Illinois is committed to ensuring that its General Education program goes through a rigorous assessment and quality assurance process. General Education is an integral element of the premier education that the University pledges to deliver to our students at Illinois. The University is unwavering in its commitment to continually refine our curriculum, drawing on the valuable feedback provided through our assessment processes.
General Education Learning Outcomes by Category
To view the current learning outcomes, visit the Learning Outcomes page.
Campus-wide Student Learning Outcomes (C-SLOs) may be found on the Office of the Provost Illinois Student Learning Outcomes website.
Overarching Core Outcomes
- Foundational Knowledge: Students will be able to explain the fundamental concepts, theories, knowledge, and perspectives of a particular discipline.
- Contextual Knowledge: Students will be able to analyze concepts, issues, or human experiences within or across contexts.
- Inquiry Skills: Students will be able to use information or methods to investigate a question or problem and draw an interpretation.
- Application Skills: Students will be able to communicate and apply subject matter knowledge to new contexts and problems.
Writing Learning Outcomes
Learning outcome statements describe what a student should know and/or be able to do by the end of a program of study, course, module, assignment.
Learning outcomes complete the phrase “by the end of this course students will be able to…”.
Learning outcomes should:
Start with an action verb that specifies the depth of the learning expected (e.g. identify, explain, apply, analyze, evaluate, create).
- Learning outcomes should describe competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors) a student should be able to demonstrate upon completion of the course.
Be observable and measurable.
- Learning outcomes should rely on verbs that specify definite, observable behaviors that are attainable. Verbs like appreciate, understand, know, learn, demonstrate, become aware of, become familiar with are hard to measure (e.g. what does appreciation look like? How would you know that students have become aware of something?)
Be concise, direct, and realistic.
- Learning outcomes should describe what students “learn” rather than course or program outputs (e.g. publications, job placement rates, research papers). Learning outcomes should focus on what students will be able to do and not on what instructors will do or “cover” (e.g. this course introduces students to…).
Reference: Linda Suskie (2018) “Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide”
Course Gen Ed Learning Outcomes Examples
SPAN 232 “Spanish in the Community” (US Minority Cultures)
Example of a course that existed for many years, before it was a Gen Ed and before student learning outcomes were required. SLOs needed a radical transformation.
| Course SLOs BEFORE | Gen Ed Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for US Minority Cultures | Course SLOs AFTER |
|---|---|---|
| This course aims to familiarize students with the information and skills necessary to communicate effectively in Spanish in a culturally appropriate manner to benefit the community. | Foundations: Exhibit knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the history, life, culture, and/or contributions of racial minorities in the United States. | Describe challenges and successes within the local Latinx immigrant community, the organizations that work with them and the Latinx immigrant community nationwide. |
| Content focuses on Latino cultures and the work of our community partners. | Context: Describe how issues of power, privilege, justice, inequality, marginalization, and resistance impact the experiences, conditions, and perspectives of U.S. racial/ethnic minority populations. | Distinguish between facts and fictions about the immigration system, policies and people in the US. |
| Strategies to aid effective communication, including language development for specific situations and critical reflections on culture. | Deconstruct practices of the dehumanization, racialization, and criminalization of immigrants in the US. | |
| Analysis that contextualizes issues surrounding Spanish and Latinos in the US within the broader scope of civic learning (understanding public policy, engaged citizenship, diversity, social responsibility, etc.). | Demonstrate an ability to identify and explain how immigrants’ intersecting identities (by gender, race, indigeneity, socio-economic class, age, sexuality, religion, country of origin, etc.) impact their lived experiences. | |
| Application: Reflect on their own cultural positionality and be able to discuss perspectives and experiences of others. | Analyze your own cultural positionality in comparison with the perspectives and experiences of US Latinx immigrants in our local community and in cultural products (literature, film, song, etc.). | |
| Application: Conduct themselves responsibly, ethically, and respectfully in a racially and ethnically diverse society. | Document and evaluate with supporting arguments how you conducted yourself responsibly, ethically and respectfully during the required community-service learning hours with a local community partner. |
CHP 395 “Student Life: Analyzing the College Experience through Autoethnography” (Social Sciences)
| Gen Ed Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for Social Sciences | Course SLOs |
|---|---|
| Foundations: Describe and explain social science concepts and theories in relation to current events, global challenges, and social issues. | Define and describe the methods of autoethnography and how they relate to current social issues on our college campus. |
| Context: Describe how topics and issues can vary depending on the culture(s) focused upon. | Recognize and deconstruct artifacts that reflect campus culture with special emphasis on the roles of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class, languages, nationalities, and more. |
| Application: Analyze and communicate about the interaction of intellectual, artistic, political, economic, social, and other aspects of a society’s cultural life through an investigation of a particular time and place, aspects of a society’s or group’s culture, or comparison of the constructs for cross-cultural sensitivity and analysis. | Demonstrate an ability to collaboratively apply autoethnographic methods in a variety of media. |
| Design and execute an autoethnographic research project. |
SHS 280 Communication Neuroscience (Natural Sciences & Technology: Life sciences)
| Course SLOs BEFORE | Course SLOs AFTER |
|---|---|
| Upon completion of this course, students will: | Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: |
| Understand the electrical and chemical processes of neurons and how neurons interact | 1) Describe the electrical and chemical processes of neurons and how neurons interact |
| Become familiar with the gross anatomy of the central and peripheral nervous system, particularly those parts involved in human communication | 2) Identify the gross anatomy of the central and peripheral nervous system, particularly those parts involved in human communication |
| Appreciate the development of the human nervous system | 3) Describe the development of the human nervous system |
| Recognize major neural pathways and systems | 4) Identify major neural pathways and systems |
| Be familiar with the auditory and motor systems affecting communication | 5) Describe in detail the auditory and motor systems affecting communication |
| Understand how symptoms relate to potential sites of damage | 6) Evaluate the uses and limitations of research methods used for studying the human nervous system |
| Appreciate research methods used for studying the human nervous system | 7) Interpret symptoms to identify potential sites of damage in the nervous system |
Development of General Education Learning Outcomes
Initiated in spring 2019 through a dynamic process that engaged hundreds of faculty, staff, and students, the General Education learning outcomes are continuously updated and improved. Each of these outcomes has been mapped to one of the General Education program’s four overarching core outcomes, namely, Foundational Knowledge, Contextual Knowledge, Inquiry Skills, and Application Skills. General Education Learning Outcomes have been developed over time.
General Education Board Policy & Practices Wing
The Gen Ed Board Policy & Practices Wing has been developing learning outcomes and evaluation resources.
General Education Assessment Committee (GEAC)
Building on previous ad hoc assessment efforts, in 2021 the General Education Assessment Committee (GEAC) was charged as a standing committee to craft assessment strategies to systematically gauge the learning outcomes of students within the University’s General Education program. GEAC merged into the General Education Board Policy & Practices Wing in 2025.
General Education Assembly on Learning Outcomes
The General Education Assembly on Learning Outcomes engage stakeholders in dialogues regarding various aspects of General Education. The following Assemblies focused on learning outcomes assessment:
In the 2019-2020 academic year, the General Education Assembly on Learning Outcomes convened faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students to develop learning outcomes for each general education category.
Starting in 2019 and continuing through 2021, these assemblies continued to gather faculty teaching in the newly established U.S. Minority Cultures category to review preliminary findings from ad hoc assessment projects and to discuss pedagogical strategies.
In the past two academic years, the GEAC has held assemblies to update the university community on the progress of assessment efforts. These events also serve as a platform for General Education faculty to discuss the feasibility of the proposed assessment plans and express any concerns.