UHD's General Education Assessment Process

Have a question about general education assessment at UHD? Whether you want to know which competencies are connected to a course, what student work is used as evidence, when faculty are asked to submit student work, how assessment is conducted, or what the results show, this page provides answers to the key questions about general education assessment at UHD. It also explains how UHD's approach has evolved and highlights current efforts to strengthen the assessment process.

What is general education at UHD?

• Knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world;
• Personal and social responsibility; and
• Intellectual and practical skills that support academic achievement and lifelong learning.

Rather than focusing on skills, techniques, and procedures specific to a particular occupation or profession, general education provides learning that extends across disciplines and enriches the educational experience of every undergraduate student. 

At UHD, the centerpiece of the general education program is the Texas Core Curriculum. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) identifies six core objectives that students are expected to develop through the Texas Core Curriculum:

1. Critical Thinking Skills (CT): Creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information.
2. Communication Skills (COM): Effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication.
3. Empirical and Quantitative Skills (EQS): Manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions.
4. Teamwork (TW): Ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal.
5. Social Responsibility (SR): Intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national and global communities.
6. Personal Responsibility (PR): Ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making.

The THECB requires these core objectives to be integrated into core curriculum courses offered by public institutions of higher education in Texas. At UHD, integrating these core objectives into the general education program means that they are both taught and assessed:

• • Taught: Students have meaningful opportunities within the course to develop and practice the skill. 
  • Assessed: Students have opportunities to demonstrate the skill through assignment(s) that provide evidence of their learning.

No single course is required to integrate all six core objectives. Instead, THECB specifies the core objectives associated with each Foundational Component Area. UHD core courses address the objectives assigned to the component area in which they are included, as shown on page 5 here: Elements of the Texas Core Curriculum.

Which courses are part of UHD's core curriculum?

For the current list of courses that make up UHD's core curriculum, visit the UHD's Gen Ed Courses by TX Common Core Area Requirements page. 

Which Gen Ed courses are connected to which core objectives?

As shown in this Curriculum Map, each Gen Ed course at UHD is connected to one or more of the core objectives identified by the THECB. 

What does Gen Ed assessment at UHD entail?

The purpose of Gen Ed assessment is to discover, document, and seek to improve student attainment of the Texas Core Curriculum's six core objectives, and to continually improve the processes used to assess them. Accountability for this assessment is at the institutional level. In other words, the purpose is to understand student learning across UHD's Gen Ed courses - not to evaluate individual students, courses, or faculty members. 

THECB encourages institutions to utilize "authentic" assessment for this purpose. Authentic assessment involves the use of samples of actual student work from Gen Ed courses. At UHD, Signature Assignments embedded within Gen Ed courses provide this direct evidence of student learning. Guidance on Signature Assignments is provided in the section below. 

What does UHD assess in student work?

THECB's six core objectives identify the broad areas of learning students are expected to develop through the core curriculum. When these core objectives were first introduced, UHD translated them into  student learning outcomes, separating the broader objectives into distinct areas of student learning. This work was led by the Core Assessment Committee (CAC), a task force that had been appointed by the University Curriculum Committee at the time to guide implementation of the THECB's core objectives at UHD. 

For institutional assessment, these learning outcomes are expressed below as assessable competencies that clarify what students are expected to demonstrate. For each competency, the corresponding pilot rubric and the Gen Ed courses from which aligned Signature Assignments are collected are identified. The pilot rubrics identify the evidence volunteer faculty raters look for when evaluating student work at the institutional level; they do not prescribe how faculty assess the competencies within their courses.

Written Communication

Competency: Communicate clearly and coherently in written form. 

Written Communication Pilot Rubric

How might students demonstrate written communication? Assignments may take any form appropriate to the course or discipline, provided they require students to produce substantive prose that develops, interprets, or expresses ideas in writing. 

Courses Contributing Signature Assignment Evidence:

ENG 1301  ENG 1302  ENG 2301  ENG 2302

ENG 2305  ENG 2309  ENG 2311  ENG 2312

ENG 2313  ENG 2314  HIST 1305  HIST 1306

HIST 1312  HUM 1301  HUM 1302  LATS 1301

PHIL 1301  PHIL 2305  PHIL 2310

Oral Communication

Competency: Communicate clearly and coherently in oral form.

Oral Communication Pilot Rubric

How might students demonstrate oral communication? Assignments may include audio or video presentations. Each submission should feature one student speaking at a time so that the student's oral communication can be evaluated. Written materials (e.g., slides, speaker notes, presentation scripts, or other documents) are not appropriate evidence. The pilot rubric best applies to presentations of sufficient length such that a central message is conveyed and includes purposeful organization. An oral answer to a single question not designed to be structured into a presentation does not readily apply to the rubric. 

Courses Contributing Signature Assignment Evidence:

COMM 1302 COMM 1304  COMM 1306

COMM 1309  COMM 2307

COMM 2309  COMM 2311

Visual Communication

Competency: Communicate clearly and coherently in visual form. 

Visual Communication Pilot Rubric

How might students demonstrate visual communication? Visual communication assignments should provide students with opportunities to create a visual product that communicates information, an idea, or an interpretation. Examples include, but are not limited to: infographics, graphs, charts, data tables, maps, diagrams, models, posters, photo essays, timelines, concept maps, etc. In art and dance courses, visual communication may take different forms. Students may communicate through original artwork, curated visual displays, photography, multimedia compositions, choreography, and/or recorded dance performances. In these fields, the message may be an idea, interpretation, emotion, mood, or narrative communicated through visual choices or movements/gestures. The focus is not on aesthetic appeal or technical skills alone, but on whether the intended message is discernible and the visual elements work together coherently.  

Courses Contributing Signature Assignment Evidence:

ART 1301 ART 1302 ART 1308 ART 1310 DANC 1301

MATH 1301 MATH 1310 MATH 1324 STAT 1312

Empirical & Quantitative Skills

Competency: Manipulate and analyze numerical data or observable facts and use that analysis to make informed conclusions.

Empirical & Quantitative Skills Pilot Rubric

How might students demonstrate empirical & quantitative skills? Assignments that provide students with opportunities to use quantitative evidence to reach informed conclusions within authentic contexts and everyday life situations are most appropriate. Pages of mathematical problems that require only answers, without allowing students to demonstrate their reasoning or explain the meaning of their work do not provide sufficient evidence of this competency. 

Courses Contributing Signature Assignment Evidence:

BIOL 1301  BIOL 1302  BIOL 1303  BIOL 1304  BIOL 1310

BIOL 1312  BIOL 2306  CHEM 1305  CHEM 1307  CHEM 1308

GEOL 1304  GEOL 1305   GEOL 1306  GEOL 1307  GEOL 1308

GEOL 1345  MATH 1301  MATH 1310 MATH 1324  MBIO 1305

NS 1300  PHYS 1301  PHYS 1302  PHYS 1307  PHYS 1308  STAT 1312

For co-requisite courses (lecture + lab), artifacts are collected from either lecture or lab, not both. Faculty teaching these courses should coordinate with one another or consult the program coordinator to determine which course will provide the artifacts for institutional assessment.

Teamwork

Competency: Work effectively with others toward a shared purpose/goal by considering diverse viewpoints, building collaborative relationships, and taking responsibility for individual contributions.

Teamwork Pilot Rubric

How might students demonstrate teamwork skills? This competency focuses on the student’s contributions to and interactions within a team, not the quality of the team’s final product. Student artifacts should take one of these forms: (1) students' own reflections about their contribution to a team's functioning; (2) evaluation or feedback from fellow team members about students' contribution to the team's functioning; or (3) the evaluation of an outside observer regarding students' contributions to a team's functioning. 

Courses Contributing Signature Assignment Evidence:

BIOL 1301  BIOL 1302  BIOL 1303  BIOL 1304  BIOL 1310  BIOL 1312

BIOL 2306  CHEM 1305  CHEM 1307  CHEM 1308  COMM 1302  COMM 1304

COMM 1306 COMM 1309  COMM 2307 COMM 2309  COMM 2311  GEOL 1304

GEOL 1305  GEOL 1306 GEOL 1307  GEOL 1308  GEOL 1345 MBIO 1305

NS1300 PHYS 1301  PHYS 1302  PHYS 1307  PHYS 1308

Creative Thinking

Competency: Draw on existing knowledge, experiences, or materials to produce work that extends, adapts, or transforms prior knowledge or source material. 

Creative Thinking Pilot Rubric

How might students demonstrate creative thinking? Depending on the discipline or course, student work might include creating an artistic or written work informed by source material, reimagining a historical event, integrating ideas across disciplines, interpreting an art work, adapting an existing method to a new context, developing a solution to a problem, etc. Research papers, lab reports, and a reflective piece about the final product of an assignment may provide evidence of creative thinking. However, creative thinking assignments must be distinguished from inquiry and analysis assignments, which ask students to analyze, synthesize, or evaluate information before generating an opinion or conclusion. Creative thinking assignments should instead require students to use existing knowledge, experience, or materials to produce work that extends, adapts, or transforms what came before. 

Courses Contributing Signature Assignment Evidence:

ART 1301  ART 1302

ART 1308  ART 1310

DANC 1301  DRA 1301

DRA 1303  MUS 2301

MUS 2302

Inquiry & Analysis

Competency: Use analysis, synthesis, or evaluation of information to justify a position or conclusion 

Inquiry & Analysis Pilot Rubric

How might students demonstrate inquiry and analysis? Assignments may ask students to explore issues, ideas, artifacts, events, evidence, or scientific, cultural, or social phenomena through analysis, synthesis, or evaluation.  Since the process of inqury is discipline-specific, assignments may vary. For example, when statistical analysis is appropriate to the discipline, assignments may ask students to use appropriate statistical methods to analyze evidence and support a conclusion. In another disciplinary context, assignments may ask students to examine videos or literature to develop a supported opinion or conclusion. The assignment is appropriate as long as it asks students to analyze, evaluate, or synthesize information to justify a position or conclusion. 

Courses Contributing Signature Assignment Evidence:

ANTH 2302  CJ 1301  ECO 1305

HEA 2305  HIST 1305  HIST 1306

HIST 1312  LANG 1303

PSY 1303  SOC 1303

SOCW 2361  SOCW 2363

Personal Responsibility

Competency: Connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making.

Personal Responsibility Pilot Rubric

How might students demonstrate personal responsibility? Although this competency is titled, ‘Personal Responsibility,’ it assesses whether students have the intellectual tools to make ethical choices. Assignments should therefore prompt students to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making.  

Courses Contributing Signature Assignment Evidence:

COMM 1302  COMM 1304  COMM 1306  COMM 1309  COMM 2307

COMM 2309 COMM 2311  ENG 1301  ENG 1302 ENG 2301

ENG 2302  ENG 2305  ENG 2309  ENG 2311  ENG 2312

ENG 2313 ENG 2314 HUM 1301  HUM 1302  LATS 1301

PHIL 1301  PHIL 2305  PHIL 2310  POLS 2305  POLS 2306

Intercultural Competence

Competency: Recognize how ideas, values, beliefs, and other aspects of culture shape how individuals (including oneself) make sense of the world and engage with unfamiliar perspectives with openness and curiosity. 

Intercultural Competence Pilot Rubric

How might students demonstrate intercultural competence? Assignments may take different forms depending on the discipline/course. Examples might include, but are not limited to, analyzing a work of fine art or literature from a perspective different from one's own and considering cultural ideas, values, or beliefs that shaped it; comparing how different cultural perspectives influence interpretations of an issue or event; reflecting on how one's cultural background shapes assumptions when encountering unfamiliar perspectives; conducting an interview or observation and reflecting on the perspectives encountered; or examining the cultural assumptions underlying an intercultural interaction, misunderstanding, or conflict. 

Courses Contributing Signature Assignment Evidence:

ANTH 2302  DRA 1301  DRA 1303

MUS 2301  MUS 2302  PSY 1303

Civic Responsibility

Competency: Articulate knowledge of civic responsibility by exploring the impact of individuals, institutions, or social systems on communities and public life.

Civic Responsibility Pilot Rubric

How might students demonstrate civic responsibility? The nature of the assignment will be shaped by the discipline/course. Examples might include assignments asking students to: research a historical moment when an individual or a group advocated for their rights; reflect on how a service experience changed the student's understanding of civic responsibility and their desire to help others; examine concepts and ideas from the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights to describe what civic responsibility is; research the mission of a community agency and the problem(s) it addresses; explore a problem in a community - why it exists and how civic responsibility can help solve or reduce it, etc. This is not an exhaustive list. 

Courses Contributing Signature Assignment Evidence:

CJ 1301 POLS 2305

POLS 2306  SOC 1303

Engaging in Regional, National, and Global Communities

Competency: Describe the consequences of a regional, national, or global issue and its interconnectedness across communities and/or systems. 

Engaging in Regional, National, and Global Communities Pilot Rubric

How might students demonstrate this competency? Assignments may address issues related to the natural world (e.g., biological, chemical, or physical) or social systems (e.g., economic, political, or historical). They should allow students to examine the consequences of an issue and recognize how an issue within one community/context can affect others and/or broader social, economic, political, environmental, or cultural systems. 

Courses Contributing Signature Assignment Evidence:

ECO 1305

SOCW 2361  SOCW 2363

 What does Gen Ed assessment mean for faculty?

Faculty teaching Gen Ed courses already play an important role in general education assessment by teaching and assessing the competencies connected to their courses. Institutional assessment builds on this work by using a sample of student work submitted by faculty to understand how well UHD students are demonstrating these competencies across the general education curriculum. 

Because Signature Assignments embedded within Gen Ed courses are the primary source of evidence for institutional assessment, faculty teaching these courses ensure that their courses include an assignment that provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate the relevant competency or competencies. When the competency is scheduled for institutional assessment, faculty submit student work from the Signature Assignment for sampling and evaluation. 

The questions below provide faculty with guidance on Signature Assignments. 

What is a Signature Assignment?

A Signature Assignment is an assignment embedded within a Gen Ed course that provides students with a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate one or more of the competencies connected to that course. Student work from Signature Assignments serves as direct evidence of student learning for institutional Gen Ed assessment.

How do I know which competency my Signature Assignment should address?

Under "What does UHD assess in student work?" section above, expand the drop-downs to find where your course is listed. Then review the competency and the corresponding pilot rubric.

To identify which drop-down(s) to open, use the Curriculum Map to see which areas of student learning are connected to your course(s).

What makes an assignment appropriate for Gen Ed assessment?

An asignment is appropriate for Gen Ed assessment when it aligns with the corresponding rubric so that faculty raters can evaluate the student work for institutional assessment purposes.

In summer 2026, UHD began using pilot rubrics. Expand the core objective drop-downs above to view the associated rubrics and guidance on how students may demonstrate the competencies, including examples of appropriate signature assignments. Assignments developed using the previous AAC&U rubrics should not require redesign, as those rubrics informed the development of the pilot rubrics.

How discipline-specific can a Signature Assignment be?

Signature Assignments may be grounded in the content and context of a discipline, but they should not focus primarily on skills, techniques, or procedures specific to a particular occupation or profession. The assignment and resulting student work should allow a rater to identify and evaluate evidence of the relevant Gen Ed competency without requiring specialized disciplinary or professional expertise. 

A useful test is to ask: Could a faculty colleague outside my discipline understand what students are being asked to demonstrate and identify evidence of the Gen Ed competency in the resulting student work? If the answer is no, reconsider whether the assignment provides appropriate evidence of general education learning or whether some adjustment is needed.

Do I need to create a new assignment?

Not necessarily. A Signature Assignment can be an existing assignment already used in the course if it provides students with opportunity to demonstrate the relevant competency. If an existing assignment does not elicit sufficient evidence, it may need to be adjusted or another existing assignment may be more appropriate.

Do I need to change what I teach?

The core objectives and associated areas of student learning have long been a part of UHD's general education curriculum, so your course is already expected to provide opportunities for students to develop the competencies connected to it. 

Do I have to use the pilot rubric to grade my students?

No. The pilot rubrics are used for institutional assessment. Faculty can evaluate Signature Assignments as they wish in their own courses. The pilot rubrics will be applied in the institution-wide Gen Ed assessment process which is blind - all student/faculty markers are removed.

Who designs the Signature Assignment?

All faculty teaching a given course can collaborate and develop a common Signature Assignment. Or each faculty creates their own course's Signature Assignment. 

The General Education Council (the standing advisory committee that reports to the University Curriculum Council) encourages faculty within each discipline to work collectively to establish the parameters of Signature Assignments for their Gen Ed courses. This allows faculty to determine how students can meaningfully demonstrate the relevant competencies within the context of their discipline. 

As institutional assessment findings emerge, the General Education Council may recommend adjustments to strengthen Signature Assignments as evidence of student learning. Faculty are expected to consider and respond to these recommendations as part of the continuous improvement of Gen Ed.

How should a Signature Assignment be incorporated into the course?

Signature Assignments should count for some kind of credit in the course to encourage meaningful engagement with the work. They should also be clearly identified as Signature Assignments in the course syllabus to increase their visibility across the core.

Is a Signature Assignment used only when a competency is scheduled for institutional assessment?

No. Once established, a Signature Assignment becomes part of the course and is used regardless of whether its associated competency is scheduled for institutional assessment that year. The assessment schedule determines when student work from the Signature Assignment is collected for institutional assessment - not when the Signature Assignment is used in the course.

Is having a Signature Assignment enough to address a Gen Ed core objective?

No. When a core objective is integrated into a Gen Ed course, the associated learning is expected to be both taught and assessed. The Signature Assignment provides evidence of what students can demonstrate, but students should have opportunities throughout the course to develop the knowledge and skills represented by the competency. In other words, a Signature Assignment should reflect learning that is intentionally cultivated through the course - not function simply as an assignment added to facilitate institutional assessment.

What happens to student work I submit?

Student work submitted from Signature Assignments become part of the pool of evidence available for institutional Gen Ed assessment. Using institutionally determined sampling methodologies, a sample of the submitted student work is selected for assessment. The sampled work is then evaluated by volunteer faculty raters recruited for the assessment process. Raters use the corresponding pilot rubrics during the assessment process. Results are aggregated to understand student learning across the Gen Ed curriculum - not to evaluate individual students, faculty, or courses.

What if a signature assignment was aligned with the previously used AAC&U rubric?

Signature assignments aligned with the previously used AAC&U rubrics should not need to be redesigned. Review the corresponding pilot rubric to confirm alignment and make adjustments only if needed. 

To review the pilot rubrics, expand the core objective drop-downs above.

When are faculty asked to submit student work for institutional assessment?

UHD follows an assessment cycle (see below) in which a subset of general education competencies are assessed each year. At the beginning of each semester, faculty receive information about whether the competencies connected to their courses are scheduled for assessment. When it is, faculty are provided instructions for submitting student work from aligned Signature Assignments. 

When a competency is not scheduled for institutional assessment, faculty are not asked to submit student work for that competency during that assessment cycle. The competency, however, remains part of the learning expectations for the course and continues to be taught and assessed within the course. 

What is the assessment schedule? 

UHD follows a three-year institutional assessment cycle. A subset of general education competencies is assessed each year, with all competencies assessed within the three-year cycle. 

THECB Core Objectives	2026-2027	2027-2028	2028-2029	2029-2030	2030-2031	2031-2032
Creative Thinking			√			√
Inquiry & Analysis			√			√
Written Communication		√			√
Oral Communication	√			√
Visual Communication	√			√
Empirical & Quantitative Skills			√			√
Teamwork		√			√
Intercultural Competence	√			√
Civic Responsibility	√			√
Personal Responsibility	√			√
Engaging in regional, national, and global communities	√			√

 

How is Gen Ed assessment conducted?

UHD assesses general education using student work produced through regular coursework. The process is designed to provide an institution-level picture of how well students are demonstrating the general education competencies. Results are used for continuous improvement. Details of the process are provided below.

Artifact Collection

Assessment is based on student work completed in designated Gen Ed courses. Signature Assignments completed as part of regular course requirements serve as the source of evidence for institutional assessment. Following the assessment schedule, faculty teaching designated courses submit student artifacts aligned with the competency being assessed. 

First year seminar courses are not included in UHD's institutional artifact collection and assessment. 

Sampling

Institutional assessment is based on a representative sample of submitted student artifacts rather than every artifact collected. The sampling methodology is as follows:

• 50 artifacts per competency (or as close to 50 as possible if fewer than 50 valid artifacts have been submitted) will be randomly selected from those properly submitted by instructors and created by FT/FTICs who have completed between 30 and 65 UHD credits.
• 50 artifacts per competency (or as close to 50 as possible if fewer than 50 valid artifacts have been submitted) will be randomly selected from those properly submitted by instructors and created by transfer students who have completed 24+ UHD credits. 

Sample sizes may be adjusted as needed based on artifact availability, scoring capacity, and other operational considerations.

Faculty Review of Artifacts

Faculty raters are recruited to evaluate the sampled student artifacts using the pilot rubric corresponding to each competency. Each artifact is independently evaluated by two raters, who receive guidance and preparation for applying the rubric consistently.

Target

For each general education competency, UHD's institutional target is that at least 70% of the student artifacts reviewed will be rated at the "Meets Expectations" level or higher on the corresponding rubric.

How has Gen Ed assessment evolved at UHD?

When UHD established its general education assessment process, the AAC&U VALUE rubrics provided the foundation for evaluating student learning. Adapted versions of these rubrics were used for Gen Ed assessment at the institutional level. 

As part of UHD's ongoing efforts to strengthen general education assessment, the university began exploring a competency-focused, holistic assessment approach in summer 2026. Pilot rubrics were developed to assess each general education competency more holistically, focusing on the overall demonstration of the competency while remaining applicable to the variety of assignments and disciplines represented in the core curriculum. 

The first pilot rubrics were used with faculty raters reviewing student work collected for Creative Thinking, Inquiry and Analysis, and Empirical and Quantitative Skills. Raters received guidance on applying the new rubrics and were asked to provide feedback on their experience through a survey. Faculty feedback was positive and informed continued development of the approach. 

Based on this initial experience, UHD is expanding the pilot to the remaining general education competencies. The pilot rubrics are not considered final. Their use provides an opportunity to gather faculty feedback, examine how well they function across disciplines and types of student work, and make refinements before a university-wide approach is established. 

This evolution reflects the purpose of assessment itself: using evidence and experience to continuously improve how UHD understands and supports student learning. 

Gen Ed Assessment Dashboard

Beginning with the 2025-2026 Gen Ed assessment cycle, results are available through the interactive dashboard (link below) accessible to the UHD community through institutional login. The dashboard expands access to Gen Ed assessment findings beyond a single event or point in time, allowing faculty, departments, and institutional leaders to explore results when they are most relevant to their work. This broader access is intended to support shared understanding of student learning and ongoing conversations about improvement across the Gen Ed curriculum.