Assessment Policy

Program Mission

The Center for East Asian Studies offers rigorous, multidisciplinary training in the study of East Asia and Inner Asia, providing an arena for vibrant intellectual cross-pollination from a variety of disciplines. Students of the Center acquire the language competencies, the research skills and the academic knowledge that are required to be able to critically analyze and comprehend past and contemporary realities of East Asia. Graduates will have the necessary qualifications to be engaged leaders and effective professionals with strong expertise in the history, politics, religions, arts and literatures of China, Japan, Korea and/or Inner Asia.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Upon graduation, (department or program) majors will be able to:

  1. Competency in an East Asian language: fluency in speaking, writing, reading and comprehension in an East Asian language at the intermediate level (primarily Chinese or Japanese, but also Korean or Mongolian by special arrangement).
  2. Cultural literacy in an East Asian country: familiarity with history, politics, arts and literatures of China, Japan, Korean and/or Inner Asia, with strong academic expertise in at least one of those areas.
  3. Ability to analyze historical and contemporary events connected with East Asia
  4. Development of skills needed to use primary source documents, library resources, and other sources of information to complete a full-length research paper on an original topic of inquiry, within the field of East Asian Studies.
  5. General sensitivity to cultural differences and realities in the East Asian world.

Program Goals

Increasing interest in the program has led to a thriving major, as well as a minor. To support this successful program, faculty continue to:

  • maintain cutting-edge research agendas that provide professional visibility at professional conferences and through publication
  • explore new ways to involve students in their research
  • encourage students to study abroad at major universities in China, Japan, Korea, or Mongolia
  • make effective use of technology in instruction particularly through the use of multimedia to teach language, art history, and cinema
  • participate in career fairs and other campus events to promote the major and increase its visibility
  • assess the effectiveness of courses in the major and to implement any changes that improve the program, to make it reflect current standards of the discipline
  • insure that students have access to courses in the major, and are able to meet major requirements in a timely manner
  • explore ways to increase support for the major (through work-study students and program assistant)
  • provide an intellectually engaging introduction to the major
  • provide an effective senior capstone experience to help prepare students to apply their skills and knowledge beyond graduation
  • provide students with a public venue to present their original scholarship
  • offer multiple sections of high-quality GUR courses that contribute to the University's overall mission of providing a liberal arts education for our students
  • place students in top graduate programs

Assessment

Center for East Asian Studies faculty are engaged in continual assessment of the effectiveness of their program in meeting the above goals. Assessment includes:

  • evaluating and improving the effectiveness of course design and content
  • evaluating and improving the senior capstone colloquium experience
  • tracking placement of graduates in graduate programs to assess the effectiveness of career advising
  • designing, implementing and evaluating exit interviews to gather information for assessment
  • periodically reviewing student evaluations, peer observations, syllabi, textbooks, exams, etc.
  • collaborative reflection on teaching techniques and practices that address student learning outcomes