The Difference between Student Outcomes and Student Learning Outcomes - Essay Example

Running Head: Distinguish between outputs and outcomes Distinguish between outputs and outcomes in the public sector appears here] [Name of institution appears here] Distinguish between outputs and outcomes in the public sector Institutions have reported outcomes for years. However, "student outcomes" and "student learning outcomes" are not the same. Student outcomes refer to aggregate statistics on groups of students (e.g., graduation rates, retention rates, transfer rates, and employment rates for a graduating class). Such outcomes are institutional-based and are sometimes used to compare internal year-to-year institutional performance, and as comparative measures with other institutions. (Frye 2002) These statistics are sometimes reported in the media. For example, student graduation rates from Division I athletic programs are used to compare universities, sometimes framed by a discussion debating a schools commitment to athletic prowess over the student athlete as learner. Such outcomes should be classified as outputs as they reflect what the institution has accomplished; they do not reflect what (or how much) students have learned. Nor do they answer the questions outlined above; in fact, they do not measure changes in the students as a result of their college experience. As opposed to outcomes that measure aggregated statistics on an institution-wide basis, student learning outcomes are concerned with attributes and abilities, both cognitive and affective, which reflect how the student experiences at the institution supported their development as individuals. Students are asked to demonstrate acquisition of specific knowledge and skills, generally: • What do students know that they did not know before? • What can they do that they could not do before? In a coordinated effort to answer these results-oriented questions, higher education governing and monitoring bodies have been working to address this need for accountability. They have (and are continuing to do so) reviewed and revised the standards that institutions use to demonstrate their efficiency and effectiveness. At the national level, both the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) have advocated the need to increase awareness, the value, and necessity for measuring and reporting student learning as outcomes. However, because of the decentralized structure of accreditation of higher education in the United States, it has become the responsibility of the regional higher education institutional accreditation associations to develop standards by which to hold institutions accountable through evaluation, including the imposition of student learning outcome measures. (McMurtrie 2000) In the past, prescriptive standards that regional accrediting bodies established to accredit individual higher education institutions have been inputs- and outputs-based, focused on measuring and reporting the processes and structures concerning the delivery and use of institutional services. To increase accountability practices, regional accrediting bodies are placing more pressure on institutions to measure what students learn by applying assessment processes, replacing traditional standards with less prescriptive standards seeking outcome measures--institutional outcomes and student learning outcomes. Furthermore, several of the regional accreditors are requesting their member institutions to prepare assessment plans that measure outcomes, especially student learning outcomes, within the institution. (Hernon 2002) Student learning outcomes might be envisioned as applying only to undergraduates, when, in fact, they could be appropriate to graduate students, be they masters or doctoral students. At the same time, such measures could be appropriate for other constituent groups that the library serves. Moving beyond student learning outcomes, research outcomes are appropriate for graduate students, especially doctoral students, and for the faculty. As we noted in An Action Plan for Outcomes Assessment in Your Library, the application of such measures may be beyond the expertise of library staff, as they deal with an understanding of research as a formal inquiry process that, for instance, contains a "reflective inquiry" (e.g., problem statement and objectives). (Fulweiler 2000) By identifying and meeting the anticipated and actual information needs of the academic community, for decades, academic libraries have responded to accountability. However, their role must now include the provision of high-quality services to address the communitys information needs as well as measure what students have learned, as the regional accrediting bodies expect. As already noted, library measures have been traditionally composed of descriptive inputs and outputs, principally related to measuring the effort of using the librarys infrastructure to provide library services. The primary purpose of the library infrastructure was to meet the academic communitys information needs and included such measures as collection size, available study space, and hours open. Inputs are the resources used to support the librarys infrastructure: collections, staffing, the physical facility and installed information technologies. They are often described in financial terms or quantities; for example, the level of funding provided for collection development, the number of print volumes held, number of in-library seats available for study and research, number of library staff, and others. Outputs, even e-metrics (those measures typically gathered about remote use or use of electronic resources on site), measure the workload undertaken and/or completed, such as the number of books circulated or the number of reference questions answered. Both inputs and outputs are invaluable measures for making administrative and operational decisions concerning the provision of library services including staff deployment (where and when), setting hours of operations, and devising collection development policies. Differentiating between Outputs and Outcomes Higher education administrators and accreditors perceive a significant difference between outputs and outcomes. Once applied, outputs are intended to demonstrate that the library meets standards efficiently and effectively; outcomes, on the other hand, demonstrate that the library is an institutional partner in the learning process. How may one differentiate between an output and an outcome? As an example, we can use the objective "to reduce the number of retrievals (hits) per search on electronic aggregate and specialized databases." Outputs would include the number of instructions given concerning this specific objective, the number of attendees, and class demographics if so compiled [e.g., 100 students received six instructions in three classes of freshman English (60 students) and three classes of junior transfer students (40 students)]. Outcomes may consider: • Is this objective measurable? Yes, the number of retrievals can be compiled month-to-month from statistics supplied from many of the information vendors used by academic libraries. • Can this objective be taught? Yes, by instructing students on the effective application of Boolean search operators applied during their information searches. • Can one measure if anything was learned? Yes. One methodology would include pre- and post-tests administered around a library instruction concerning the application of Boolean search operators. Another methodology would be to determine if the average number of retrievals per search decreased month-to-month (such as September to December) during an academic semester. If a decrease is measured, it may be a result of the instruction. • Can a change in the person be identified and/or measured? Yes, by applying post-tests, self-assessment surveys, focus groups and other methodologies. • Can the results be used to improve instruction? Yes. The direct methodologies applied will indicate whether or not the instruction is effective in meeting the stated objective. If not, the instruction needs revision and re-application to determine if its effectiveness increased. Finally, student learning outcomes assessment involves more than just measuring student expectations (service quality and satisfaction). However, those expectations may shape their receptivity to what is taught and student willingness and ability to absorb (and master) it. References Frye, Richard, Assessment, Accountability, and Student Learning Outcomes. (Bellingham, WA: Western Washington University, n.d.), pp. 5-6. Available: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/%26sim;;dialogue/issue2.html (accessed June 19, 2002). McMurtrie, Beth. "Accreditors Revamp Policies to Stress Student Learning," Chronicle of Higher Education (July 7, 2000), p. A 29. Hernon, Peter & Robert E. Dugan. An Action Plan for Outcomes Assessment in Your Library (Chicago: American Library Association, 2002). Fulweiler, Rebecca D., "The Role of Management Information Systems," Journal of Academic Librarianship 27 September (2000): 386-390. Read More