Refining Outcomes and Objectives

For many courses, course outlines, outcomes, and objectives have already been developed. Since disciplines and programs change over time, it is important to periodically revisit the outline to ensure the outcomes, objectives and associated learning activities reflect current industry practices and are still meaningful and relevant for student learners. Again, please note that any changes to course outcomes or objectives cannot be undertaken without the permission of your Associate Dean.

If outcomes and objectives have been established for your course, you might want to refine what already exists rather than creating something new. Follow this 6-step review process to identify what outcomes or objectives might need to be renewed or refined;

1. Identify which outcomes and objectives are still valid, and what needs to be added, removed, or changed.
2. Consider whether there are any gaps in the outcomes or objectives and how they could be filled.
3. Consider whether the outcomes are at the appropriate levels for the course.
4. Remove any outcomes or objectives that are no longer applicable to the course.
5. Adapt any outcomes or objectives that require changing.
6. Write any new outcomes that need to be added to the outline.

 Common Challenges

As you work through refining your course outcomes or objectives, there are some common challenges that you may want to address. Many of these challenges can be dealt with easily. To illustrate the common outcome and objective challenges, ‘before’ and ‘after’ examples have been selected from several fields and courses. Select the tabs below to explore some common challenges and solutions.