The state of course learning outcomes at leading universities

Abstract

Within higher education, the importance of learning outcomes has become well-established. They are expected to guide the teaching and learning process, assessment, and curriculum development, while at the same time act as foundational elements to transitions towards national qualifications frameworks, competency-based education, and international partnerships such as the Bologna agreement. However, as essential as learning outcomes have become, very little is known about the quality of learning outcomes within courses. Through a content analysis of publicly available syllabi, this paper examines course learning outcomes from some of the leading teaching universities in the world. Results of this exploratory study indicate that the quality of learning outcomes is quite poor, and that a great deal of work is required until most outcomes would be aligned with internationally accepted best practices.