Women’s Studies Undergraduate Degree Program Student Learning Outcomes

To qualify for a B.S. or B.A. degree in Women’s Studies, students will have demonstrated:

1.  Their understanding that Women’s Studies is an academic discipline that generates new knowledge about women and gender, reconsiders other disciplines through feminist perspectives, and is committed to social action and social change.

2.  Their familiarity with key Women’s Studies concepts such as the social construction of gender, oppression of and violence against women, heterosexism, racism, classism, and global inequality.

3.  Their understanding of how and why gender inequality developed and is maintained in the United States and in our global society.

4.  Their ability to recognize the social, political, economic, and cultural consequences of gender inequality.

5.  Their familiarity with the history of women’s lives and with the different ways that gender inequality has been challenged, including the history of feminisms.   

6.  Their ability to identify and apply a broad range of feminist perspectives and theories to their personal experiences, academic and applied community work, and to their understanding of society.

7.  Their ability to connect theory and methods to gain lifelong skills in analyzing representations of women in mass media, literature, the arts, history, social science, physical science, and other areas of scholarship.

8.  Their ability to elucidate key points, and critique theoretical frameworks, methodologies, and conclusions in scholarly articles and books on gender and related social issues. 

To find out more about specific requirements for the major or minor in women's studies, click here.

Assessment of Student Learning Plan  

Student Portfolios Prepared by students during their degree program and used for on-going assessment of their learning and for a summative assessment of learning at degree completion. 

Although student portfolios will be individual to each student, all will have the following elements: 

1. A table of contents, listing the title of each item, the course for which it was required, and the date of submission.

2. A list of courses taken to complete the Women's Studies major:

3. Required items: on exam, paper, or project from each of the following classes - Feminist Thought; Gender, Ethnicity, and Class: Seminar - plus one or two others from another WOMSt or cross-listed course. On a cover sheet for each piece, indicate the SLO's (including both WS and University) that are demonstrated by the work.

4. An original essay (2-3 pages) in which the student:

A) Reflects on her/his learning, both inside and outside the classroom (leadership experiences, speakers, student activities, employment, interships, etc.) with emphasis on how this learning has influenced and will continue to influence the student's personal and professional behavior, attitudes, and life choices.

B) Address relevant evidence that the Women's Studies and University Student Learning Outcomes have been achieved.

5. Other relevant evidence that the Women's Studies and University Student Learning Outcomes have been achieved.

In the portfolio, students should demonstrate evidence of every Women's Studies and University student learning outcome.

Assessment Scheme for Portfolios
Program Assessment and Improvement 

All grading will be done by the faculty person who is the instructor of the course in which the assignment is made.  For degree program assessment of student learning purposes, however, other WS faculty will participate.  During the two weeks following the end of finals in the Fall and Spring semesters, the portfolio of each graduate will be evaluated independently by two members of the faculty and rated on the level of student achievement of the Women's Studies and University Student Learning Outcomes (the Women's Studies Director will review files for which there are significantly disparate ratings by the two evaluators).  These ratings will constitute the aggregate assessment of how well our graduates are achieving these outcomes. 

Using the following assessment rubric, the evaluator will rate the individual parts of the portfolio according to the following scale: 

  • Exemplary – student demonstrates mastery of the Outcome that far exceeds expectations for an undergraduate degree candidate.
  • Exceeds Expectations – student demonstrates mastery of the Outcome that is more than is expected of an undergraduate degree candidate.
  • Acceptable – student demonstrates mastery of the Outcome satisfactorily for an undergraduate degree candidate.
  • Below minimum standards – student's mastery of the Outcome is below what is expected of an undergraduate degree candidate. 

A subcommittee of the Women's Studies Faculty, composed of core and affiliated faculty who have taught cross-listed courses within the past three years, will meet each year in May to review the rated portfolios of the year's graduating students.  Based on this review, they will suggest revisions to the curriculum, the assessment process, and/or the Student Learning Outcomes.  The Women's Studies Executive and Curriculum Committees will consider these suggestions and bring proposed revisions to the full faculty for their consideration.

Alignment Matrix

Summary of the 2007-2008 Annual Progress Report on Assessment of Undergraduate Student Learning
For more information, write, e-mail, or call:

Dr. Angela Hubler, Director, The Women's Studies Program
Kansas State University | Leasure Hall Room 3 | Manhattan, KS 66506
Phone: (785) 532-5738 | Fax: (785)532-3299

. Please report any broken links to the Webweaver, Valerie Carroll