Design, Measure, Improve: Closing the Loop on Student Learning

I’m excited to share my recently published book chapter from Metrics, Mapping, and Modelling for Masterful Management in Higher Education (Emerald Press, 2025) entitled Evaluate and Assess Student Learning.

Chapter 20 is a practical guide to evaluating student learning in ways that go beyond course grades and actually demonstrate whether programs are delivering on their promises. It clarifies the core language of learning assessment and explains why grading alone is often too blunt an instrument to assess course learning outcomes (CLOs) and, especially, program learning outcomes (PLOs). Readers learn how to write meaningful outcomes, build curriculum maps that allocate PLOs across courses, and design course sequences that intentionally progress across cognitive levels. The chapter also shows how to break down exams, projects, and papers into assessable components aligned to CLOs, apply consistent achievement scales, and decide how to recognize student work that exceeds stated outcomes. It covers direct vs. indirect evidence, ways to calculate program-level achievement from course-level data or key assessments, and approaches for assessing broader learning such as General Education, Honors, and extracurricular experiences—including how to evaluate external Gen Ed assessment tools. Ultimately, the chapter argues that learning-centered institutions make the implicit explicit: faculty align on what “success” looks like in a graduate, agree on shared measures, and use outcomes data to set standards, track progress toward goals, and improve learning at the program, college, and institutional levels.

Many of the book’s chapters have a companion video which can be viewed for free on the Higher Education Leadership Learning Online Community web site. Visit the site to see the complete and evolving list.

If you’re involved in higher-ed leadership, strategy, assessment, or institutional research, I’d love for you to take a look at the chapter and add your comments below. If you would like assistance implementing any of the ideas addressed, please compete a consultation request form – the first hour is free for any institution.