Last year, as part of the Middle States Self Study, I asked a working group of the Long-Range Strategic Planning Committee (LRSPC) and the College Level Assessment Coordinators Committee (CLACC) to review Canisius’ current institutional learning goals and insure that there was alignment between them and the college’s mission and strategic plan. A university’s learning goals express the common set of knowledge, skills, and competencies that are expected for all of its graduates, regardless of their course of study. They arise out of the university’s mission and are the foundation for our strategic planning at all levels.
The college’s standing institutional learning goals were last developed and approved during the 2005-06 academic year through a collaborative process with the Faculty Senate’s Educational Policy Committee and the Institutional Assessment Committee. The working group worked with assessment representatives from each of the three schools, the core curriculum co-directors, and the All-College Honors Program director to determine if key concepts from the mission statement and strategic plan linked with the 2006 institutional learning goals. At the conclusion of their work, it was clear the institutional learning goals were well-aligned, with only two modest modifications.
This was a highly inclusive and collaborative review process and after consultation with the LRSPC, Faculty Senate and the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to present the refreshed and adopted Institutional Learning Goals for Canisius. You can find them on our website at www.canisius.edu/learning-goals.
Submitted by: John J. Hurley, president
