How Well are First-Year Students Composing? Assessing the Foundations in Written Communication Program.

Abstract

In Spring 2008, the English Department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) began an assessment of student writing for the University’s Foundations Requirement in Written Communication (FW), which must be fulfilled by all UHM undergraduates. Assessment of FW was to be based on four student learning outcomes (SLOs) devised by the UHM Foundations Board, and approved by the UHM General Education Committee in Fall 2007. The four specific SLOs are outlined in the poster along with the methodology used to gather and evaluate evidence for the assessment of two specific SLOs, one in 2008 and one in 2009. A rubric for scoring SLOs is presented in this poster along with the results of the assessment. The poster concludes with a summary of findings and an action plan for the future use of the assessment results.