Development of
Program Mission, Goals, and Student Learning Outcomes
Introduction
With the move from course/grade-orientation to student/learning-orientation, the traditional
outcomes of grades and GPAs, while still important for other purposes, are replaced by student
learning outcomes (SLOs).
To synchronize SPHIS academic programs’ SLO efforts, the following terminology,
documentation, and development have been adopted and are open to continued scrutiny and
modification.
Terminology
Note: The examples used below are not actual item in the MPH program. The actual items are in
development; the examples are intended to illustrate terminology and not portray what the MPH
program should adopt.
Program: One of the following:
1. A formally-approved set of instructional and administrative activities in which a student
can earn a degree or certificate and that comprises a director, curriculum, degree or
certificate requirements, faculty, administrative staff, and administrative procedures.
Dual-degree programs are administered within the degree program of SPHIS’s
component. SPHIS has the following programs of this type:
 Bachelor of Science in Public Health (B.S.) [in process]
 Master of Public Health (MPH)
o Dual Bachelor-Master of Public Health (B.S.-MPH, B.A.-MPH)
o Dual Master of Urban Planning-Master of Public Health (MUP-MPH)
o Dual Doctor of Medicine-Master of Public Health (M.D.-MPH)
 Master of Science in Epidemiology (M.S.)
 Master of Science in Biostatistics-Decision Science (M.S.)
o Dual Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics-Master of Science in
Biostatistics-Decision Science (Ph.D.-M.S.)
 Master of Science in Clinical Investigation Sciences (M.Sc.)
o Dual Doctor of Medicine-Master of Science in Clinical Investigation
Sciences (M.D.-M.Sc.)
 Certificate in Clinical Investigation Sciences
 Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health Sciences (Ph.D.)
 Doctor of Philosophy in Biostatistics (Ph.D.)
2. A specialization within a program 1 that functions as though it were a separate program
1 but without the capacity for a student to earn a degree. SPHIS has the following
programs of this type:
1

Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health Sciences (Ph.D.) with Specialization in
Environmental Health
 Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health Sciences (Ph.D.) with Specialization in
Epidemiology
 Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health Sciences (Ph.D.) with Specialization in
Health Management
 Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health Sciences (Ph.D.) with Specialization in
Health Promotion
3. ( informal) A category for students who are not in a program 1 or program 2. SPHIS
has the following program of this type:
 Graduate Non-Degree
Program mission: The purpose of the program, usually stated in terms of the broad
characteristics of the program’s graduates (program 1 and program 2). A program has a
single mission.
Example: The mission of the MPH program is to train public health professionals through
coursework and engagement in research and service, providing the knowledge and
skills to practice public health.
Program goal: A student objective that is a high-level, composite competency that is assessed
by the SLOs associated with the goal. A program has one or more goals but usually not
more than five.
Examples: The goals of the MPH program are:
 Produce students with essential and fundamental competencies in the
knowledge and skills in the core areas of public health and in an area of
public health specialization.
 Engage students in public health service during their training.
 Develop in students the ability to communicate effectively in speaking and
writing and to collaborate productively in teams and across organizations.
 Develop in students the ability to think critically and to pursue lifelong
learning, especially as applied in the practice of public health.
 Engender in students an understanding and appreciation of the history and
philosophy of public health.
Student learning outcome (SLO): An assessment of student learning based on defined
competencies using methods of determining achievement (“measurement”) of each
competency by a student and targets for percentage of students achieving each competency.
An SLO is composed of three parts (see also below for each):
 Competency – statement of the student ability to be achieved
 Measure – method for determining achievement of the competency as stated
 Target – expected percentage of students achiving the competency as measured
The main purpose of SLOs is to compare learning expectations (competencies with
measurements and targets) with learning results (actual vs. target) for revising curricula and
courses.
2
Program SLO: An SLO for assessing learning achievement in a program; usually associated
with one or more program goals; replaces concept of program competencies (but see SLO
Competency, below).
Course SLO: An SLO for assessing learning achievement in a course; replaces concept of
course learning objective.
SLO competency: A student ability whose achievement is essential and is therefore assessed on
individual and group levels and whose statement meets the following criteria:
 First word of the competency statement is a verb from Bloom's taxonomy.
 The area and level (C1-C6, A1-A5) of the verb is appended to the competency
statement, e.g., [C4]
 There is a method or set of methods for determining achievement ("measurement")
of the competency as stated.
 For a competency comprising two or more conjoined statements:
o The beginning verbs of all statements are in the same area and level, e.g.,
C4.
o The method for determining achievement of each statement is the same as
for the complete competency.
Examples:
 Integrate public health knowledge and skills with practice experience. [C5]
 Demonstrate effective communication, both written and spoken, on public healthrelated topics. [C3]
 Participate in effective and successful team activities [C3]
 Delve into the principles of a specialization area in public health. [C4]
 Explain the milestones in public health. [C2]
 Characterize the philosophy of public health. [A5]
SLO measure: A method or set of methods that is used to determine achievement of an SLO
competency as stated. An SLO measure may be used for more than one SLO competency
and generally comprises evaluations of student artifacts or activities done at specified times
with defined thresholds for successful demonstration of the achievement of the SLO
competency.
Examples:
 Certification in Public Health (CPH). Pass the CPH examination.
 PHPH-679 Practicum deliverables of report, poster, and presentation. Score of 80 or
higher on each.
 Presentation at a professional public health meeting. Present practicum results
 PHPH-697 Integrating Learning and Experience in Public Health team deliverables
of small case analysis, large case analysis, and case development. Score of 80 or
higher on each.
 PHUN-101 Introduction to Public Health Module 3 (Public Health Structure)
Readiness Assessment Test (RAT). Individual score of 80 or higher and a team
score of 90 or higher
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SLO target: The targeted success rate or other result measure for its associated SLO measure, of
which it is part.
Examples:
 [Certification in Public Health (CPH). Pass the CPH examination.] 90% of students
who sit for the exam.
 [PHPH-679 Practicum deliverables of report, poster, and presentation. Score of 80
or higher on each.] 80% of students.
 [Presentation at a professional public health meeting. Present practicum results.]
30% of students.
 [PHPH-697 Integrating Learning and Experience in Public Health deliverables of
small case analysis, large case analysis, and case development.] Score of 80 or
higher in on each of the team deliverables. 80% of students.
 PHUN-101 Introduction to Public Health Module 3 (Public Health Structure)
Readiness Assessment Test (RAT). Individual score of 80 or higher and a team
score of 90 or higher.] 80% of students.
Documentation
Since the associations between goals and SLOs and between SLOs and measures are not one-toone, documenting the relationships for a program calls for something other than a traditional
listing or outline. A recommended approach is illustrated on the following page.
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MISSION
STATEMENT
GOALS
Produce students with
essential and fundamental
competencies in the
knowledge and skills in the
core areas of public health
and in an area of public
health specialization.
Engage students in public
health service during their
training.
The mission of the MPH program is to train public health professionals through coursework and engagement in research and service,
providing the knowledge and skills to practice public health.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Apply the principles of biostatistics, epidemiology, health
promotion and behavior, environmental and occupational
health, and health management. [C3]
MEASURES
Certification in Public Health
(CPH).
Pass CPH examination.
TARGETS
90% of
students who
sit for the exam
PHPH-679 Practicum
deliverables: report, poster,
and presentation.
Score of 80 or higher on each.
80% of
students
Present the results of the
practicum at a professional
public health meeting.
30% of
students.
Achieve a score of 80 or
higher on the team field trip
report in PHPH-696 Issues in
Public Health.
80% of
students
Achieve a score of 80 or
higher in on each of the team
deliverables in PHPH-697
Integrating Learning and
Experience in Public Health:
small case analysis, large
case analysis, and case
development.
80% of
students
Attain the minimum set of
SLOs established for a
specialization area in public
health.
80% of
students
Achieve a score of 80 or better
in the essay in PHPH-696
Issues in Public Health.
80% of
students
Integrate public health knowledge and skills with practice
experience. [C5]
Participate in effective and successful team activities [C3]
Develop in students the
ability to communicate
effectively in speaking and
writing and to collaborate
productively in teams and
across organizations.
Develop in students the
ability to think critically and
to pursue lifelong learning,
especially as applied in the
practice of public health.
Demonstrate effective communication, both written and
spoken, on public health-related topics. [C3]
Delve into the principles of a specialization area in public
health. [C4]
Explain the milestones in public health. [C2]
Engender in students an
understanding and
appreciation of the history
and philosophy of public
health.
Characterize the philosophy of public health. [A5]
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Development
Development of a program’s goals and SLOs is an ongoing effort that, from the reports of others,
takes three to five years or more to achieve a satisfactory first set. This seems to be due to the
newness of the approach, an under-appreciation of the value, and a significant change in longestablished concepts of instructional administration. For these and other reasons, SPHIS is
undertaking the development process in a deliberate, staged fashion.
Timeframe
January 2012
SPHIS Plan for Program SLO Development
Goal
Responsible
Each program:
Program
 Develop mission, a goal, an SLO for the
director
goal, and a measure and its target for
the SLO.
Associate
dean
Crosscheck for
consistency within
SPHIS.
Submit SLO starting points for all programs.
Associate
dean
Oversight.
February 2012
Review and discuss feedback from OIRA.
April 2012
Get started and
experiment with
new approach.
Review, discuss, and edit programs’ product
with program directors.
Review and comment on submissions.
March 2012
Intent
OIRA
Academic
Affairs
Committee
Each program:
 Revise mission, goal, SLO, and measure
and target as appropriate.
Program
director
Review, discuss, and edit programs’ product
with program directors.
Associate
dean
For each program, finalize initial version of
mission.
Program
director
Review and discuss programs’ mission
statements.
Review, discuss, and edit programs’ mission
statements with program directors.
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Academic
Affairs
Committee
Associate
dean
Crosscheck for
consistency within
university.
Synchronize and
learn.
Strengthen
approach and
product.
Crosscheck for
consistency within
SPHIS.
Establish stake in
the sand from
which to develop.
Synchronize and
learn.
Crosscheck for
consistency within
SPHIS.
Timeframe
SPHIS Plan for Program SLO Development
Goal
Responsible
Each program:
 Add goals to span entire program.
June 2012
August 2012
October 2012
Review and discuss programs’ goals.
Academic
Affairs
Committee
Synchronize and
learn.
Review, discuss, and edit programs’ goals
with program directors.
Associate
dean
Crosscheck for
consistency within
SPHIS.
Each program:
 Add SLOs to span goals.
 Revise goals as needed to cover SLOs.
Program
director
Establish SLOs for
program.
Academic
Affairs
Committee
Synchronize and
learn.
Review and discuss programs’ SLOs and
revised goals.
Review, discuss, and edit programs’ SLOs and
revised goals with program directors.
Associate
dean
Crosscheck for
consistency within
SPHIS.
Each program:
 Add measures and targets to span SLOs.
 Revise SLOs as needed to cover
measures.
 Revise goals as needed to cover SLOs.
Program
director
Establish measures
and targets for
program.
Review and discuss programs’ measures and
revised SLOs and goals.
Academic
Affairs
Committee
Review, discuss, and edit programs’ measures
and revised SLOs and goals with program
directors.
Associate
dean
Generate SLOs reports for submission.
November 2012
Submit SLO reports for all programs.
February 2012
Program
director
Intent
Build base from
which to develop
SLOs.
Review and comment on submissions.
Associate
dean
Associate
dean
OIRA
Synchronize and
learn.
Crosscheck for
consistency within
SPHIS.
Oversight.
Crosscheck for
consistency within
university.
… and so on …
Our development strategy depends on the context of the relationships among mission, vision,
values, goals, SLOs, and measures and targets. Our present understanding of these relationships
is illustrated by the diagram on the following page. The arrows indicate both dependencies and
feedback for change: the interactions are dynamic and complex.
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Mission, Goal, and SLO Relationships
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
University
SPHIS
Program
Course
Mission
Vision
Values
Goals
?
SLOs
Measures
Targets
8
Department