Program Review English

Mission Statement

The study of language and literature offers practice in the discipline of paying attention to the beauty and brokenness of the created order as students learn to read carefully, think critically, and write with rhetorical sensitivity.

As our students explore various genres across various centuries, they will investigate the interplay of form and content as well as the interaction of text and historical context. As they wrestle with the ethical questions implicit in texts, they will examine their own assumptions, even as they witness an expansion of their sympathies. As they gain new knowledge of the understanding and use of the English language, our students will view the expressive capacity of English, in all its complexity, as an invaluable gift of which they are to be faithful stewards.

Program Learning Outcomes

The links below lead to information about the department's most recent assessment of student learning relative to our program learning outcomes.

Graduates of the English major will . . .

1.    Demonstrate critical discernment in their examination of literary texts in ways that expand their affections and sympathies—by assessing their own cultural and theological assumptions, engaging in research, and evaluating evidence. (Thinking Critically PLO)

2.    Read literary texts carefully, analyzing both the contexts and the techniques (e.g., literary devices and genre characteristics) that shape their meaning. (Reading Carefully PLO)

3.     Identify how literary writers have alluded to the Bible and other religious texts in order to achieve particular rhetorical effects—for example, in addressing issues of justice. (Identifying Religious Rhetoric PLO) *adopted Jan. 2020 following CUPA assessment

4.    (Formerly 3) Engage various audiences in writing with sensitivity to rhetorical situations and scholarly standards. (Writing with Rhetorical Sensitivity PLO)  

Program Review Resources

Curriculum Map (under construction)
A curriculum map is a visual representation of the structure of program curriculum. The map charts program courses, syllabi, and assessments as they relate to the intended program learning outcomes. In other words, a curriculum map is the intellectual linkage that presents twenty plus courses as a story of learning.

Multi-year Assessment Plan (coming soon)

A multi-year assessment plan shows what program learning outcomes will be assessed in what years.

Annual and Six-Year Reports
2019 2018 2017 2016 (6-year report) 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 (6-year report) 2009