Scaffolding SLOs from an Educational Activity to the Campus Level
A Student Learning Outcome (SLO) should be written to match the level of the educational experience.
- Educational activity (e.g., community engaged learning activity, research project, performance, activities embedded within a course) - what students will know, understand, and be able to do as a result of performing the activity.
- Course - what students will know, understand, and be able to do as a result of taking the course.
- Program - what will know, understand, and be able to do as a result of completing the program.
- Campus - what will know, understand, and be able to do as a result of graduating from UMD.
Taken together, the SLOs "scaffold," map, or align from level to level. From a curricular perspective:
- Educational activity SLOs map to course SLOs
- Course SLOs map to program SLOs (called program learning outcomes [PLOs]; see program assessment plans for curriculum maps)
- Program SLOs map to campus SLOs (also identified on program assessment plans)
Educational activity and course SLOs may also map to campus SLOs.
Each PLO on assessment plans are aligned to one primary campus SLO for reporting purposes. PLOs may also relate to additional campus SLOs.