/Division of Educational and Institutional Effectiveness
Office of Educational Effectiveness

General Education Assessment

Stony Brook University implemented its revised undergraduate general education curriculum  known as the Stony Brook Curriculum (SBC) in Fall 2014. The purpose of the SBC is to provide students with foundational knowledge, develop their critical thinking skills, enhance communication skills, and promote personal growth. The SBC aims to promote lifelong learning and increase the employability of our graduates.  For more information, visit the SBC website or General Education Advisory Committee website. 

Assessment of the SBC is a critical component to ensuring that our curriculum is effective and meets the needs of our student body. Through assessment, we can provide better student support and continue to attract high-quality students, faculty and funding. The Office of Educational Effectiveness, in partnership with the Assessment Council, is repsonsible for the periodic assessment of  the SBC. 

General Education Assessment Process & Cycle

SBU's general education program was first assessed in 2018. Following a review of this pilot assessment process and its results, SBU adopted a mixed-methods approach to general education/SBC assessment in 2022. Each year, a sample of SBC instructors participate in a 45-minute 'guided assessment conversation' with an assesment consultant to discuss their general eduation student learning outcomes (SLOs) and student performance results. During this conversation, instructors and assessment consultants work together to align their course activities and assignments to the SLOs, and evaluate student performance results using a streamlined three-point rubric. Results of the assessment conversation are then reported in aggregate at the level of the SBC.

This informs the University's understanding of student performance on the SBCs, the effectiveness of the general education program,  and recommendations for potential modifications to the curriculum. Assessment conversations are supplemented by surveys and focus groups to gain greater insight into student and faculty perceptions of the SBC. 

Beginning in AY 2024-25, guided assessment conversations will take place annually in the Spring as a reflection on completed Fall SBC courses. SBC categories will be assessed according to the following staggered schedule. For more detail on each year of the SBC assessment cycle, visit the links below.

General Education Assessment FAQs

Each year, assessment coordinators will receive an email from OEE with a  list of SBC courses and instructors.  Assessment coordinators may be asked to review the list for accuracy and/or identify faculty members to participate in the 'guided assessment conversations.' If selection is not required, then OEE will communicate how participating instructors were selected to be a part of the assessment sample. 

If the email instructions note that you should select participants for this assessment, then leave this at your discretion as the assessment coordinator for your area. We do offer the following considerations to guide your selection, if helpful:

  • The purpose of general education assessment is to understand the typical performance of non-majors in the SBC  learning outcomes. You may want to focus on 100- or 200-level courses (as opposed to 300- and 400-level courses, which are more likely to consist primarily of major students). 
  • You are welcome to select faculty members of any appointment type (full-time, part-time, adjunct, etc.), but please prioritize those who will be available to meet during the Spring term. 
  • It may be helpful to reiterate that this is an assessment of student performance in the SBC. It is not as assessment of the faculty teaching in the SBC.
  • You may want to consult with your program director, chair or dean during the identification process about your selections.
  • We encourage you to select faculty who are interested in fostering a culture of assessment at Stony Brook University.

Absolutely! We encourage you to participate as much as you are able. 

Please contact OEE at EducationalEffectiveness@stonybrook.edu for guidance on your specific situation. 

OEE will reach out to you shortly to schedule a 45-minute in-person or Zoom meeting at your convenience. This meeting will consist of a guided conversation to better understand your course, assignments, and student performance in relation to the SBC student learning outcomes. 

To prepare for this meeting, teach your course as usual, but be sure that you have access to a copy of your syllabus and your gradebook.

Please come prepared with a copy of your syllabus and/or a list of your course assignments, and access to your gradebook or student performance results. These materials are for your reference only; we will not keep or collect these documents. 

  • For instructions on accessing grades in Brightspace, click here.
  • For assistance accessing information in learning tools embedded within Brightspace (Cengage, McGraw-Hill, Pearson's, Web Assign, etc.), click here.
  • For hands-on support with Brightspace, contact Academic Technology Services at (631) 632-9800 or contact the SUNY Helpdesk at 1-(844)-673-6786.

Assessment Consultants may include members of the Office of Educational Effectiveness, the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, and other members of the Office of the Provost who are trained to conduct the guided conversations on the topic of general education assessment. 

Assessment Consultants will be prepared to facilitate the discussion and will already have a record of your course code, course title, applicable SBC categories, and a list of all SBC learning outcomes per category. 

The results of the general education assessment initiative will be used to evaluate student performance in the SBCs. Results will not be used to evaluate faculty teaching in the SBCs.

Results will be reported in aggregate by SBC category. Aggregated results will not discuss specific courses or instructors. Participating instructors will receive a copy of the information collected during the guided conversation meeting for verification purposes and to retain for their records.