Program Learning Objectives (PLOs)

Characteristics of good PLOs

Well-written PLOs have five essential characteristics: strong, specific, measurable, attainable, and discipline specific.

• • STRONG PLOs are short, simple, and declarative. Avoid using multiple clauses or confusing phrasing.
  • SPECIFIC PLOs address a single objective or tightly related objectives that can be credibly measured together.
  • MEASURABLE PLOs incorporate a verb that produces an observable product.
  • ATTAINABLE PLOs are developmentally appropriate and attainable within the students’ academic career.
  • DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC PLOs reflect the field or domain of the program.

How to generate PLOs

Good PLOs that are attainable and discipline-specific need to be grounded in the aspirations your program has for your students. There are multiple strategies for developing PLOs based on the degree-level of the program.

Undergraduate Degree and Certificate Programs

Some common approaches for developing program-level learning objectives for undergraduate programs include:

• • Examine learning objectives in a capstone or major courses (200-level for Associate programs and 400-level for Bachelor’s programs)
  • List the knowledge and skills needed for major course projects
  • Review the PLOs for similar programs at other campuses or universities
  • Survey alumni or employers about what is expected of graduates of your program
  • Check your disciplinary organizations – some publish lists of program-level learning objectives

Within Nuventive, PLOs are sorted into 11 categories. You may also find inspiration by selecting categories and working backwards.

Graduate Degree Programs

PLOs for graduate degree programs must align with the goals developed by The Graduate Council. The five goals are listed below and more information can be found at the Graduate School’s Scholarly and Professional Goals website.

1. 1. KNOW: Demonstrate appropriate breadth and depth of disciplinary knowledge, and comprehension of the major issues of their discipline;
   2. APPLY/ CREATE: Use disciplinary methods and techniques to apply knowledge, and—if appropriate to the degree—create new knowledge or achieve advanced creative accomplishment;
   3. COMMUNICATE: Communicate the major issues of their discipline effectively;
   4. THINK: Demonstrate analytical and critical thinking within their discipline, and, where appropriate, across disciplines;
   5. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: Know and conduct themselves in accordance with the highest ethical standards, values, and, where these are defined, the best practices of their discipline.

How to organize PLOs

Most programs organize their PLOs in one of two approaches: overarching objectives or nested competencies.

Overarching Objectives articulate a PLO statement that describes mastery-level practice.

Example from an American Studies program:

Students will be able to interpret texts from America’s past by isolating symbols and myths that were culturally meaningful to the people at the time.

Nested competencies articulate sub-objectives under each major PLO. Sub-objectives specify essential practices or competencies that can be nested within or underneath the major PLO.

Example for a Human Development and Family Studies program:

Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to evaluate and apply theory and research to practice and policy.
          – Students will be able to integrate and apply the findings of empirical research within a theoretical framework to human development
          – Students will be able to explain the strengths and weaknesses of various research methods in assessing human behavior

Whether your program chooses overarching objectives or nested competencies, it is important to remember that the program will be responsible for assessing what it has described. Evaluation of a written assignment is not a sufficient method on its own for assessing a PLO that includes written and oral communication in its description.

How to word PLOs

Good PLO statements that are strong, specific, and measurable are founded on carefully chosen words. There are many different strategies for writing PLOs, but they should always use student-centered language. They should also incorporate a verb that produces an observable product or action that can be measured. For example:

High-quality PLO

Students will be able to evaluate psychological theories.

Strategies for wording PLO statements

• • Fill-in-the-Blank Method
    Start with the phrase “Upon completion, students will be able to [verb] [context for action]” and fill in the blanks. For example, “Upon completion, students will be able to evaluate psychological theories for application in a clinical setting.”

• • Start with the Verb Method
    Review a learning taxonomy to generate specific, measurable verbs, then craft your PLO statement around them. To get started, a few example taxonomies include Bloom’s, SOLO, and Fink’s.
    

• • SMART Method

S – Specific: use of clear verbs and who, what, and where.
M – Measurable: how will you know that students have achieved the expected outcome?
A – Achievable: realistic to accomplish given the expectations for your students and program.
R – Relevant: relates directly to your program goals.
T – Time-bound: timeline for goal achievement. For example, “Upon completion,  . . . “.

Measurable

Students will be able to evaluate psychological theories.

Good context

Students will be able to present scientific data orally, textually, and visually.

On topic

Students will be able to analyze and interpret quantitative psychological data.