Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is an SLO?
What is the difference between an SLO and a course objective?
What is assessment?
What is the difference between a course-level SLO and a program-level SLO?
Do I have to put SLOs in my course syllabus?
How do I find SLOs online?
What do I need to do now?
What is an SLO?
An SLO is a "student learning outcome," or, in other words, what a student should be able to do at the end of a course, program, or any learning experience at the college. SLOs may be at the course level, program level or institutional level. The institutional level SLOs are also called core competencies.
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What is the difference between an SLO and a course objective?
SLO statements and course objectives might look very similar but are, in fact, very different in terms of their use and function. This table contains the different characteristics of course objectives and SLOs.
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Course Objectives
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SLOs
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...act as a guideline--provide the nuts and bolts-- for how a course should be structured
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...express the overarching end-product of a course, program, or educational experience
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...are comprehensive. There is a course
objective for each part of a course.
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...are holistic. At the course level, they may link together several course objectives.
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...state the skills and content important for the
course. They act as the input of the course.
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...involve higher order thinking skills that may
integrate many aspects of the course or program into one end product.
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...are not necessarily linked to an assessment, but faculty teach to the course objectives.
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...are linked to an assessment cycle. Faculty assess students based on the stated outcomes as well as make improvements based on the results of their assessments.
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... are found at the course level.
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...are found at three levels--course, program, and institutional.
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...are a permanent part of the course outline of record.
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...are linked to the course outline of record, but may
change based on asessment results.
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...are reviewed and approved by the College Curriculum Committee.
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...are the responsibility of the faculty who teach the course or in the program.
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What is assessment?
Assessment is how we determine if the students are meeting our outcomes or not. Even before the SLO mandate, teachers have always assessed their students through tests or assignments. Thus, when you are deciding on your assessment, you do not have to reinvent the wheel--use assessments that you already do. Here are some examples of different types of assessments:
test / exam
quiz
survey
writing assignment
capstone test / writing assignment
performance / skill demonstration
portfolio
licensing exam
pre-post test or survey (a test or survey that you give at the beginning and the end of a learning experience to determine learning growth)
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What is the difference between a course-level SLO and a program-level SLO?
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Course-level SLO
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Program-Level SLO
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...states what the students should be
able to do at the end of a course.
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...states what the students should be
able to do at the end of a program.
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...is assessed in a single course or
several sections of the same course.
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...may be assessed at the end of a single
course if it is a capstone course or the
highest level course in the program.
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...is assessed by analyzing the assessment
results independently of other courses.
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... is assessed by analyzing assessment
results in the context of other courses in the
program.
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For more information on program-level assessments, please see the "Program-Level SLO Instruction and Information Sheet" on the forms page.
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Do I have to put SLOs in my course syllabus?
It is highly recommended that you do so. One of the recommendations from the accrediting team was that the college start sharing SLOs with students. One obvious way of doing this is by including SLOs in course syllabi.
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Where do I find SLOs online?
SLO documents are found by logging on to the portal. After you log in, move your mouse to the "Areas" link at the top right side of the page, then move your mouse to "Academic Affairs," then click on "SLOs." Click on "Campus: El Camino" and then the name of your division to access the SLOs for your division. The SLOs are listed in alphabetical order by course (or program, for program-level SLOs).
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What do I need to do now?
Get your colleagues together to talk about SLOs and assessment! If you need some guidance or direction, contact one of the SLO coordinators or your division ALC (Assessment of Learning Committee) rep for help. Refer to the timeline page for information about due dates and deadlines. Look out for information about our biannual Assessment of Student Learning Week, which takes place every semester and provides faculty with the opportunity to work on their SLOs and assessments with the guidance of the coordinators and ALC members.
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