Capstone [CAPS] Assessment for UCORE

Introduction

UCORE’s Integrative Capstone [CAPS] courses provide a culminating student experience by asking students to integrate their learning to address authentic situations. [CAPS] courses are required to advance designator student learning outcomes associated with four of the WSU Undergraduate Learning Goals (Critical and Creative Thinking, Integrative Learning, Information Literacy, and Written Communication). In addition, [CAPS] courses may advance additional applicable designator learning outcomes associated with Quantitative Reasoning, Scientific Literacy, Diversity, and/or Non-Written Communication as appropriate to the course. [CAPS] courses are 400-level courses and students should have at least junior-level standing as a general prerequisite (senior-level standing is strongly preferred).

Given their position as the culminating experience within the UCORE curriculum, [CAPS] courses carry a strong responsibility to provide evidence of student achievement of the learning outcomes of the UCORE general education program (and the associated WSU Learning Goals).

Assessment

Visual depiction of the NILOA Transparency Framework Current Assessment Activities Component.

In place since 2015, UCORE’s Capstone [CAPS] Assessment is intended to help UCORE understand how well students are achieving the [CAPS] designator learning outcomes (and associated WSU Undergraduate Learning Goals) at the near-graduation level. Each semester, [CAPS] instructors are asked to submit a short report providing an assessment of student achievement of [CAPS] designator learning outcomes in their course (direct measure, using faculty expert judgement). The report switched to a rotating format starting in AY 2019-20, with four learning outcomes evaluated per year. Faculty are also asked to provide information about how the UCORE curriculum could better prepare students for [CAPS] designator learning outcomes and the kinds of changes they plan to make to their course based on assessment. For more information, see UCORE’s [CAPS] Assessment Reporting FAQs (PDF). Additionally, see the spotlight blog post Efficient Assessment: Aligning Grading Rubrics with WSU Learning Goals in UCORE [CAPS] Courses to learn more about how one [CAPS] instructor uses her final project grading rubric to efficiently produce assessment data for UCORE’s [CAPS] reporting.

To complement UCORE’s [CAPS] Assessment Reporting (direct measure, using faculty expert judgement), [CAPS] course enrollments and C-/D/F/W rates are also monitored (indirect measures, giving information about success and progress through the curriculum) for UCORE assessment. The Office of Assessment for Curricular Effectiveness (ACE) coordinates the assessment, reporting, and data analysis for Capstone [CAPS] Assessment for UCORE. 

Evidence of Student Learning

Visual depiction of the NILOA Transparency Framework Evidence of Student Learning Component.

Results of UCORE’s Capstone [CAPS] Assessment are compiled to provide a summary of student learning on [CAPS] designator learning outcomes (and the associated WSU Undergraduate Learning Goals) at the near-graduation level. Click on the links below to explore recent results from UCORE’s Capstone [CAPS] Assessment. For more summaries of results from UCORE’s Capstone [CAPS] Assessment, see Results of UCORE’s [CAPS] Assessment.

  • Student Learning at the Senior-level: AY 2022-23 [CAPS] Assessment Results As reported in the AY 2022-23 [CAPS] Assessment Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE (PDF), assessment results indicated that 83% of students met or exceeded expectations at the graduating undergraduate level on the designator learning outcome associated with Information Literacy. Additionally, 84% of students met or exceeded expectations for Integrative Learning. In courses where instructors […]
  • Student Learning at the Senior-level: AY 2021-22 [CAPS] Assessment Results As reported in the AY 2021-22 [CAPS] Assessment Reporting Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE (PDF), assessment results indicated that 85% of students met or exceeded expectations at the graduating undergraduate level for Critical & Creative Thinking. Additionally, 83% of students met or exceeded expectations for Written Communication. In courses where faculty members found enough elements to evaluate student learning on […]
  • Student Learning at the Senior Level: AY 2020-21 [CAPS] Course Assessment Results As reported in the AY 2020-21 [CAPS] Course Assessment Reporting Summary of Key Evidence for UCORE, assessment results indicated that 82% of students met or exceeded expectations at the graduating undergraduate level for Information Literacy. Additionally, 83% of students met or exceeded expectations for Integrative Learning. In courses where faculty members found enough elements to evaluate student learning on additional learning goals, instructors indicated that 82% of the students met or exceeded expectations for Scientific Literacy, and 81% for Quantitative Reasoning.

Uses of Assessment

Visual depiction of the NILOA Transparency Framework Use of Student Learning Evidence Component.

In concert with the UCORE Director, the UCORE Committee and Subcommittee for Assessment review results of UCORE’s Capstone [CAPS] Assessment and suggest actions for improved assessment or use to inform decision-making. Additionally, as part of Capstone [CAPS] Assessment Reporting for UCORE, instructors indicate if they plan to make changes to their [CAPS] course based on assessment.

Below are some recent examples of how student learning evidence from UCORE’s Capstone [CAPS] Assessment contributes to decision-making intended to support student learning and quality undergraduate education. For more examples of how student learning evidence from UCORE’s Capstone [CAPS] Assessment contributes to decision-making, see Uses of UCORE’s Capstone [CAPS] Assessment.

  • Using Assessment to Inform Decision-making in AY 2022-23 [CAPS] Courses As part of AY 2022-23 [CAPS] Assessment Reporting for UCORE, instructors were asked if they planned to make any changes in future semesters based on assessments from the current semester. Overall, 59% of instructors indicated that they planned to make a change to their course based on assessment. Most commonly the changes were to assignments. […]
  • Using [CAPS] Assessment Summary Results to Inform Decision-making to Support the UCORE General Education Program Assessment activities and results are intended to inform regular faculty reflection and discussion about effective teaching, learning, and curricula, and ultimately contribute to decision-making to support student learning. In concert with the UCORE Director, faculty on the UCORE Committee and Subcommittee for Assessment annually review results of UCORE’s Capstone [CAPS] Assessment and suggest actions for […]
  • Using Assessment to Inform Decision-making in AY 2021-22 [CAPS] Courses As part of AY 2021-22 [CAPS] Assessment Reporting for UCORE, instructors were asked if they planned to make any changes in future semesters based on assessments from the current semester. Overall, 57% of instructors indicated that they planned to make a change to their course based on assessment. Most commonly the changes were to assignments. Below […]