Intended learning outcomes are direct statements that describe the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students are expected to demonstrate in successfully completing a course or program.
Learning outcomes describe, from the student’s perspective, what learning looks like. As such, they should be observable and assessable in some way and written in a way that is both rigorous and flexible -- rigorous in that they specify the complexity of the learning that’s expected, and flexible in that the learning might be demonstrated in a variety of ways.
Queen's is the only university in Canada that publishes learning outcomes, which help students make informed decisions on selecting programs and courses that match their goals in advance of the course registration and program plan selection periods.
Learning outcomes are direct statements that set clear expectations and outline the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students are expected to demonstrate in successfully completing a course and they describe, from the student’s perspective, what learning looks like.
Learning outcomes also help students confidently articulate the value of their education and transferable skills to future employers and/or graduate schools upon graduation, which is a competitive advantage and makes the recruitment process more straightforward and advantageous to Queen’s grads and alumni.
Learning outcomes are also the basis for reviewing curriculum in the Cyclical Program Reviews that Departments undergo as part of the University’s Quality Assurance process.