Twenty-six individuals representing Economics and Agricultural Economics departments from 13 campuses attending the Conference on Student Learning Outcomes in Economics March 19 and 20 produced a draft document listing fourteen learning outcomes in three main areas.
The economists also adapted the "disclaimer" from the Psychology conference. Discussion was spirited, and without that document to build upon, our conference may not have achieved its goal. Participants were concerned that the Chancellor's Office might impose learning outcomes on departments.
The two documents resulting from the conference have been distributed electronically to the campuses, and chairs and conference participants were given over a month for discussion and feedback. No changes in the documents were proposed, so I am forwarding them to you.
I established a listserv to facilitate discussion among Economics chairs and faculty. Since I did not subscribe to the list myself, I do not know how active it is.
Beyond the controversy, the conference was quite successful. Doug Eder and Tom Mitchell received high marks for their presentations. Some participants were eager to continue meeting and discussed organizing regional meetings, paid for out of their own resources, to continue the conversation. I think you can expect to hear a request from them for funding for another conference to build upon the work they accomplished here and in regional meetings.
