Submitted by: Suzanne Massey, smassey@uca.edu on 01/23/2026
UCA Faculty:
Last year, the UCA Core underwent a 10-year self-study and subsequent external
review. As a result of that process, the Core Council decided to revise the UCA Core
rubrics for the four competency areas definitive of the UCA Core: Effective
Communication, Critical Inquiry, Global Learning, and Responsible Living. Revising
these rubrics entails redefining the competency goals and articulating new student
learning outcomes for each goal. This process resulted in defining each competency
area in terms of a single goal (as opposed to multiple goals like our current system),
encapsulated by a single rubric, with an additional rubric for Collaboration. The Core
Council and assigned sub-committees worked last academic year to define these goals
and articulate these outcomes considering the benefits and drawbacks of the current
UCA Core Assessment rubrics. This process is the beginning of a revision to the UCA
Core program in response to the self-study and external reviewers’ report. We are
intentionally redefining our Core goals, student learning outcomes, with the intention of
revisiting the UCA Core assessment processes. The first step in this process is
reviewing and revising the UCA Core Goals and learning outcomes, and we want
campus’s feedback each step of the way.
The Core Council is now soliciting feedback from campus. If you are interested in, have
experience with, or otherwise would like to offer your input on the UCA Core goals and
student learning outcomes, we are asking that you take a moment to complete the
attached surveys. The links are below; one for each competency area with a standalone
rubric for Collaboration. These are draft revisions of the goals and outcomes. We need
your feedback to help us make optimal revisions that articulate our shared expectations
of student learning in the Core, capture student learning in a meaningful way, and are
applicable across campus in various learning spaces.
In addition, I, as Chair of the UCA Core Council, will be holding Townhall style meetings
with each academic college later this semester beginning in late February. These fora
will provide an opportunity for faculty, after having seen the revised draft rubrics and
having provided feedback via the surveys, to directly engage with me and members of
the UCA Core Council. Details are currently being worked out with each college and will
be communicated to faculty once finalized.
If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me (jmheld@uca.edu/450-5307)
Thank you for your assistance,
Jake Held
Links to the surveys:
Collaboration https://forms.gle/tkUAjLmSzYRtYXCB7
Critical Inquiry https://forms.gle/ojUkRJSRBKMndAae7
Global Learning https://forms.gle/r3chYquoGWNruJDbA
Responsible Living https://forms.gle/8UJTY1wGipHLz6rVA
Effective Communication https://forms.gle/AFhMMepQZ7crFMoW8