UO Core Education comprises the courses that all UO students must take: courses in the three Areas of Inquiry (Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Arts and Letters), Cultural & Equity Literacy courses, Composition courses, and bachelor's degree requirements. Areas of Inquiry courses teach cross-cutting skills--ethical reflection, written communication, and creative and critical thinking--called UO's "methods of inquiry." All together, Core Education accounts for 47% of student credit hours at UO.

Does UO Core Education add up to what we intend for our students?

Core Education is assessed at multiple levels including overall category review, UO Committee on Courses approval, and, newly, targeted investigations into student learning. Our targeted approach will directly link results of these investigations of student learning to teaching and curricular development and alignment. Read more about Core Education Council's Assessment Plan. 

The first instance of this targeted approach will focus on the teaching and learning of written communication across UO courses. Written communication is taught within the Composition Program, in more than 60% of  Area of Inquiry-fulfilling courses, and is listed as a specific learning outcome for more than 70% of  UO majors. TEP is launching a multiyear assessment project of written communication at UO, beginning in the Composition Program, the foundation of written communication teaching at UO. The project will begin with the 2021 Writing Assessment CAIT and in subsequent years will engage other core education courses, writing within majors, and writing as a career competency. 

Core Education Assessment Schedule