Interrogating, Disrupting, and Reframing College Student Learning Outcomes (Assessment and Improvement in Higher Education)

This book positions learning as the observable, verifiable demonstration of skills and competencies acquired through instruction, shifting the focus from grade-point averages and standardized tests to direct evidence of college student performance.

Beginning with an examination of how higher education has prioritized certification over demonstrable learning, this text offers practical frameworks for designing instruction, assessments, and outcomes that emphasize demonstrable competence over abstract metrics. Key topics include learning theories, AI challenges, ethical data practices, funding incentives, and performance-based accreditation. Vignettes showcase real-world application across diverse institutional settings, weaving together perspectives from faculty, administrators, and students for a rich, comprehensive view of these practices in action.

This book is written for faculty, assessment leaders, administrators, accreditors, and policymakers who want claims about learning to be clear, verifiable, and publicly defensible.

Jarek Janio is Faculty Coordinator at Santa Ana College School of Continuing Education in Southern California, USA. He founded the SLO Symposium in 2014, an annual national gathering of higher education professionals dedicated to the assessment of student learning. Since 2020, he has coordinated Friday SLO Talks, a weekly professional forum where educators discuss assessment, accreditation, and student learning. In 2022, he established the California Outcomes Assessment Coordinators' Hub (COACHes), a network supporting assessment practitioners. Janio has presented and published extensively on student learning outcomes, competency-based assessment, and educational effectiveness. He holds a B.A. from California State University, Long Beach, an M.Ed. from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and a Ph.D. from Walden University.