During discussions about higher education quality, activities such as promoting active involvement in learning, stating clear expectations, and assessing educational results have taken on increased importance for colleges and universities attempting to improve their programs. Yet in each of these activities, understanding students educational goals is important to ensure success. Helping students take active responsibility for their education, for example, may depend on how well educators link the classroom goals they set for their students with the goals that students hold for themselves. Communicating clear expectations for students depends, in part, on understanding discrepancies between expectations instructors establish and those students accept as consistent with their own goals. In addition, accurate assessment of student outcomes fostered by the college experience should take into account students educational goals as well as their academic preparation.
Goals are what individuals hope to achieve and accomplish.
Such intentions motivate and direct human behavior. Thus, educational outcomes such as academic satisfaction, use of appropriate learning strategies, effort exerted in course work, and ultimately, academic achievement, are related to goals. In fact, helping students to revise their goals and to improve the extent to which they control their behavior are valid educational goals. Currently, most colleges collect information about the broad goals students hold for attending college as they enter. This information is used for administrative planning or for developing strategies to recruit and retain students.