A Collaborative Process to Establishing PLOs at a Canadian University

In 2007, the Ministers of Education across Canada adopted the Canadian Degree Qualifications Framework, articulating learning outcomes for bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. Yet, by 2016, only 30% of Canadian institutions reported having learning outcomes for all programs (MacFarlane & Brumwell, 2016). One obstacle institutions face when developing program learning outcomes (PLOs) is faculty resistance. Unfortunately, faculty participation is critical to successfully implementing PLOs. This paper describes the process used to develop PLOs in the Faculty of Science at UBC Okanagan, which is deeply collaborative and consultative, to gain faculty buy-in and initiate a positive culture around learning outcomes and assessment. This was accomplished by educating faculty on the benefits and rationale for implementing PLOs, fostering faculty ownership of PLOs, supporting faculty through the process, and engaging with various stakeholders. This collaborative process led to community building, increased stakeholder commitment, laid the foundation for future collaborations, and fostered robust PLOs.