The Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Evaluation (OIEE) created the following to aid instructors in selecting and/or designing assignments to assess Personal Responsibility.
Courses in the following Foundational Component Areas are responsible for teaching and assessing Personal Responsibility: American History; Communication; Government/Political Science; and Language, Philosophy, & Culture.
¹ 19 Tex. Admin. Code §4.28 (2021).
Definition
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board states that the Texas Core Curriculum objective of Personal Responsibility is “to include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making.”¹ Personal Responsibility includes the ability to identify an ethical issue, take a reasoned position, and evaluate the consequences of that position within its broader context.Courses in the following Foundational Component Areas are responsible for teaching and assessing Personal Responsibility: American History; Communication; Government/Political Science; and Language, Philosophy, & Culture.
¹ 19 Tex. Admin. Code §4.28 (2021).
Personal Responsibility Rubric & Assignment Checklist
The Importance of Personal Responsibility
- Lays the foundation for integrity, accountability, and ethical decision-making in all areas of life including academic, professional, social, and personal contexts.
- Fosters just and respectful interactions with others in society.
- Employers consider "exercis[ing] ethical judgment and reasoning" to be a "very important" skill when identifying strong job candidates.¹
- Employers consider certain mindsets and dispositions such as self-awareness as “very important” for success in the workplace.¹
- Teaching Personal Responsibility reinforces Aggie Core Values, such as integrity and excellence, by fostering accountability, ethical decision-making, and follow-through on commitments in academic contexts.
¹ American Association of Colleges & Universities. (2023). The career-ready graduate: What employers say about the difference college makes. https://dgmg81phhvh63.cloudfront.net/content/user-photos/Research/PDFs/AACU-2023-Employer-Report.pdf
Best Practices for Assessing
- Share the rubric with students and highlight the components that should be included in the assignment.
- Clarify expectations using rubric-based guidance, e.g., create a plain-language guide that explains what a “high score” looks like on each dimension. Instructors can translate rubric language into discipline-specific expectations to make it more accessible.
- Provide examples of strong and weak submissions. Use class discussion or peer review to examine the quality of ethical issue identification, strength of position, and reasoning about consequences.
Recommended Assignment Types
Individual student submissions of:- Scenario-based writing or speaking that addresses an ethical dilemma or complex ethical issue
- Case study analysis identifying an ethical issue, articulating a position, and analyzing consequences within a relevant context
- Informative or persuasive essays/presentations on an ethical issue
- Academic research essays on an ethical issue
- Reflection essays on an ethical issue
- Op eds on an ethical issue
