Competency Assessment
General Education Core Competencies
Background: What is Competency Assessment?
Florida Keys Community College strives to ensure that its graduates who complete the core curriculum possess the knowledge, skills and values associated with college-educated individuals.
A method for accomplishing this is to assess general education, the core curriculum, each semester to identify that graduates demonstrate proficiency in competencies that are integrated within the academic disciplines.
These competencies include the ability to effectively communicate, seek creative solutions to problems, exhibit cultural awareness, and command basic technological skills. Students who acquire proficiency in these areas have an enhanced opportunity to experience the positive impact of education, which can, in turn, ignite a passion for continual, life-long learning.
In March 2010, faculty evaluated its overall progress with preliminary assessment of the college’s eight competencies (spring 2009 and fall 2010 comparison): communication, critical thinking, art appreciation, diversity, ethics, mathematics, natural sciences and technology. The consensus was that these competencies should be merged for the purpose of generating more manageable and meaningful results. Faculty voted on the four following competencies as being primary for FKCC graduates:
1. Communication
Comprehend and articulate effectively – written and oral communication
2. Critical thinking
Demonstrate mastery of problem-solving skills in the discipline
3. Diversity
Interpret and evaluate societal and ethical issues, problems and values
4. Technology
Utilize technology effectively