Critique and Practice in Design and the Arts Report Fall 2022

Overview

Virginia Tech has chosen to measure two outcomes within the Critique and Practice in Design and the Arts area of the Pathways general education program as one of two assessment areas selected by Virginia Tech.

Critique and Practice in Design and the Arts courses utilize a hands‐on, minds-on approach by which students acquire the intellectual tools for a richer understanding and knowledge of the process, meaning, and value of the fine, applied, and performing arts and creative design. (Students take two courses in this area of the curriculum.)

Critique and Practice in Design and the Arts courses are designated as Arts, Design, or Either. During the Fall 2022 semester, Virginia Tech offered 64 Pathways courses that included the Core Concept of Critique and Practice in Design and the Arts (CPDA). Of those, 25 courses were approved as Arts, 17 courses were approved as Design, and 22 courses were approved as Either.

Outcomes Virginia Tech Measured this Reporting Cycle

Employ skills, tools, and methods of working in design or the arts.
Produce a fully developed work through iterative processes of design or the arts.

Virginia Tech's Target for this Reporting Cycle

At least 70% of students will be rated as meeting or exceeding competency in this area

Methods

All undergraduate students are required to participate in the Pathways to General Education program. All courses approved for this area of general education will participate in the assessment process. All students will complete the required assessment developed by the faculty member teaching the course. Faculty develop their own assessment methodologies based on the content and structure of the course. All assessments must be direct measures of student learning. Some possibilities include: written assignments, multiple‐choice items, projects, case studies, and artistic creations. Faculty determine what is a below competent, competent, or above competent level of performance on each learning outcome. Rubrics have been developed to guide faculty in this process.