Student Learning Outcomes Assessment

Goal and Assessment Alignment

Established in 1971, The City University of New York Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies (formerly the CUNY Baccalaureate Program) provides students with a flexible, academically challenging way to earn their degree while giving them a major share of the responsibility for the content of that degree.

The program has three goals:

  • to encourage students to take advantage of the extraordinary resources and learning opportunities available at the City University’s 18 colleges and at The Graduate Center;
  • to allow self-directed, academically able students to design an individualized program of study that complements their academic, professional, and personal goals; and
  • to foster intellectual exploration and responsible educational innovation.

Students applying to the program are required to submit at least one (and up to two) proposed areas of concentration (AOCs), along with an outline of relevant courses they would complete. Their ability to design their own AOC(s), in collaboration with faculty mentors, is a unique feature of the CUNY Baccalaureate program. Given the importance of this feature, students should have a well-developed rationale for the design of their AOC(s), and their journey in the program should reflect an increase in knowledge and skills in those areas. To ensure that students’ academic development is positively impacted by their ability to design and fulfill the requirements for a unique AOC, the CUNY Baccalaureate program has established an enhanced AOC process. As part of this process, students are asked to explain their desired path at the beginning of the program, and to reflect on their achievements as they approach graduation. The overall process can be summarized as follows:

Upon admission to the program, students are asked to complete an AOC Form and an AOC Narrative. Students work with their faculty mentor(s) to complete these two documents and submit them to CUNY BA. In the AOC Form, the student refines (as needed) the AOC(s) they proposed when they first applied to CUNY BA, and lists the coursework they will complete to earn their degree. This document formalizes the student’s program requirements. In the AOC Narrative, the student explains the reasoning behind the selection and design of their AOC(s) and courses, the selection of their faculty mentor, and their goals for the program. These documents are reviewed and approved by the program’s Academic Director. 

Students approaching graduation are asked to complete one final AOC document during their last semester in the program, the AOC Self-Assessment. In this document, the student evaluates their level of proficiency in different knowledge and skill areas relevant to their AOC, such as their ability to communicate their AOC effectively to others, and their knowledge on topics their AOC comprises. The student is also asked to describe the path they ultimately took to complete the program, and to reflect on how it is similar to or different from what they outlined in their AOC Narrative. This document is submitted to CUNY BA and reviewed by the Academic Director as well.

This process contributes to the program’s ability to evaluate the achievement of its goals as follows:

Goal 1. Encourage students to take advantage of the extraordinary resources and learning opportunities available at the City University’s 18 colleges and at The Graduate Center

  • Using information collected from the AOC Self-Assessment document, CUNY BA is able to examine
    • whether students have taken their classes across the various CUNY colleges
    • what additional opportunities (e.g., scholarships, study abroad) students took advantage of during their time in the program

Goal 2. To allow self-directed, academically able students to design an individualized program of study that complements their academic, professional, and personal goals

  • Using information collected from the AOC Narrative document, CUNY BA is able to assesses the degree to which
    • students have created a unique, interdisciplinary area of concentration
    • students have selected courses that are relevant to their area of concentration
    • students have designed a path of study that is relevant to their goals

Goal 3. To foster intellectual exploration and responsible educational innovation

  • Using information collected from the AOC Narrative and AOC Self-Assessment documents, CUNY BA is able to assess the degree to which
    • Students have made a thoughtful selection of their faculty mentor(s)
    • Students have engaged with their faculty mentor(s) during the course of their studies while in the program
    • Students have gained self-insight
  Summer 2019 Fall 2019 Winter 2020 Spring 2020 Summer 2020 Fall 2020 Winter 2021 Onward
AOC process initial development X            
AOC Narrative document development X X          
AOC Narrative document distribution for pilot   X          
AOC Narrative survey distribution to new students and their faculty mentors for feedback   X X        
AOC Self-Assessment document developed X X          
AOC Self-Assessment document distributed in electronic format to potential Jan 2020 grads     X        
AOC Self-Assessment data review for potential Jan 2020 grads       X      
AOC Narrative pilot data (narratives + feedback) review       X      
AOC process overall review; process adjustments as needed         X    
Establishment of finalized AOC process and documentation           X  
Maintenance of AOC process           X X

* AOC process will be re-reviewed annually.

X