People and Committees

Members of the UCORE committee…

• Regularly communicate with represented campuses, colleges, organizations, or programs about general education matters, and solicit and share feedback from those constituencies.
• Respond to recommendations from the UCORE Director, from vantages as faculty and as members of various departments, schools, colleges, and programs, with representative and unique perspectives.
• Review, update, and communicate general education requirements, policies, and procedures, including those requiring subsequent approval by Faculty Senate.
• Manage criteria and procedures for soliciting and approving proposals for UCORE courses and for renewing such courses.
• Review course proposals and renewals for UCORE designation.
• Review recommendations from subcommittees and working groups for potential action.
• Monitor student performance on the learning outcomes of the UCORE program; and suggest, consider, and/or implement uses of assessment results to inform decisions intended to enhance undergraduate student learning.
• Report to the Provost and university community on undergraduate student learning assessment results and the effectiveness of the UCORE curriculum.
• Administer the Richard G. Law Excellence Award for Undergraduate Teaching.

The UCORE Committee reports to the Provost or to the Provost’s designee.

• One faculty member from each undergraduate degree-granting College that offers undergraduate degrees, each instructional campus that offers undergraduate degrees, plus the Libraries shall be appointed by the Vice Provost for Academic Engagement and Student Achievement and UCORE director in consultation with the deans of colleges or their designees; all for three-year terms (F).
• Additional faculty may be selected for their knowledge of each major area of the curricular requirements, and shall be appointed by the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and UCORE director in consultation with the deans of colleges or their designees; for three-year terms (F).
• Representative from the Roots of Contemporary Issues program (F).
• Two undergraduate students nominated by ASWSU, one from Pullman and one from another instructional campus, for at least one-year terms (U).
• WSU Registrar or designee (X).
• Vice Provost for Academic Engagement and Student Achievement or designee (X)(#).
• Directors of key units related to general education, or designees, as appropriate (e.g., Writing Program, Learning Communities, Advising) (X).
• Director of the Office of Assessment for Curricular Effectiveness, or designee (X).
• UCORE Administrative Assistant, who will serve as committee Secretary (X)(#). 

Key: (F) Faculty; (U) Undergraduate; (X) Ex officio (i.e., because of position held); (#) Non-voting. (F), (X) and (U) are voting positions, unless otherwise stipulated. Ex officio members may not hold the position of chair.

• The chair shall be appointed by the Vice Provost for Academic Engagement and Student Achievement in consultation with the committee members; the term of chair shall be at least two years.
• The committee may determine that a vice chair is needed for specific initiatives or periodic surges in committee work (e.g., course reviews). The vice-chair shall be elected for a two-year term. If there is a vice chair, they should ideally serve in a staggered term with the chair.

The UCORE Assessment Subcommittee is intended to help faculty, departments, and university leadership determine to what extent undergraduates are achieving the learning outcomes of the UCORE general education program. Faculty participate on UCORE’s subcommittee for assessment and also contribute to assessment of key programs and courses. Assessment is a collaborative process that includes faculty, students, staff, administrators, and others. The Office of Assessment for Curricular Effectiveness (ACE) assists with UCORE assessment, by supporting or managing specific assessment initiatives, analyzing and reporting results, and maintaining the website and archives.

See the UCORE Assessment website for the current membership of the subcommittee, and UCORE’s assessment (built on the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment’s transparency framework)—as well as specific assessment initiatives, results and uses.