AUBURN, Ala. (EETV)- Auburn University's Core Curriculum and General Education Committee along with the Office of Academic Assessment have launched a new required assessment that all graduating seniors must take before receiving access to their diploma application.
The new assessment is called SCORE which stands for Student Core Outcomes and Readiness Evaluation. The assessment, according to the Office of Undergraduate Studies, was developed over two years using input from different university committees.
"Score is a campus-wide initiative developed by the Core Curriculum and General Education Committee (a faculty-led group) and the Office of Academic Assessment," wrote Dr. Megan Good, Auburn University's Director of Academic Assessment in an email to Eagle Eye TV. "The project involves a series of tests students will complete that help assess Auburn’s General Education Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)."
The SCORE, which does not impact student's GPAs, replaces Auburn's previous system which relied upon assessments embedded into courses.
The University says that the SCORE assessment works to better measure the strength of Auburn's core curriculum, will be used by Auburn officials to create different academic improvement programs and helps to set Auburn apart from other institutions.
"SCORE offers several benefits to the university, none more important than illustrating the strength of an Auburn education among a variety of stakeholders including employers, parents, and future students," wrote Good. "While all colleges and universities have the ability to tell compelling stories about their academic programs, Auburn will be among a handful of institutions who can tell a unique story about learning and provide evidence behind the strength of an Auburn education."
SCORE also works to fulfill the requirement of Auburn's accrediting body, the Southern Association for Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, that requires the university to "provide evidence of how well students perform on a set of student learning outcomes that guide general education."
Students enrolled in the UNIV 4AA0 graduation course will receive emails regarding the assessment and are required to schedule a time in which to take it. All assessments are administered in the Biggin Hall testing center and are expected to take roughly one hour.
"Students will be randomly assigned one test aligned with a General Education Student Learning Outcome based on the last digit of their student ID," mentioned Good.
Special exemptions will be granted by the university to students who are absent from Auburn's campus during the times in which testing is offered.
