Appendix B - Modern Jewish Studies Assessment Plan

Program effectiveness will be assessed in multiple ways, including the following:

• Student evaluation of each course.
• Faculty reports on effectiveness of delivery system.
• Student-faculty discussion at annual seminars.
• Review of student performance through portfolios of sample course work.
• Exit interviews with graduates.
• Periodic survey of alumni.

Outcomes--Core Courses:

• Students should share a common and consistent introductory approach to the study of the Jewish people and Judaism.
• Students should have a basic understanding and minimal proficiency in Hebrew.
• Students should have an introduction to the scholarly study of the World Religions or the Religious Experience.
• Students should have an understanding of the diversity of Jewish Studies.

The core courses should include an understanding of Jewish civilizations as the result of the interactions of Jewish culture, history, and religion within both societies where Jews have been the dominant minority (the first two Jewish commonwealths and modern Israel) and the minority. Courses would thus explore the constants and diversity of the Jewish experience in different eras and geographical settings. They would focus on the particular or unique aspects of the Jewish experience.

The core courses should include an understanding and awareness of how the Jewish experience reflects the broader dynamics of how ethnic, religious, or racial minorities interact with the majority societies (i.e., discrimination and persecution, acculturation, integration, and resistance to being fully assimilated.) We would call this the universal lessons of the Jewish experience.

Outcomes -- Required Courses:

• Students should have an understanding of the major events and forces that have shaped Jewish history.
• Students should have an understanding of significant Jewish Beliefs, ethics, philosophies, and religious texts.
• Students should be able to define the perimeters (both geographic and psychic) of the Diaspora and its significance on both Jewish and non-Jewish life.
• Students should have an understanding of the place and role of Israel and Zionism in Jewish life, politics, culture and religion.
• Students should have an understanding of the history of the Holocaust/Shoah and its impact on both the Jewish and non-Jewish worldviews.
• Students should have an understanding of significant Jewish traditions and cultural expressions.

Outcomes -- Elective Courses:

Elective courses generally should address each of the above outcomes as well as providing students with an opportunity to go into greater depth on a topic area.

When one completes the degree, what has changed in his/her life? First and foremost, the intention of this major is to provide an extension of the Liberal Arts degree, not to provide technical or career knowledge. The focus of the major is in our aim is to provide students with knowledge and understanding which will enhance their life-long learning experience. This is why we encourage students to double major or minor in other areas more focused on career development, if students are able to translate their major into a career path, so much the better. In the end, it is sufficient to have students be in close proximity to thousands of years of culture to begin to have a significant impact on their understanding of the world.