Academic Literacy Curriculum
Assessment of the First Year
There are a number of ongoing assessment projects at UCSC that explore different facets of students' first-year experience, with a particular emphasis on critical reading and writing.
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The College 1 course (first introduced in Fall 2018) is designed to introduce students to university-level thinking, reflection, and inquiry through active engagement with texts related to the college theme, each other, and their instructor. Fall 2020 marks the third year of collaboration between the Assessment Team and all ten colleges to assess the College 1 course. |
Course Info: Course Learning Outcomes
Participants: All incoming frosh in the fall
Faculty: 95% of College 1 instructors
Direct Evidence: Faculty assessment using one shared rubric and in-class assignment across all ten colleges (administered in Week 8-9)
Indirect Evidence: Student self-assessment via end-of-course survey
What's new in 2020: College-specific rubrics designed in collaboration with provosts and instructors in each college
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Writing 1 provides declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge about writing, with a special focus on genre, rhetorical situation, revision, editing, and making connections between texts and one's own perspective. |
Participants: All Writing 1 students in Winter & Spring 2019
Faculty: Writing 1 instructors
Direct Evidence: Faculty assessment using one shared rubric measuring students' abilities to reflect metacognitively on writing and analysis
Indirect Evidence: Student self-assessment via end-of-course survey
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Rhetoric & Inquiry (Writing 2) provides declarative knowledge about writing, with a special focus on writing from research, composing in multiple genres, and transferring knowledge about writing to new contexts. |
Participants: All Writing 2 students in Winter, Spring, & Fall 2019
Faculty: Writing 2 instructors
Direct Evidence: Faculty assessment using one shared rubric measuring students' abilities to locate relevant source material, evaluate its credibility, and cite it appropriately
Indirect Evidence: Student self-assessment via end-of-course survey
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The Multilingual Curriculum (MLC) is designed to prepare multilingual students for entry into the first-year writing course sequence. MLC courses provide crucial multilingual support for students who need more time, support, and/or guidance to meet college-level writing expectations. |
Participants: All MLC students in Fall 2018
Faculty: MLC instructors
Direct Evidence: Faculty assessment using one shared rubric measuring students' abilities in all seven course learning outcomes
Indirect Evidence: Student self-assessment via end-of-course survey
