Learning Outcomes is the broad term to describe the campus endeavor towards improving student learning. Learning Outcomes inform students what they will know or be able to do at each stage of their studies (e.g. courses, programs, co-curricular experiences). The Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment Committee guides the campus through learning outcomes assessments and establishes practices to ensure smooth processes.
Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
Victor Valley College has adopted the following institutional outcomes to define the learning that all students are intended to achieve as a result of their experience with the college’s instructional, student support, and campus support programs.
Communication
Read and write analytically including evaluation, synthesis, and research; deliver focused and coherent presentations.
Computation
Apply complex problem-solving skills using technology, computer proficiency, decision analysis (synthesis and evaluation), applications of mathematical concepts and reasoning, and the analysis and use of numerical data.
Creative, Critical and Analytical Thinking
Apply procedures for sound reasoning in the exercise of judgment and decision making; demonstrate intellectual curiosity and a respect for learning; solve problems through analysis, synthesis, evaluation and creativity; identify, evaluate and appropriate use of multiple sources of information.
Social and Personal Responsibility
Evaluate the relationship between natural, social and economic systems and the significance of sustainability; demonstrate responsible attitudes toward cultural diversity, citizenship, personal contribution to local and international communities, and the effect of human actions on the environment.
Information Competency
Students demonstrate information competency and critical thinking skills through their ability to effectively locate, retrieve, evaluate and utilize use library and information resources within the guidelines of academic standards to meet collegiate and personal information needs.
Health and Human Flourishing
Synthesize educational aims into a holistic approach to the many facets of human flourishing; apply principles of physical, psychological and emotional health and fitness; demonstrate scholarly skills that support intellectual virtues for life-long learning; embrace concepts of fiscal responsibility; and define goals that extend beyond oneself.
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
At VVC, only academic disciplines offering a degree or certificate develop Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs), which are uniform across all pathways within a given discipline of study. Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) are statements of the kind of learning a program hopes a student will achieve. The PLOs describes the knowledge, skills, problem-solving, communication and values that apply to all certificates and/or degrees within that program. PLOs can also be found on the Center for Institutional Excellence webpage, Learning Outcomes page.
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Each course a student takes at VVC will have defined outcomes called Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs). These describe the knowledge, skills, or abilities that student should expect to gain by the end of the course. Student Learning Outcomes are listed on the syllabus for each course. SLOs can also be found on the Center for Institutional Excellence webpage, Learning Outcomes page.
Courses meeting the VVC general education requirements will also be linked to Institutional Learning Outcomes. The General Education pattern at Victor Valley College is a comprehensive and integrated introduction to broadly applicable principles, concepts, and methods of the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, communication, and mathematics. The awarding of an associate degree by VVC is intended to represent more than an accumulation of units. It is to symbolize a successful attempt on the part of the student to complete a series of learning experiences designed to increase knowledge, develop competencies, enhance insights, and encourage lifelong learning.
Service Area Outcomes (SAOs)
SAO’s describe the knowledge, skills, abilities, and/or attitudes that a student should be able to demonstrate as a result of interacting with a service area and/or program on campus.
It is our mission to ensure our student’s needs are met when they contact and utilize VVC services. Service Area Outcomes (SAOs) measure the extent to which we:
- Provide enough information and assistance to DIRECT students along their path;
- Create an environment that encourages students to stay FOCUSED on their goals;
- Demonstrate a caring attitude that makes students feel NURTURED;
- Develop intentional opportunities to ENGAGE students;
- Identify and implement ways for students to CONNECT with the campus community; and
- VALUE our students for the skills, talents, and abilities they bring to VVC.
Each program and/or service area uses these Six Factors of Student Engagement (RP group, 2013) to create processes and experiences that are student-focused. The SLO process identifies intentional ways students are able to embody these six factors, creates assessments that accurately measure our performance on contributing to those factors, and uses the assessment data to continuously improve the processes and experiences of our students based upon these six factors.