The University of Georgia College Portrait

Learn More

Students
Find out more about the characteristics of students who attend UGA.
Admissions
See how many students applied, accepted, and enrolled at UGA. Learn more about students’ high school preparation and test scores.
College Costs & Financial Aid
Learn about costs to attend UGA and how much financial aid is typically awarded.
College Cost Estimator
Estimate your cost to attend UGA in a few simple steps.
Classes and Campus Life
Learn more about professors, where students live, and campus safety at UGA.
Student Experiences
Discover ways to be actively involved in your education at UGA – inside and outside the classroom.
Majors, Graduation and Next Steps
See which majors are most popular at UGA and what recent graduates plan to do after earning their bachelor's degree.
Student Success & Progress
Discover how many students who start at UGA finish their bachelor's degree and how long it takes.
Student Learning Outcomes
Figure out what learning gains to expect in critical thinking, writing, and other important subjects at UGA.

Student Learning at The University of Georgia

All colleges and universities use multiple approaches to measure student learning. Many of these are specific to particular disciplines, many are coordinated with accrediting agencies, and many are based on outcomes after students have graduated.

The purpose of assessing student learning outcomes at the University of Georgia is to provide a strong base of evidence to inform the continuous improvement of our academic programs. Each undergraduate major has defined learning outcomes and established an ongoing process to assess those outcomes and use the results to improve the program. Departments report on these activities on a 3-year cycle, and the reports are evaluated by a review team of faculty during the course of a 7-year program review of the department and its programs. For general education, the University has defined outcomes for core curriculum areas as well as defined outcomes for general education abilities that are embedded throughout the four-year curriculum. Like most large institutions, UGA uses a multi-pronged approach to assess general education learning, including focused assessment projects, surveys of undergraduate students, program-level measures, capstone projects, and standardized assessment instruments.

Learning Assessment Examples

Pilot Project to Measure Core Learning Outcomes

Colleges and universities participating in the College Portrait measure the typical improvement in students' abilities to think, reason, and write using one of three tests. This is part of a pilot project to better understand and compare what students learn between their freshman and senior years at different colleges and universities.

2008-10 Results from the Collegiate Learning Assessment

The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) measures critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication using a performance task and an analytic writing task. The scores from the tasks are reported separately below.

Test Administration Process

Test Information

Performance Task Results for First-time, Full-time Students

The increase in learning on the performance task is at or near what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.

Freshman Score: 1215
Senior Score: 1331
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.

Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 1248
Senior Score: 1280

Analytic Writing Task Results for First-time, Full-time Students

The increase in learning on the analytic writing task is at or near what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.

Freshman Score: 1306
Senior Score: 1381
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.