Crafting Learning Outcomes
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Facts and Stats
- Fact Book 2025-26
- Fact Book 2024-25
- Fact Book 2023-24
- Fact Book 2022-23
- Fact Book 2021-22 Volume 2
- Fact Book 2021-22 Volume 1
- Fact Book 2020-21 Volume 2
- Fact Book 2020-21 Volume 1
- Fact Book 2019-20
- Fact Book 2018-19
- Fact Book 2017-18
- Fact Book 2016-17
- Fact Book 2015-16
- Fact Book 2014-15
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- Common Data Set
- Academic Indicators
- Consumer Information
- Institutional Review Board
- Academic Program Assessment
- Staff Contacts
What Is a Student Learning Outcome?
A Student Learning Outcome (SLO) is a specific, observable, measurable statement describing what students will know or be able to do upon completing your program.
The key structure: “Upon completing this program, students will be able to…"
Program-Level vs. Course-Level Outcomes
Program-level SLOs describe what a graduating major knows or can do and therefore should reflect skills that are cultivated over multiple semesters. If your outcome could appear on a single course syllabus, it is course-level.
| Too narrow (Course-level) | Better (Program-level) |
|---|---|
| Define the major theoretical schools in [field] | Critically evaluate theoretical arguments using evidence from primary sources |
| Complete a lab report following standard format | Design and execute original research using methods appropriate to [discipline] |
Using Bloom’s Taxonomy
Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification of measurable verbs to help educators describe and classify observable knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviors and abilities. The taxonomy was proposed in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist at the University of Chicago. The terminology was updated in 2001 to include the following six levels of learning:
| Level | Definition |
|---|---|
| Remember | Retrieve, recognize, and recall relevant knowledge from long-term memory. |
| Understand | Construct meaning through interpreting, exemplifying, classifying, summarizing, inferring, comparing, and explaining. |
| Apply | Carry out or use a procedure for executing or implementing. |
| Analyze | Break material into constituent parts and determine how the parts relate to one another and to an overall structure or purpose through differentiating, organizing, and attributing. |
| Evaluate | Make judgments based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing. |
| Create | Put elements together to form a coherent or functional whole; reorganize elements into a new pattern or structure through generating, planning, or producing. |
The hierarchical nature of this taxonomy implies that learning at the higher levels is dependent on having attained prerequisite knowledge and skills at lower levels. For this reason, program-level SLOs most commonly target Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, or Create-based skills.
The Qualities of a Strong SLO
- Clear and specific
- Weak: Students will understand the ethical dimensions of [discipline]
- Stronger: Students will identify ethical considerations at stake in a disciplinary problem and articulate a reasoned position
- Program-level
The competency should require the full arc of the major to develop. - Written with a precise, measurable, active verb
- Strong verbs: analyze, synthesize, evaluate, design, construct, interpret, apply, argue, demonstrate, compare, justify, critique
- Avoid: appreciate, learn, be familiar with, be aware of
- Outcome-focused, not process-focused
- Process (avoid): Students will read and discuss primary literature
- Outcome: Students will analyze arguments in primary literature and evaluate their methodological claims
How Many SLOs?
Most programs find three to five SLOs sufficient. The AoL Committee will offer feedback on plans with more than six, encouraging consolidation. Remember that the SLOs listed for assessment do not necessarily represent the full scope of all skills and knowledge the program faculty wish to impart on their students. Rather, it is necessary to focus assessment on a few outcomes at a time, so that the assessment process is sustainable.