What's With These Rubrics? 3: UWest's Institutional Learning Outcomes

Implementing ILO-PLO-CLO Assessment in Your Courses

By Dr. Kenneth Locke, Dean of Administration, and Monica Sanford

Navigation:

  1. Why Does This Matter?
  2. Learning Outcomes
  3. UWest’s Institutional Learning Outcomes ← YOU ARE HERE
  4. Rubrics
  5. Creating Course Learning Outcome Rubrics
  6. Linking CLOs to Assignments
  7. Recording CLO Rubrics in Taskstream
  8. Conclusion

UWest’s Institutional Learning Outcomes

The university’s mission is upheld by the principles of Wisdom and Skillful Means, Self-Awareness, Liberation, and Interdependence. In the ILOs, the two halves of the mission flow together seamlessly, with each ILO and its constituent sub-points reflecting whole-person education, expressing Buddhist wisdom and values, and facilitating East-West relationships.  Thus, UWest’s ILOs derive directly from the mission statement.  They were drafted by a multi-disciplinary Mission and Identity Committee (MIC) following extensive research, two mission and identity surveys, and input from the campus community.  They are structured as four primary ILOs, each with three to five measurable sub-points which are, at this university, constitutive and definitive.  These ILOs are as follows:

1 – Wisdom & Skillful Means:

Students are thoroughly prepared for academic and professional success. This includes:

  • Knowledge: Knowledge of the subject matter and best practices within their field of study.
  • Praxis: Ability to integrate theory and practice in their field of study.
  • Ethics: Ability to apply professional ethics throughout their career.
  • Critical Thinking: Ability to evaluate new information and question underlying assumptions.
  • Communication: Ability to communicate ideas in speech, writing and other forms of expression.

2 – Self-Awareness:

Students are prepared to engage in an on-going process of self-understanding that enables them to lead happy, purposeful lives characterized by healthy relationships to self and others. This includes:

  • Balance: Skills for creating balance of body, spirit, and mind.
  • Character: Ability to question their attachments, cultivate open-mindedness, and maintain patience and perseverance in the face of on-going change.
  • Expression: Abilities for self-expression through work, art, and/or spiritual practice.
  • Relationship: Abilities that enable them to learn from and in relationship with others and to cultivate respect, compassion, and honesty.

3 – Liberation:

Students recognize the diversity and dignity of all beings and understand their own role in the pursuit of social justice. This includes:

  • Pluralism: Appreciation of cultural diversity that enables them to thrive in a pluralistic world.
  • Environmental Justice: Recognition of the value of the natural environment and its impact on social and economic justice.
  • Liberation from Suffering: Understanding of how social, economic, and environmental justice lead to the liberation from suffering of all beings.

4 – Interdependence:

Students possess a holistic understanding of global interdependence in order to cultivate compassionate thought, speech, and action in service to themselves, others, and the environment. This includes:

  • Service: Ability to take service-oriented approaches to promote and create paths to peace-making, respect, and loving-kindness.
  • Culture: Understanding of how a broad appreciation of human endeavors, such as art, science, and the humanities, contributes to social and personal well-being.
  • Nature: Recognition of the intrinsic value of nature as a source of beauty and vitality.
  • Interconnectedness: Ability to consider how their thought, speech, and actions affect themselves, society, and the world.

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