Program Standards

Program Outcomes

Published vocational outcomes (program outcomes) exist for many program areas in the Ontario College System. These outcomes and associated elements of performance determine the minimum expectation for all colleges offering that credential in the Ontario College System.  Individual programs can certainly add to these mandatory outcomes with their own locally-determined outcomes in an effort to differentiate their program and meet identified employer needs not yet represented in the standards.  Here is a link to the published program standards.

As you get started with course design, it is very important to familiarize yourself with the learning outcomes for your program and to identify how successful completion of your subject will contribute to students’ achievement of the program outcomes. Once you have found and reviewed your program outcomes, copy and paste them into a document. You will use this document as a reference when completing other steps in the course design process. If you require assistance, please contact CATL at catl@loyalistcollege.com.

Backwards Design

In keeping with the principle of backward design, it is important to first establish clear, performance-based learning outcomes that describe what a graduate of a program of study will be able to demonstrate.  These identified program outcomes need to be validated when new programs are developed and re-validated when significant changes are made to existing programs.  These outcomes are validated by Credential Validation Services (CVS).  These programs exist in one of two forms: published program standards or program descriptions.