Core Learning-Outcomes and Assessment

Each year the College assesses its eight Core Learning-Outcomes (CLOs). Four core learning outcomes are assessed in the fall and the other four are assessed in the spring. The schedule for assessment will be rotated each year. If CLOs 1 to 4 are assessed during the fall semester one year, they will be assessed in the spring semester the following year.  All core courses mapped to CLOs that are being assessed during any semester will be assessed. Adjunct faculty will not be asked to do assessment. 

If your course is being assessed then you will be notified by May 15 for the fall semester and December 15 for the spring semester. The notification will include the instructions for assessment which will also include that all faculty provide a copy of the artifact being assessed and an explanation for how that artifact reflects the CLO being assessed. 

Core Learning-Outcomes

• CLO1: Critical thinking: Students will be able to assess the quality of reasoning they encounter, construct their own well-reasoned arguments, and formulate defensible conclusions.

• CLO2: Reading: Through interactive engagement with written texts in a variety of media, students will be able to extract information and ideas, discern and follow arguments, and construct meaning.

• CLO3: Effective communication: Students will be able to communicate effectively in both writing and speech that demonstrates an awareness of audience and purpose and sound judgment in the selection, evaluation, and use of evidence.

• CLO4: Quantitative literacy: Students will be able to reason and solve quantitative problems arising in everyday situations, understand and create sophisticated arguments supported by quantitative evidence, and clearly  communicate those arguments in a variety of formats.

• CLO5: Moral development: Students will be able to critically evaluate their pre-existing beliefs about moral action and the good life, recognize and assess alternative systems of belief, and persuasively defend their convictions.

• CLO6: Social awareness through cultural diversity: Students will be able to identify the challenges faced by others in socio-cultural settings different from their own, evaluate proposed solutions, and promote justice-oriented outcomes.

• CLO7: Understanding human nature: Students will be able to use the methods of the natural and social sciences, arts and literature, philosophy, and theology to identify and evaluate different perspectives on human nature and its relationship to the natural and social world.

• CLO8: Integration of knowledge: Students will be able to synthesize knowledge and methods from across the disciplines to address complex problems.

Curriculum Map

The following curriculum map associates SHC courses with the eight Core Learning-Outcomes. This map is current as of Fall 2024. 

Rubrics

• CLO1: Critical Thinking

• CLO2: Reading

• CLO3: Effective Communication

• CLO4: Quantitative Literacy

• CLO5: Moral Reasoning

• CLO6: Social Awareness

• CLO7: Understanding Human Nature

• CLO8: Integration of Knowledge

You may also add Core rubrics to your assignments in Canvas. Go to your assignment in Canvas and click the "snowman" menu in the upper right (under the Student View button). Select "Add Rubric." Now click "Find a Rubric" in the upper right.  This brings up the "Find Existing Rubric" dialog. Click "Spring Hill College" on the menu on the left. This will bring up the choices of the rubrics that are already programmed into Canvas. Select the one you want.  Then scroll down in the dialog and click the button marked "Use This Rubric."

Assessment Plan

Please see the College's Core Assessment Plan 2023–2026 here (Note: the core assessment plan has been modified and the latest version will be uploaded during the Spring 2026 semester).

Assessment Schedule

Beginning Spring 2026, each CLO will be assessed every year--four outcomes in the fall and four outcomes in the spring. Here is the upcoming schedule:

• Fall 2025: CLO3 and CLO4

• Spring 2026: CLO5, CLO6, CLO7, and CLO8

• Fall 2026: CLO1, CLO2, CLO3, and CLO4

• Spring 2027: CLO5, CLO6, CLO7, and CLO8

After Spring 2027 the assessment of CLOs will reverse with CLOs 5 to 8 being assessed in the fall and CLOs 1 to 4 being assessed in the spring. They will alternate each year thereafter. 

Adding Core Outcomes to Canvas Shells

Instructors who teach Core courses may add Core outcomes to their Canvas shells by using the following steps.

1. Go to Canvas at https://springhill.instructure.com.

2. Find the relevant course shell under Dashboard or Courses on the left menu and open it.

3. Now, within the shell, on the left menu, find Outcomes and open it.

4. Now select Find on the upper right.

5. On the left, expand the Account Standards menu, then the Spring Hill College submenu, then the Core 2022 submenu.

6. Now inspect the eight Core outcomes and click "Add" for the outcomes that are taught in your course.

7. On the lower right, click "Done."

8. Repeat for any other shell for a Core course that you're teaching.