Higher Learning Commission (HLC)

As the institution’s accreditor, HLC requires that the institution provides a quality education and “engages in ongoing assessment of student learning as part of its commitment to the educational outcomes of its students” (Criterion 4B). This criterion requires the institution to create regular and effective learning outcomes assessment processes that involve “substantial participation” of faculty and staff. HLC instructs institutions of higher education to use assessment results to guide decisions about programs and services to improve student learning. Provided below are relevant excerpts from HLC Assumed Practices and Criteria for Accreditation:

CRRT.B.10.020 (B.1.h.

The institution maintains a minimum requirement for general education for all of its undergraduate programs whether through a traditional practice of distributed curricula (15 semester credits for AAS degrees, 24 for AS or AA degrees, and 30 for bachelor’s degrees) or through integrated, embedded, interdisciplinary, or other accepted models that demonstrate a minimum requirement equivalent to the distributed model. Any variation is explained and justified.

Relevant Criteria and Core Components

Criterion 3. Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support: The institution provides quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered.

3.B. The institution offers programs that engage students in collecting, analyzing and communicating information; in mastering modes of intellectual inquiry or creative work; and in developing skills adaptable to changing environments.

1. The general education program is appropriate to the mission, educational offerings and degree levels of the institution. The institution articulates the purposes, content and intended learning outcomes of its undergraduate general education requirements.
2. The program of general education is grounded in a philosophy or framework developed by the institution or adopted from an established framework. It imparts broad knowledge and intellectual concepts to students and develops skills and attitudes that the institution believes every college-educated person should possess.
3. The education offered by the institution recognizes the human and cultural diversity and provides students with growth opportunities and lifelong skills to live and work in a multicultural world.
4. The faculty and students contribute to scholarship, creative work and the discovery of knowledge to the extent appropriate to their offerings and the institution’s mission.

Criterion 4. Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and Improvement: The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments, and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.

4.B. The institution engages in ongoing assessment of student learning as part of its commitment to the educational outcomes of its students.

1. The institution has effective processes for assessment of student learning and for achievement of learning goals in academic and cocurricular offerings.
2. The institution uses the information gained from assessment to improve student learning.
3. The institution’s processes and methodologies to assess student learning reflect good practice, including the substantial participation of faculty, instructional and other relevant staff members.

Specialized Accrediting Agencies

Many of CSU’s undergraduate degree programs have earned accreditation through specialized or professional accrediting agencies (e.g. ABET, AACSB, AAQEP). The responsibility for assessment and reporting of student achievement for specialized accreditation lies with the program or college maintaining accreditation. Assessment for AUCC can be used to support specialized accreditations, and relevant data and results generated by this assessment process will be shared with programs for their use in reporting to their accreditors. A list of CSU’s specialized accreditors can be found on the Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Effectiveness accreditation web page.

Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE)

The Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) works with higher education institutions to maintain an articulation agreement for credit transfer, called the Guaranteed Transfer (GT) Pathways General Education Curriculum. Approved courses are expected to share content and learning outcomes so that students earning a C- or higher at one institution will be able to transfer the credit, and thus, their learning to another institution. At CSU, these courses are integrated into the AUCC and the approved courses for GT Pathways credit are designated in the Catalog listing. While there is no state requirement for learning outcomes assessment reporting, CSU is mindful of these agreements in curriculum and assessment planning.