The University of Iowa’s CLAS Core provides students with a well-rounded education that prepares them for the careers of the future. And while the CLAS Core has immense value for our students, we also believe it is important to review and assess the curriculum to enhance the student learning experience. In addition to periodic reviews of the CLAS Core as a whole, we regularly assess the different thematic areas of the CLAS Core. 

During the 2022-23 academic year, the General Education Curriculum Committee reviewed the International and Global Issues (IGI) area of the CLAS Core. As part of this process, the instructors in that area completed assessment reports for 29 courses in the IGI area, from 15 distinct disciplines and 11 different departments. These reports provided a wealth of information about student learning, the amazing things instructors are doing in their classes, and some of the student struggles they address in their courses.

The GECC analyzed all of these reports, and in Spring 2024, Matthew Shadle, the CLAS Academic Assessment Coordinator, in coordination with Associate Dean Lang, the GECC, and the UEPCC, wrote a final report describing the findings and offering recommendations for the future, as well as a short handout summarizing those findings and recommendations.

The key findings of the assessment process include:

• Courses in the IGI area are providing students with a range of exciting learning opportunities
• Students are successfully achieving the learning outcomes for the area
• There was a need for greater clarity regarding the student learning outcomes that define what students are expected to learn in the IGI area, which led to revisions of the learning outcomes by the GECC and UEPCC
• The experience of the IGI assessment can be used to make improvements to the assessment process for CLAS Core areas in the future.

If you are currently teaching a course in the IGI area, or plan to develop one in the future, make sure to use the updated area learning outcomes as you plan your course.

For more information on the findings of the assessment and on the revisions to the IGI learning outcomes, see the linked full report or the short handout. For more information on the IGI assessment, or on the assessment of the CLAS Core more generally, please contact Dr. Matthew Shadle.