Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

Latest ILOs Collected from Spring 2018:

Defined:

Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILO). Institutional Learning Outcomes are the knowledge, skills, and abilities a student is expected to leave an institution as a result of a student’s total experience. Because GE Outcomes represent a common core of outcomes for the majority of students transferring or receiving degrees, some but not all, institutions equate these with ILO’s. ILOs may differ from GE SLOs in that institutional outcomes may include outcomes relating to institutional effectiveness (degrees, transfers, productivity) in addition to learning outcomes. Descriptions of ILOs should include dialog about instructional and student service outcomes (The Academic Senate for California Community College 9).

ILOs:

Purpose: 

  • "One of the primary goals of ILO assessment is to provide insight into how the overall student experience and learning might improve.
  • Dialogue is central to the process. Assessing ILOs and talking about them—especially in department, committee, and council meetings—is to converse about the goals of an institution and to strategize ways to improve student success. What kinds of instructional styles, methods, or activities are working for faculty in the classes? What kinds of non-instructional experiences might hinder student learning? What are some of the obstacles to student success at the college? What might help students be more successful? Are resources needed in particular areas? Broad dialogue across the college, and throughout our governance bodies, is a key feature of the SLO process.
  • ILOs provide us with direct data that can help us make better institutional decisions. ILOs and their assessment provide different data than grades or the completion of a degree, certificate or award (what we might refer to as “indirect data”). ILOs help to inform the whole college what students are learning in the classroom and what their broad experience at the college indicates; by analyzing ILOs, the college can better strategize how to increase student success based on actual results—direct data—of student learning" (Modesto Junior College 47).

Data Collection:

  • During Spring 2015, ILOs were conducted at the graduation practice.  Results will be posted here once they are compiled.

  • Based on those results, the SLO Committee has made improvements on the three previous activities that were conducted in order to collect new ILO data in the Spring 2018 graduation practice.  

Works Cited:

Modesto Junior College. Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment Handbook. Fall of 2013. https://www.mjc.edu/instruction/outcomesassessment/documents/slo_manual_2013.pdf Links to an external site..   Accessed on May 23, 2017.

The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. SLO Terminology Glossary: A Resource for Local Senates. file://it903s-mydocs/My%20Docs/kevin.howell/Desktop/SLO-Glossary-2010_0.pdf. Accessed on April 14, 2018.