CHAFFEY COLLEGE
CURRICULUM/SLO TOOLBOX
How does a Course Objective Differ from a SLO?
Sometimes it seems as though there is only one way to thread the eye of the needle, however, there is a difference between the
objectives in the Course Outline of Record (COR) and the course-level SLO. The course objectives are like the nuts and bolts
and course level SLOs are what the students do with those nuts and bolts upon successfully completing the course.
As described by Las Positas Community college, when drafting Title V compliant course outlines, "Expected Outcomes" are
listed which can be thought of as the main topics that will be addressed by the course. This list must be exhaustive enough to
meet the requirements of equivalent classes at UC and CSU so that the course will articulate. This can be thought of as the
"microcontent" of the class: the specifics of what faculty are expected to cover when teaching a particular course.
SLOs operate at the "macro" level, in that they ask you to address the bigger picture. They shift the emphasis from the specifics
of what is being taught to the generality of what has actually been learned. For example, if you are teaching your daughter to put
on her seatbelt, adjust her mirrors, start the car, put on her turn signal, turn her head to look behind her and then pull out of the
parking spot, then she is learning to drive.
Skyline College describes it this way: "The key difference between objectives and outcomes is the shift in focus from what we
teach to what we expect students to learn and ideally master. Lisa Brewster of Miramar Community College, which recently
underwent accreditation, cited the following example from a career course. One objective is for instructors 'to provide students
with opportunities to develop their leadership skills.'
The outcome, on the other hand, is for students 'to develop leadership, organizational, and interpersonal skills, and be able to
express them in a job interview.' Note that this outcome example also provides a context for learning and moves toward a means
to evaluate the student's performance. In short, SLO's demonstrate the extent to which student performance meets expectations
of learning."
Here’s an example:
COURSE: Career Development
Course Objective: Provide students with opportunities to develop their leadership skills
Course level SLO: Students will develop leadership, organizational, and interpersonal skills, and be able to express them in a
job interview.
And just to review how the course-level SLOs fit in with the Program level SLOs and Chaffey’s Core Competencies:
Course-level SLOs: What is the purpose of the course? What particular skills or knowledge does it attempt to communicate? What do you expect students who complete the course to have learned? How does this relate to the overall
content and purpose of your Program?
Program-level SLOs: What is the purpose of your Program? What skills or knowledge do you expect students who
take multiple courses in the Program to come away with? What are the consistent themes that carry over from
course to course? How do these themes relate to our Institutional goals?
Core Competencies (Institutional SLOs): What is the purpose of the College? What skills or knowledge should
every Chaffey College graduate have acquired while attending classes here? These questions have already been
largely addressed by the excellent prior work done in formulating the College's list of Core Competencies.