Departmental-level advice for the CLO Expedited project

(1) Kick-off the process for collecting and submitting Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) by contacting L&S TLA.

• Read the “Overview” that provides information about the scope of the project.
• Contact Sara Stephenson, in L&S TLA, when the department are ready to start the process.
• Sara will provide the department with a CLO input spreadsheet; it will include the courses that are the focus of the expedited project, and important information about them.
• Please note that CLOs already collected via a Lumen Course proposal cannot be modified via this process; these courses will not be in the spreadsheet.

(2) Determine how the department will collect learning outcomes for your courses.

• Identify who will be collecting department CLOs and adding them to the spreadsheet.
• Consider how you will collect them. Examples: online form (Qualtrics or Google), online spreadsheets, more simple methods like email.
• Think about how to prompt instructors for the specific information you need (for example, the undergrad/grad/both labels for courses with the graduate attribute).

(2) Determine departmental expectations and review process

• The department must review all CLOs before submitting them to L&S.
• Future changes to CLOs will require course proposals; the departmental review should include ensuring CLOs have built-in flexibility for typical changes in assignments, approaches, and specific topics term to term. (see Guidance for Writing Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for more information about level of detail.)
• Faculty and/or instructional staff should be involved in the departmental review process.

(3) Hold a departmental meeting to discuss the initiative, and the departmental expectations

• Provide advice on writing high quality learning outcomes: Guidance for Writing Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)
• Provide advice on issues like durability, level of detail, and required writing ‘style’ for the CLOs, as well as any additional departmental expectations: Guidance for Writing Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)
• Go over how CLOs will be reviewed at the department level, so instructors know they may receive some feedback from the department.

(4) Coordinate on key cross-listed courses and multi-section courses, to ensure the CLOs provided are relevant for each offering

Departments may need to coordinate conversations for these types of courses. On cross-listed courses, please consult with the cross-listed departments before you finalize and submit.

(5) Review and approve collected CLOs

The departmental review process will bolster the quality of published CLOs in your department, it will also help avoid frequent course proposals in the future.

(6) Once CLOs are approved, submit to L&S TLA

• When your departmental spreadsheet is complete and approved, please contact Sara Stephenson.
• L&S will ask departments to revise CLOs that are not written in the required style, or aren’t aligned with other guidelines and advice in Guidance for Writing Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)