The second is a description of what is offered in the program for promoting the goals. And the third is evaluation of the effectiveness of the program by assessment of outcomes and, in addition, mechanisms for using that assessment to make changes in the program, if necessary. It is important to note that these implementation guidelines are flexible. They are designed to suggest possibilities, not to dictate procedure. Identification of goals, description of program, and assessment of programs must be seen as working together, all contributing to a better educational experience for the students.
Goals are outcomes related to writing and speaking identified by faculty.
They are objectives that each department or program would like to achieve. The main purpose of identifying outcomes is to encourage more concrete understandings of the broader objectives of quality education. Just as in any other research project, the first step in identifying goals is to ask a question or questions. Different departments or programs will stress different categories. For example, those that are clearly pre-professional may prefer to focus on outcomes related to employers and graduates.