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Academically Superior – UNC Asheville’s Performance on the CLA

December 13, 2011

UNC Asheville ranked in the 95th percentile in the “Value-Added” category in the most recent Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA).

The CLA exam measures higher-order skills such as critical thinking and written communication among college students, and results are analyzed to measure each institution’s contribution, or “value added,” to the development of those skills. This allows for comparison between similarly selective institutions. Hundreds of institutions of higher learning and hundreds of thousands of students have participated in the CLA.

In the most recent CLA exam for which results are available, the 131 UNC Asheville freshmen tested did far better than most of their peers. This is an indication that UNC Asheville is attracting and selecting well-prepared, able, motivated students.

The CLA results also indicated that UNC Asheville students benefit intellectually from their years at the university. The 111 UNC Asheville seniors who were tested scored better than those at almost every other participating institution, and they showed dramatically better gains in higher-order skills over four years than their peers at most other universities. UNC Asheville ranked in the 95th percentile in the “Value-Added” category.

UNC Asheville’s demanding and stimulating liberal arts curriculum features undergraduate research opportunities, and practice in problem-solving and effective communication across the disciplines. Classes are small and students work in close collaboration with faculty. The CLA indicates that this engaging and rigorous academic experience leads to strong gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and other higher order skills needed by the leaders of tomorrow.

For information about the CLA testing program and UNC Asheville’s exam performance, visit the full report of UNC Asheville’s CLA results, and for information about UNC Asheville academic programs, visit http://www.unca.edu/academics.