Student Learning Outcomes | Office of the Provost

Below are examples of course- and program-level student learning outcomes. The Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee has a guide to writing clear and measurable course and program outcomes. The WVU Teaching and Learning Commons also has an excellent resource on writing powerful and effective learning outcomes.

Program Examples

Undergraduate Program Examples

Graduate Program Examples

Course Examples

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to…

Apply techniques from feminist science studies to a scientific field (WGST 250, Women in Science).
Develop an export business plan (MKTG 410, Export Management).
Create a professional-quality poster presentation (FIS 401, Professional Forensic Communication).
Synthesize the skills and knowledge required in conducting performance and economic evaluation (HPML 680, Performance and Economic Evaluation for Public Health).
Interpret epidemiologic analyses from a range of multivariate models (including linear, logistic, Poisson, and Cox regression models) (EPID 712, Quantitative Methods in Epidemiology).

Undergraduate Program Learning Outcome Examples

Chambers | Creative Arts | Davis | Eberly | Education and Human Services

Health Sciences | Physical Activity and Sport Sciences | Reed | Statler

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

Chambers

Distinguish the basic conflict management styles (B.S., Business Administration).

Creative Arts

Use typography, images, diagrams, motion, sequencing, color, and other such elements effectively in the contexts of specific design projects (B.F.A., Graphic Design).
Analyze and synthesize relevant aspects of human interaction in various contexts (physical, cognitive, cultural, social, political, and economic) and with respect to technologically-mediated communication, objects, and environments (B.A., Interactive Design for Media).
Synthesize the use of drawing, two-dimensional design, and color (B.F.A., Painting).
Prepare sculpture using the broadest possible range of techniques and concepts (B.F.A., Sculpture).
Fluently use tools needed by composers, including keyboards skills, spoken and written language, conducting and rehearsal skills, analytical techniques, and applicable technologies (B.M., Music Composition).
Integrate knowledge and skills in music, music industry, and business, to address issues, projects, and problems in the music industry (B.A., Music Industry).
Use a keyboard to play at sight, accompany, transpose, and improvise (B.M., Music Therapy).
Perform basic through advanced dance techniques within the student’s area of interest (B.A., Dance).

Develop and defend informed judgments about theatre (B.F.A., Theatre).

Davis

Diagnose and solve applied production problems in ways that minimize adverse local, regional and global impacts (B.S., Agroecology) .
Isolate and identify microorganisms from a variety of environments (B.S., Applied & Environmental Microbiology).
Design and implement sustainable soil and water management practices (B.S., Environmental, Soil and Water Sciences).
Analyze methods to improve productivity and efficiency of horticultural and green industry operations (B.S., Horticulture).
Integrate basic knowledge and managerial skills related to the nutritional and food science disciplines (B.S., Human Nutrition and Foods).
Integrate design thinking into the business context provided by their minor course of study (B.S., Design Studies).
Relate the elements and principles of design to product development, use, and evaluation (B.S., Fashion, Dress and Merchandising).
Utilize hand and computer drawing and modeling technologies, techniques and conventions in the study, visualization, and presentation of architectural interiors (B.S., Interior Design).
Work cooperatively within a business or professional setting (B.S., Agribusiness Management).
Explain the role of media in the energy business, the necessity of appropriate communication in crisis situations, and the concept of non-technical risks associated with energy development (B.S., Energy Land Management).
Apply the tools of economic analyses to environmental issues (B.S., Environmental and Natural Resource Economics).
Quantify forest resources and predict future growth using growth and yield models (B.S., Forest Resource Management).
Design and conduct field relevant research to address natural resource-based recreation and tourism questions and problems (or design and execute a project) (B.S., Recreation, Parks, and Tourism).
Identify and classify, using common and Latin names, West Virginia trees, plants, reptiles, mammals and fishes by sight and birds and amphibians by sight and sound (B.S., Wildlife and Fisheries Resources) .

Eberly

Synthesize knowledge and skills from across the curriculum and apply them to societal issues and problems (B.S., Biology).
Interpret past and present human life-ways holistically and comparatively (B.A., Anthropology) .
Perform accurate and precise quantitative analyses (B.A./B.S., Chemistry).
Critically analyze messages (B.A., Communication Studies).
Describe the sociological approach to crime and social control and how it is similar to and different from other approaches (B.A., Criminology).
Evaluate the efficiency of competitive market outcomes relative to alternative arrangements (B.A., Economics).

Identify the activities of humans that create environmental problems/hazards (B.A., Environmental Geoscience) .
Apply acquired skills, knowledge, and capabilities in professional environments (e.g. internships, professional meetings, interviews, graduate school, etc.) (B.S., Forensic and Investigative Science).

Define the range of issues and topics relevant to geographic inquiry and analysis (B.A., Geography).
Competently identify minerals, rocks, and fossils using various field and lab techniques (B.S., Geology).
Exhibit the intellectual and ethical responsibilities of active global citizenship (B.A., International Studies).
Construct valid proofs (B.A./B.S., Mathematics).

Think, write, and speak carefully, logically, and creatively about complex ideas and issues (B.A., Philosophy) .
Develop experiments to test basic or applied research questions, to perform accurate experimental measurements, and to critically evaluate others’ answers to research questions (B.S., Physics).
Carry out systematic empirical research in political science, i.e. articulate a theoretical question, construct a rigorous research design, and analyze data or cases using appropriate methodological approaches (B.A., Political Science).

Engage in effective practice that is responsive to changing the social context, with an existing value base and ethical standards of the social work profession (B.S.W.).
Critically analyze sociological questions and issues by retrieving and synthesizing appropriate information and evidence and identifying implications for research and practice/policy (B.A., Sociology).

Use critical reading skills to analyze, dissect, and criticize, and reflect on arguments to demonstrate an understanding of the scholarship and theoretical underpinning of the field of women’s and gender studies (B.A., Women’s and Gender Studies).
Express their own ideas and interpret the messages of others in the target language at the advanced level of proficiency (B.A., World Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics).

Education and Human Services

Identify anatomical structures/functions that support speech, language, and hearing (B.S., Speech Pathology and Audiology).
Construct positive and enriched early childhood environments where the young have the opportunity to develop skills for lifelong learning (B.S., Child Development and Family Studies).

Health Sciences

Provide dental hygiene/dental supportive treatment that is both evidence-based and patient-centered (B.S., Dental Hygiene) .
Conduct routine and specialized procedures on tissue and autopsy specimens for diagnosis (B.S., Medical Laboratory Science).
Provide empathetic, culturally sensitive, and compassionate care for individuals, families, communities, and populations that upholds moral, legal, and ethical humanistic principles (B.S.N).
Apply chronic disease management techniques and constructs (B.S., Public Health).

Physical Activity and Sport Sciences

Use evidence-based knowledge for designing, implementing and evaluating practice plans that address individual student's needs determined by various forms of assessment (B.S., Athletic Coaching Education).

Use different forms of technology to assess skills and provide meaningful feedback (B.S., Athletic Training).

Plan, implement, and evaluate physical activity programming for groups in different physical activity settings (B.S., Physical Activity and Well-Being).

Reed

Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness (B.S., Journalism).

Statler

Design a system, component or process to meet desired needs (B.S., Mechanical Engineering) .
Design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data (B.S., Biomedical Engineering).
Design effective laboratory experiments, perform laboratory experiments, gather data, analyze data, and test theories (B.S., Chemical Engineering).
Work and learn effectively as members of a team (B.S., Computer Science).
Integrate their scientific and engineering knowledge to solve petroleum and natural gas engineering design problems (B.S., Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering).

Graduate Program Learning Outcome Examples