Learning Goals


Student Affairs Learning Goals

Student Affairs learning goals provide a framework for understanding student cocurricular learning resulting from the programs, services, and activities provided by Student Affairs departments. The learning goals—Personal Development, Peer Engagement, Social Responsibility, and Lifelong Learning—serve as broad learning domains, each with learning outcomes, themes, and descriptors of student learning. 

In 2022, the Student Affairs Learning Goals were adapted from the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) Learning and Development Outcomes, which served as the Student Affairs Learning Goals from 2014-2021. The learning goals were revised in favor of concepts and terminology that would be recognizable and easy to understand for all members of the KU community. To ensure relevance to the student learning experience and alignment with the University of Kansas Institutional Learning Goals, the learning goals are reviewed regularly by the Student Affairs assessment committee.

Student Learning Goals

Definition: Personal Development activities provide opportunities for students to develop their personal identity, ethics, and a positive sense of self with the goal of assisting them in identifying their place in the world.

Learning Outcome: Students who use or interact with Student Affairs programs, activities, and services will develop an integrated sense of personal identity, ethics, and a positive sense of self.

KU Learning Goal: Ethics and Professional Responsibility

Themes and Descriptors:

  • Identity Development

    • Integrates multiple aspects of identity into a coherent whole.
    • Understands one’s own identity and culture.
    • Develops and articulates a personal belief system.
    • Identifies and commits to important aspects of self.
  • Positive Sense of Self
    • Assesses, articulates, and acknowledges personal skills, abilities, and growth areas.
    • Integrates mental, emotional, and creative processes for increased insight.
    • Recognizes one’s own capacity to create new understandings from learning activities and dialogue with others.
    • Critiques and subsequently learns from past experiences.
    • Uses self-reflection to gain insight.
    • Exhibits self-reliant behaviors.
    • Balances needs of self with needs of others.
  • Ethics
    • Incorporates ethical reasoning into action.
    • Articulates rationale for personal behavior.
    • Assesses assumptions and considers alternative perspectives.
    • Holds oneself accountable for obligations.
    • Accepts personal accountability.

Definition: Peer Engagement activities provide opportunities for students to effectively communicate, work collaboratively, and develop leadership skills with the goal of increasing their capacity for interdependence and collaboration.

Learning Outcome: Students who use or interact with Student Affairs programs, activities, and services will demonstrate an ability to engage in healthy and respectful relationships with others.

KU Learning Goals: Leadership and Collaboration, Effective Communication

Theme and Descriptors:

  • Communication

    • Communicating effectively through writing and speaking in a way that others understand.
    • Communicates a vision, mission, or purpose that encourages commitment and action in others.
    • Listens to and considers others’ points of view.
    • Seeks and considers feedback from others.
  • Collaboration
    • Establishes healthy, mutually beneficial relationships with others.
    • Seeks help from others when needed and offers aid when appropriate.
    • Shares a group or organizational goal and works with others to achieve it.
    • Works cooperatively with others, including people different from self and/or with different points of view.
  • Leadership
    • Demonstrates skill in guiding and assisting a group in meeting its goals.
    • Exhibits democratic principles as a leader.
    • Accepts supervision and direction as needed.
    • Demonstrates appropriately assertive behavior.
    • Manages interpersonal conflicts effectively..

Definition: Social Responsibilities activities provide opportunities for students to develop skills and competencies related to social justice and civic engagement with the goal of contributing to positive social change.

Learning Outcome: Students who use or interact with Student Affairs programs, activities, and services will demonstrate an understanding and recognition of their role in contributing to positive social change.

KU Learning Goals: Social Awareness and Cultural Understanding

Themes and Descriptors:

  • Social Justice

    • Seeks involvement with people different from oneself.
    • Recognizes social systems and their influence on people.
    • Appropriately challenges the unfair, unjust, or uncivil behavior of others.
    • Affirms and values the worth of individuals and communities.
    • Identifies systematic barriers to equality and inclusiveness, then advocates and justifies means for dismantling them.
  • Civic Engagement
    • Educates and facilitates the civic engagement of others.
    • Participates in service/volunteer activities.
    • Demonstrates consideration of the welfare of others in decision-making.

Definition: Lifelong Learning activities provide opportunities for students to acquire and integrate knowledge, problem solving, and practical skills to assist in living a healthy and productive life.

Learning Outcome: Students who use or interact with Student Affairs programs, activities, and services will demonstrate applied learning and practical skills that will enable them to live a productive and healthy life.

KU Learning Goal: Analytical Reasoning

Keyword Descriptors:

  • Knowledge

    • Relates knowledge to daily life tasks.
    • Gains knowledge from a range of disciplines.
    • Provides evidence of knowledge, skills, and accomplishments resulting from learning activities and dialogue with others.
    • Demonstrates technological literacy and skills.
  • Problem Solving
    • Identifies important problems, questions, and issues.
    • Applies previously learned information to new situation.
    • Seeks new information to solve problems or make informed decisions.
    • Analyzes and interprets the relevance and quality of information.
    • Uses complex information to form an opinion or make a decision.
    • Uses multiple sources of information and their synthesis to solve problems.
    • Generates new problem-solving approaches based on new insights.
    • Creates new approaches to solve a problem.
  • Practical Skills
    • Sets and pursues individual goals.
    • Articulates and makes plans to achieve long-term goals and objectives.
    • Identifies and works to overcome obstacles that hamper goal achievement.
    • Manages time effectively.
    • Develops strategies for managing finances.
    • Recognizes the importance of transferrable skills.
  • Health and Wellness
    • Engages in behaviors and contributes to environments that promote health and reduce risk.
    • Articulates the relationship between health and wellness in accomplishing goals.

Council for the Advancement of Standards (2012). CAS learning and development outcomes. In Council for the Advancement of Higher Education (Ed.), CAS professional standards for higher education (8th Ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Department Learning Outcomes

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by the Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity will be able to:

  • Apply concepts related to sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation to their identity development (Personal Development). 

  • Discuss information related to programs, services, activities, and support networks available to the QT community (Lifelong Learning).  

  • Demonstrate skills for forming healthy, affirming relationships with peers within the QT community (Peer Engagement). 

  • Practice consensual allyship/advocacy when challenging systems that adversely affect the QT community (Social Responsibility). 

  • Explain the relationship between systemic oppression and people’s lived experiences (Social Responsibility). 

  • Explain how QT-related information learned can be used to overcome obstacles and achieve one’s goals (Lifelong Learning).  

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by the Counseling and Psychological Services will be able to:

  • Identify strategies to solve or cope with personal problems or difficulties (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Apply strategies to address or resolve personal problems or difficulties (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Recognize campus and community resources and services that provide support to students (Lifelong Learning).  

  • Demonstrate ability to manage one’s thoughts, behaviors, and emotions in helpful ways (Personal Development). 

  • Practice behaviors that lead to healthy relationships with others (Peer Engagement). 

  • Demonstrate ability to communicate effectively with other students and organizations (Peer Engagement). 

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by the Emily Taylor Women and Gender Equity Center will be able to:

  • Explain how gender and feminist theories contribute to an intersectional feminist framework (Lifelong Learning).  

  • Apply concepts related to social identities (e.g., sex, gender, race, class) to developing one’s sense of self (Personal Development). 

  • Use relevant information when advocating for one’s holistic health and wellness as feminist practice (Lifelong Learning).  

  • Apply intersectional feminist approaches and practices when challenging systemic issues affecting women (cis, trans, and nonbinary) and other folx (Social Responsibility).  

  • Demonstrate ability to establish relationships with others within one’s communities for the purpose of collective action in addressing gender inequities (Peer Engagement).  

     

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by the Health Education and Resource Office will be able to:

  • Recognize how their personal health choices affect the broader campus community (Personal Development). 

  • Recognize the relationship between the eight dimensions of wellness and accomplishing academic and personal goals (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Demonstrate ability to communicate and listen to peers who experience health issues in their daily lives (Peer Engagement). 

  • Use self-advocacy skills with confidence when addressing health and wellness decisions (Personal Development). 

  • Understand systemic barriers to healthcare affecting individuals with marginalized identities (Social Responsibility). 

     

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by the Hilltop Child Development Center will be able to:

  • Demonstrate professional skills related to working in an early childhood education (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Apply transferable skills (e.g., organizational skills, critical thinking, time management) to achieving personal and professional goals (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Recognize the value associated with the diversity of children and their families (Social Responsibility). 

  • Describe the attitudes and behaviors that contribute to maintaining positive relationships with children, teachers, and staff (Peer Engagement). 

  • Apply ethical reasoning and professional guidelines to early childhood education (Personal Development). 

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by KU Memorial Unions will be able to:

  • Recognize multiple aspects of identity and culture that contribute to one’s sense of self (Personal Development).

  • Show ability to work cooperatively with peers and others within the KU and Lawrence communities (Peer Engagement). 

  • Identify programs, services, resources, and facilities offered by Memorial Unions that promote student holistic health and wellness (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Apply transferrable skills in meeting individual and professional goals (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Use communication and leadership skills to achieve group or team goals (Peer Engagement).

  • Demonstrate consideration for others in the KU and Lawrence communities through facilitation of and/or participation in service and volunteering activities (Social Responsibility).  

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by KU Recreation Services will be able to:

  • Demonstrate behaviors that contribute to one's overall health and wellness (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Demonstrate healthy, mutually beneficial relationships with others (Peer Engagement).  

  • Apply transferable skills (e.g., risk management, organizational skills, critical thinking, time management) to achieving personal and professional goals (Lifelong Learning).  

  • Use communication and leadership skills to achieve group or team goals (Peer Engagement).  

  • Describe how one’s confidence in performing exercise skills or athletic abilities has improved (Personal Development). 

  • Develop a plan for achieving long-term health and wellness goals (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Show progress toward achieving long-term health and wellness goals (Lifelong Learning). 

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by KU Student Housing will be able to:

  • Explain the relationship between diversity, equity, and inclusion and community building (Social Responsibility). 

  • Identify campus resources and services that provide academic support to students (Lifelong Learning).

  • Use campus and community resources that promote personal health and wellness (Lifelong Learning).

  • Practice behaviors and skills that lead to positive relationships with others (Peer Engagement).  

  • Demonstrate ability to work collaboratively with others in a group (Peer Engagement). 

  • Identify how one’s behavior affects the residential and campus communities (Personal Development). 

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by Legal Services for Students will be able to:

  • Recognize relevant information related to legal issues they may experience (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Apply relevant information related to problem solving legal issues they may experience (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Use self-advocacy skills with confidence when addressing legal issues (Personal Development). 

  • Demonstrate effective written and verbal skills to improve communication with others (Peer Engagement). 

  • Develop effective transferrable skills (e.g., time management, goalsetting, tax preparation, research) for future personal and professional use (Lifelong Learning). 

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by the Office of Multicultural Affairs will be able to:

  • Apply intersectionality framework in developing one’s holistic sense of self (Personal Development). 

  • Explain the relationship between systemic oppression and forms of inequality (Social Responsibility).  

  • Use social justice and liberation concepts when challenging systemic barriers affecting people with marginalized identities (Social Responsibility). 

  • Show ability to communicate effectively with other students about social justice and liberation (Peer Engagement). 

  • Demonstrate skillset necessary for building healthy, affirming spaces for others (Peer Engagement). 

  • Recognize campus and community resources for achieving personal, academic, and wellness goals (Lifelong Learning). 

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by the Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Center will be able to:

  • Recognize how forms of systemic oppression contribute to the prevalence of sexual violence (Social Responsibility). 

  • Apply prevention approaches and practices when challenging systemic issues contributing to sexual violence (Social Responsibility). 

  • Identify characteristics of healthy, consensual relationships (Peer Engagement). 

  • Use bystander intervention skills to prevent sexual violence (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Identify support strategies and/or resources for those who have or may be experiencing sexual violence (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Demonstrate self-care through identification of one’s social, emotional, and psychological needs (Personal Development). 

  • Describe how identities and values influence one’s views on relationships and sexual violence (Personal Development). 

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by Sorority and Fraternity Life will be able to:

  • Practice leadership skills to affect positive change in one’s organization or community (Peer Engagement). 

  • Show a commitment to social justice by addressing systemic injustices affecting members of one’s organization or community (Social Responsibility). 

  • Demonstrate consideration for others in the KU and Lawrence communities through participation in service and volunteering activities (Social Responsibility). 

  • Use communication and interpersonal skills to work collaboratively with others to achieve group or community goals (Peer Engagement). 

  • Describe how one’s organizational values contribute to their personal identity, values, and belief system (Personal Development). 

  • Recognize behaviors that promote health and reduce risk to oneself, organization, or community (Lifelong Learning).  

  • Use ethical reasoning in personal and organizational decision-making processes (Personal Development). 

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by Student Conduct and Community Standards will be able to:

  • Understand community expectations for student behavior (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Apply community expectations for one's behavior to interactions with peers and other community members (Peer Engagement). 

  • Understand the relationship between community expectations and one's personal values (Personal Development). 

  • Apply community expectations and personal values in their ethical reasoning process (Personal Development). 

  • Understand how one's behavior affects the broader campus community (Personal Development). 

  • Understand the relationship between one's behavior and their ability to achieve their academic and personal goals (Lifelong Learning). 

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by Student Involvement and Leadership Center will be able to:

  • Practice critical thinking and problem-solving skills to address organizational or community problems and issues (Lifelong Learning).  

  • Use information learned and transferrable skills (e.g., organizational, technological, and time management skills) to achieve personal and professional goals (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Use effective communication skills to work collaboratively with others to achieve goals (Peer Engagement). 

  • Apply leadership concepts and practices for affecting positive change in one’s organization or community (Peer Engagement). 

  • Recognize one’s strengths and areas for growth through reflecting on past experiences (Personal Development).

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by Student Money Management Services will be able to:

  • Explain the five pillars of responsible fiscal management: budgeting, checking, credit, loans, and savings (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Identify resources and services on campus, in the community, and online that one can access for financial assistance (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Practice skills related to budgeting and prioritizing debts to achieve academic and personal goals (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Apply core money management skills in planning for life after graduation (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Show ability to communicate effectively with other students about fiscal management (Peer Engagement). 

  • Demonstrate ability to work collaboratively with others in planning and orchestrating programs for students (Peer Engagement). 

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by Student Support and Case Management will be able to:

  • Recognize barriers to academic and personal success (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Identify campus and community resources to assist during times of distress and/or crisis (Lifelong Learning).

  • Implement an action plan that involves seeking support from campus and community resources (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Demonstrates self-care through identification of social, emotional, and psychological needs (Personal Development). 

  • Describe how health and wellness are related to achieving academic and personal success (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Discuss the ways one’s behavior affects others in their campus community (Peer Engagement). 

Students who engage in programs, services, and activities provided by Watkins Health Services will be able to:

  • Recognize the relationship between health and wellness and their ability to accomplish academic and personal goals (Lifelong Learning). 

  • Recognize measures to prevent or reduce the risk of future health issues, injuries, or re-injuries (Lifelong Learning). 

    Understand relevant medical information for managing aspects of personal health and wellness (Lifelong Learning). 

    Apply relevant medical information to the development of personal health and wellness goals (Lifelong Learning). 

    Use self-advocacy skills with confidence when establishing relationships with healthcare providers (Personal Development).