University of Charleston CASTL Project
University of Charleston
CASTL Campus Leadership Report
January 2007
Team Members and Campus Contact:
Alan Belcher
Assistant to the Provost
Associate Professor
Robert (Bob) Bliss, Chair
Jones Division of Business
Associate Professor of Business
Laura Meeks Festa, Chair
Bradford Division of Health Sciences
Professor of Nursing
Barbara Wright, Interim Chair
Morris Harvey Division of Arts & Sciences
Associate Professor of Music
barbarawright@ucwv.edu
Karen Merriman – Campus Contact
Assistant to the Provost
Associate Professor of Nursing
Theme: Cross-cutting themes
Institutional CASTL Plan:
We hope to explore two questions
(1) What is the evidence that student assignments within major courses designed to encourage integration of our liberal learning outcomes have produced stronger performance on liberal learning assessment measures – Collegiate Learning Assessment, Measure of Academic Progress and Proficiency, and National Survey of Student Engagement?
(2) To what extent does peer feedback to faculty about their assignments and assessment of student learning impact indicators of student learning across the student’s undergraduate experience?
In addition to our continued use of standardized measures such as the CLA and the MAPP, the University will conduct a series of student focus groups using the AAC&U’s Focus Group Discussion Guide to gather information about students’ understanding of and attitudes toward liberal education and key college outcomes. The students’ electronic portfolios will also be reviewed randomly to assess student work in each of the six liberal learning outcomes.
Faculty members representing three academic divisions have been identified to work on individual projects related to the institutional plan. The projects involve implementation of new teaching strategies, assessment strategies, or a combination of both. Additionally, the University will conduct a series of student focus groups using the AAC&U’s Focus Group Discussion Guide to gather information about students’ understanding of and attitudes toward liberal education and key college outcomes. External assessment measures (MAPP, CLA, & NSSE) as well as student portfolios will contribute to the evaluation of our ongoing work in the assessment of student learning.
Reflection on November Meeting:
The meeting in Washington DC provided an opportunity for participants to learn about the individual team members, their institutions, and their projects for the CASTL Leadership Program. The diversity of institutions represented in our team provides for a rich variety of approaches to our theme. Wabash College graciously offered to host the 2007 meeting at a time to be determined.
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