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Student Learning Outcomes

What are Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)?

In the last decade the emphasis in undergraduate education has shifted from input characteristics to what students have learned and what they are able to do when they complete their bachelor’s degrees (i.e. outcomes). The University of Minnesota has developed two sets of outcomes – one in the area of student learning and one in the area of student development.

Faculty, collegiate and central administrators, and staff at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, working together in the Council for Enhancing Student Learning since 2002, developed a set of student learning outcomes that defined what students will be able to do when they have completed any undergraduate degree, regardless of major, at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

At the time of receiving a bachelor’s degree, students:

  • Can identify, define, and solve problems
  • Can locate and critically evaluate information
  • Have mastered a body of knowledge and a mode of inquiry
  • Understand diverse philosophies and cultures within and across societies
  • Can communicate effectively
  • Understand the role of creativity, innovation, discovery, and expression across disciplines
  • Have acquired skills for effective citizenship and lifelong learning.

These student learning outcomes will help guide faculty across the University to develop curricula, plan individual courses, design syllabi, construct learning activities, and assess the student learning that occurs in every aspect of student experience – their classes, their undergraduate research experiences, their service-learning opportunities, their internships, and their learning abroad.

Accreditation and Office of Undergraduate Education Mandate

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus is scheduled for a comprehensive review by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and School (NCA) during the 2015-2016 academic year. The University will be sharing additional information regarding the preparation of our campus self-study document and site visit in the near future. If you would like additional information, you may access the HLC website, and view the new criteria for accreditation; criterion 4 addresses assessment of student learning.

Undergraduate education programs will continue to move forward over the next academic years and the focus of the evaluation will shift from the process of assessing student learning to discussions of how we have enhanced student learning based on the data programs have collected, as well as the faculty/staff discussions.

CEHD Approach to Measuring SLOs

The SLOs evaluation plan is one segment of a broader multi-year evaluation that will be conducted in CEHD for the next several years. Measuring SLOs is an opportunity to enhance student learning and development in CEHD. It also provides a way for faculty and students to reflect on their learning, goals and practices.

During the two years prior to accreditation all majors and the first year program key courses will be evaluated via a survey. The purpose of the survey is to evaluate the overall understanding and ability of the SLOs among CEHD undergraduate students.

Definition of Terms

Foundational Courses – courses that are required before entering a major. Not all majors have foundational courses.
Core Courses – courses that are required for students once in the major.
Key Courses – major and first year program foundational and core courses. All CEHD key courses will be evaluated in academic years 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.

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