Ashesi's external examiners at Swarthmore College and UC Berkeley have reviewed students' work from our first academic term and say that Ashesi students are performing at a level comparable to students at the most selective US institutions of higher education.
Professor Andy Shogan at Berkeley and Professor Tim Burke at Swarthmore each evaluated the course syllabus, a sampling of assignments, a sampling of final examinations and grading in the respective courses that they reviewed. Prof. Shogan felt the Quantitative Methods course was well designed and "especially appreciated both the use of a student project requiring 'real-world' application and the use of 'modern' software such as Excel's Solver and Microsoft Project."
Prof. Burke, who was instrumental in developing Ashesi's interdisciplinary Text & Meaning and Social Theory courses, noted that "Ashesi's courses are in their design philosophy and outlook far more innovative in realizing the fundamental ambitions of a liberal arts ideal than comparable courses at the most selective US insitutions." Despite the ambitious nature of the course, he believes that the Text and Meaning course has been executed very effectively, and already sees a "dramatic improvement in analytic writing skills and notable improvement in the mastery of the philosophical underpinnings of the course and its content" among the students. Asked about the overall performance of Ashesi's students in the Text & Meaning course, Prof. Burke indicated that "it is very strong. The best writing from the exams compares favorably with US undergraduates in selective institutions."
As Prof. Shogan summed it up, "the Ashesi course is off to a great start."