Knowledge Base

Course learning outcomes (CLOs) describe the knowledge and skills (competencies) students should be able to demonstrate as a result of completing a course. Generally, a course has between five and eight learning outcomes. This guide suggests some best practices for writing CLOs.

The subject of every CLO is understood to be “Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...”, so do not include this phrase in your outcome statements. Simply start each CLO with an appropriate verb, then describe the desired learning outcome. Also, do not use bullets, numbering, or symbols in the Curriculog form fields. All outcomes should be top-level bullet points (no sub-bullets or indents).

Use verbs that are measurable, demonstrable, and observable. Avoid ill-defined and unmeasurable verbs.

CLOs should be clear and precise. Use succinct sentences and succinct verbs. If your CLO is longer than one sentence, chances are you’re identifying multiple learning outcomes that can be split into separate statements. Anything that describes something other than the final CLO is unnecessary. Leave that level of detail for the course.

If your chosen verb is something like research, discover, study, practice, experience, learn about, acquire knowledge, or explore, you’re probably describing preparatory activity, not the learning outcome. Also, how instructors assess CLOs can vary. One instructor might require an essay; another might require a project. This is acceptable, as long as both assessments measure whether students have achieved the desired CLOs.

Think of CLOs as “outputs.” Instructor activities are “inputs,” and do not need to be described.

Adverbs such as effectively, appropriately, or accurately are generally unnecessary because the CLO assumes that students will perform the task well or they would not receive a passing grade.

Be concise. Using extra, unnecessary words makes a sentence harder for students to understand, and more difficult for non-native English speakers to interpret.