Assessment Overview
Each major program at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is required by the administration to perform an assessment of its courses in order to clarify its goals, set standards, and evaluate its performance. Because reading, writing, and research are at the core of the English Department’s goals, we annually collect and review examples of our students’ formal written work and conduct an interview with each graduating senior. From these documents and interviews, the department is in a position to assess the degree to which we are meeting the goals for Abilities, Knowledge, and Attitudes stated in the published “Goals of the Major in English at UW Oshkosh.”
Beyond its value to the continued development of the department, the portfolio assembly process has a purpose and a value for students, as well. The portfolio provides students with the means to reflect on their own work during their career in the English Department. Teachers in the Department of English deliver content (authors, periods, genres), but also believe in fostering the growth of literate, educated citizens. Because reading and writing are frequently self-directed activities, students are encouraged to critically examine the ways that they have grown as individuals in the tenure of their study. Students are aware that they can be challenged by teachers’ expectations and course content, but they are frequently asked how they challenge themselves. Assembling the best examples of written work into a portfolio can serve also as the basis for a professional career. In fact, some graduates report that they have used the portfolio concept in preparing their work for job interviews.
Individual students and teachers are not evaluated during the process of assessing the English major during the Exit Interview and Portfolio Evaluation stages. Participating in the major assessment does not carry a letter grade, influence scholarship decisions, nor affect graduation. Professors do not receive contract renewal or tenure based on students’ work in the portfolio. Rather, preparing a portfolio of significant writing assignments and taking part in the exit interview allows students to track and guide their own progress through the English major. It also allows students to guide the decision-making process of the English Department faculty by providing important insights about successful (and unsuccessful) courses, programs (such as Study Abroad) and activities (such as English Club).
Three Components of English Major Assessment
Portfolio Assessment
Beginning with the first course in the major (English 281) and concluding with the senior seminar (English 481), students compile a portfolio of 2 self-reflective essays and 3-4 substantial pieces of writing (researched essays, creative nonfiction essays, short stories, or collections of 4-5 poems) from courses in the English major numbered 301-482. One of the 3-4 essays must be the Senior Seminar project. For creative writers, 4-5 poems serve as the equivalent of one essay.
Senior Seminar (English 481)
All English majors are required to participate in the Senior Seminar during which they complete a summative project. This project varies, depending on the needs of the student and the theme of the seminar. Students may produce a research-based, critically-informed project, a collection of related poetry, an extended work of creative nonfiction, or a short story. This project should sum-up questions and interests from previous study in the English major, while also addressing the thematic framework raised by the course.
Exit Interview
During the final semester of study prior to graduation (or earlier if the student is in the education program), seniors will participate in a 20 minute interview with their advisor. The interview asks students to rank their progress toward meeting the Abilities, Knowledge, and Attitudes stated in the “Goals of the Major in English at UW Oshkosh.”
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