Assessment of the Undergraduate Economics Major: A National Survey

Abstract

Economics departments are faced with growing demands to document what their graduates have learned upon completion of the undergraduate major. The results of a national survey of economics department chairs in the U.S. reveal that nearly two-thirds of the departments have a formal assessment plan. There is substantial agreement on the most important student learning outcomes which are consistent with the Hansen proficiencies. The most common approaches departments employ to measure learning outcomes are course embedded assessments and senior exit surveys. Undergraduate research appears to be most common in departments not in business schools and without doctoral programs. Finally, over half of the departments have made adjustments to their curriculum based on the results of their own assessment plan.