Bringing Students’ Voices into Campus Conversations about Essential Learning Outcomes: A Survey of Students at a Mid-Sized State University

Stockton University, a mid-sized state university in the mid-Atlantic region of the United Stated, initiated the first of two pilots for implementation of its institutional outcomes during the fall semester 2014. At the beginning of that semester, in an effort to gauge students’ attitudes university-wide toward the value of the outcomes, the director of the pilot administered an exploratory survey to the entire student population (N=427). The survey contained eleven questions. The results indicate that students agree on their value. The student survey participants, however, identify five additional outcomes. Furthermore, student survey participants rank four of the student-identified outcomes of greater value than some of the institutional outcomes. The survey results also suggest that students could assume a more engaged role in campus conversations about core, institutional outcomes, thus, fostering authentic connection to the learning outcomes students seek and acquire while in college.