Department/Program: Economics

Major: Economics

Date Prepared:  December 2006

Learning Goals for Majors

1.       knowledge: familiarity with –

• economic terms
• facts about economies, their institutions and history
• the method of inquiry into economics
• sources of economic information and ways of presenting it
• the main concepts and principles in economics and its major theories

2.      comprehension: the ability to –

• find, analyze, understand and interpret economic information in verbal, numerical or graphical form, and to translate information from one form to another
• explain familiar economic phenomena in terms of the relevant principles
• apply broad generalizations to problems of a routine type
• make generalizations about economic knowledge or data

3.   application: the ability to –

• select and apply generalizations and principles to problems that are unfamiliar or novel
apply economic ideas and methods to societal problems and issues

4.  analysis and synthesis: the ability to –

• recognize unstated assumptions
• distinguish between statements of fact and statements of values
• distinguish between hypotheses and statements of theory
• make valid inferences from economic data and writing

5.  expression: the ability to –

• organize and present economic ideas and statements (in writing as well as orally) in a clear, logical, and appropriate form
• marshal evidence in support of these ideas and statements, and use correct citations

 

Relation of Course Level to Competencies

 

Level	Course Nos.	Basic Prerequisites	Majors take:	Competence gained primarily in goals:	Maximum class size
Principles	11, 12	None for 11, 11 for 12	Both of these	1, 2, 4	140
Fields/ Subdisciplines	60, 110-160, 195, 196	11 and 12 (except for ISSP)	Three of these	1, 3, 5	40
Methods & Theory	170, 171, 172	11 and 12, Math 19	All three of these	2, 3, 4	40
Seminars/ Integration	210 and higher	170, 171, 172	Three of these	3, 5	18

 

 For the first year of this assessment project, we plan only to evaluate our effectiveness with respect to the relevant goals for the introductory level sequence (economics 11 and 12), and the seminar courses (210 and higher).
 

Website and/or other avenues by which goals are readily available to students, prospective students, and faculty: http://www.uvm.edu/~econ/

 

 

                  Specific assessment plans