Learning Outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes should:

• Include active-verb description of specific point or task that students will accomplish or reach
• Be specific and measurable
• Be part of a degree program assessment plan that includes no less than three (3) specific statements of student learning (best practices are typically 4 to 6 "SLOs" and discipline-specific requirements may expect more)
• Relate to college and university level learning outcomes

Developing Outcomes:

Use the following sentence templates when constructing a learning outcome:

• Graduates of this program will be able to (specific skill or competency).
• [Target population] will [cognitive/affective/psychomotor action verb] [context specific action]

Target Population Examples:

• Programs: Graduates of _(degree)_in _(program)_ will…
• Courses: Students who complete _(course)_ will…

Observable and Measurable Action Verbs: References to Bloom’s taxonomy verbs  

• Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching  
• Iowa State Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching  

Context Specific Action:

• Keep specific to the program or course – a topic/concept students would not be able to learn, value or gain skill without this specific educational experience   

For more information, download this Program Learning Outcomes Quick Guide (PDF)