking the UWA for the first time
will pass on any given administration of the examination.
a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected
During the fall administration of the UWA, 42 students who completed
six hours of their Core at TAMIU took the assessment for the first time.
24 students or 57.14% of these students passed the UWA.
a. Use of Results to Improve Unit Services:
The analytical analysis of 100 sample essays was conducted again
to identify areas of student weakness in writing that can be used
to formulate suggestions for alterations in curriculum and test administration.
Of the five categories (1)organization & focus, (2)development,
(3)logic and coherence, (4) syntax and style, (5)and mechanics,
students are most deficient in development and syntax and style.
The analytical rubric data suggest again that while grammar and usage
remains a dominant category for evaluating student writing, the development
of ideas and arguments appears to be the most important analytical
category in predicting student success on the University Writing
Assessment. The need to re-evaluate the curriculum of 1301 and 1302
was discussed by the department of Language and Literature. The freshmen
committee was given the charge of evaluating the English 1301 and
English 1302 curriculum. The decision was made to pilot a modified
1301 and 1302 curriculum in Fall 2004 which will emphasize writing
skills more directly and thoroughly throughout the two semesters.
General Education Program
Administrative or Educational Support Unit
Fall 2003
Assessment Period Covered
January 2004
Date Submitted
Intended Administrative or Educational Support Objective:
2. Read with understanding
First Means of Assessment for Objective Identified Above:
1a. Means of Unit Assessment & Criteria for Success:
As part of PSCI 2306, students will take the Reading module of
the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) examination.
The average score of TAMIU students will be at or above the national
average.
1a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected
128 students took the Fall 2003 administration of the CAAP. The
mean for TAMIU students was 58.5 while the national mean was
62.6.
1a. Use of Results to Improve Unit Services:
The University Assessment Committee reviewed the results and recommended
that the University assess TAMIU students’ reading preparation through
the PLATO software during their first semester of History 1301 and that
those scores be compared to subsequent CAAP results.
General Education Program
Administrative or Educational Support Unit
Fall 2003
Assessment Period Covered
January 2004
Date Submitted
Intended Administrative or Educational Support Objective:
NOTE: There should be one form C for each intended objective
listed on form B. The intended unit objective should
be restated in the box immediately below and the intended objective
number entered in the blank space below
3. Demonstrate basic mathematical skills
First Means of Assessment for Objective Identified Above:
a. Means of Unit Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Students will take common course examination in College Algebra. 75% of
students taking the examination will pass with a 60.
a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected
A total of 146 students completed the course and sat for the
common final examination. Of these, 98 students (67%) had a score
of 60% or above.
a. Use of Results to Improve Unit Services:
The results for the Fall 2003 administration of the common algebra
improved significantly. Some of the suggestions for improvement made
in unit services for the Spring semester have been implemented, particularly
in the areas of tutoring and early intervention. More emphasis needs
to be placed on traditional college algebra sections (including general
problem solving, inequalities, quadratic optimization problems, and inverse
functions) in order to meet or surpass the benchmark of 75%.