Find everything you need to know about Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) on this page. You’ll also find resources to help you write your course and unit level ILOs.
What are ILOs?
ILOs are statements that explicitly describe what every student needs to have learned to successfully complete the course or level of study.
Higher Education Quality Assurance practice defines students in terms of what they can do at the end of a course, not what they have been taught.
ILOs should focus on what subject knowledge and understanding, as well as skills, behaviours, values, and ethics, students must be able to demonstrate by the end of the course. Determining the overall purpose and aims of your course or unit is the basis for the development of meaningful ILOs
Intended learning outcome FAQ
ILO tools and resources
What are the benefits of well-written ILOs?
- Enable lecturers to be more precise in planning, supporting, and assessing learning.
- Provide a basis for writing assessment criteria.
- Allow lecturers to make changes and updates to your course without going through formal change procedures
- Provide a clear idea of what is expected, and a goal for learning and studying. This has been found to improve student success rates as well as students’ confidence, sense of belonging, and retention – with significant benefits for those from Widening Participation backgrounds.
- Enable informed choices to be made about courses during recruitment or units during the course.
- Help identify relevant prior learning and recognise what they know so they can better articulate their skills and knowledge on completion of their studies for future study and employability purposes.
Hattie, 2011, 130
Winklemes, Bernacki, Butler, Zochowski, Golanics, and Weavil, 2016
White, M.A. (1971) The View from the Student’s Desk, (p.340)
“The analogy that might make the student’s view more comprehensible…is to imagine oneself on a ship sailing across an unknown sea, to an unknown destination. A [lecturer] would be desperate to know where [they are] going. But a student only knows [they are] going on a ship. The chart is neither available nor understandable… Very quickly, the daily life on board ship becomes all important…the daily chores, the demands, the inspections, become the reality, not the voyage or the destination.”
- Explicitly articulate the underpinning values, attitudes, and skills not reflected in the content.
- Enable transparent and effective links to be made between learning and teaching methods, and assessment and feedback methods, and course/unit evaluation methods
ILOs and quality assurance
Alignment of course and unit intended learning outcomes with Office for Students’ ‘Sector-Recognised Standards’
Degree-awarding bodies are responsible for setting and maintaining the academic standards and quality of courses leading to the qualifications that they award. Within this context, course and unit intended learning outcomes (CILOs) play a central role in setting the minimum threshold standards for the university’s qualifications. Staff should draft and review intended learning outcomes with due regard to the Office for Students’ Condition B5: Sector-Recognised Standards, one of several conditions of registration published by the Office for Students through the Regulatory Framework for Higher Education in England.
Qualification Descriptors
In a subject-specific way, course intended learning outcomes (CILOs) should meet the generic Qualification Descriptors set out in the Sector-Recognised Standards in full. Unit intended learning outcomes (UILOs) – necessarily more limited than those for the whole course, – should meet the Qualification Descriptors in part.
Bachelor’s degrees with honours, master’s degrees, foundation degrees and certificates of higher education can only be awarded where a student has met in full the statement of outcomes in the relevant Qualification Descriptor.
Qualification Descriptors ‘set out the generic outcomes and attributes expected for the award of a particular type of qualification (for example a bachelors’ degree with honours). They describe the minimum acceptable level of achievement that a student has to demonstrate to be eligible for an award.’ (Condition B5: Sector-Recognised Standards)
Qualification Descriptors for each level consist of two parts:
Statements of outcomes
‘The first part is a statement of outcomes, achievement of which is assessed and which a student should be able to demonstrate for the award of the qualification. This is a statement of the threshold academic standard for the qualification.’ For example, the Descriptor for a higher education qualification at Level 6: Bachelors’ degree with honours, states that such degrees are awarded to students who have demonstrated ‘a systematic understanding of key aspects of their field of study, including acquisition of coherent and detailed knowledge, at least some of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of defined aspects of a discipline’. (Condition B5: Sector-Recognised Standards)
Statements of wider abilities
‘The second part of the descriptor is a statement of the wider abilities that a typical student would be expected to have developed. It assists providers to understand the general capabilities expected of holders of the qualification.’ For example, holders of a Level 6 qualification will be able to ‘apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects’.
When writing and reviewing intended learning outcomes, staff should consult the full Condition B5: Sector-recognised standards (officeforstudents.org.uk) to ensure compliance. Please contact the Centre for Learning and Teaching for further, tailored guidance as required.
What is the status of the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ)?
Course designers and reviewers will likely be familiar with QAA’s Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ), a structure adopted in the UK to define levels of qualification. QAA clarifies the relationship between the FHEQ and the OfS’ sector-recognised standards and the attendant implications for providers in the following way: ‘In England, parts of the [FHEQ] have been adopted as sector-recognised standards. These form part of the regulatory requirements that providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) must adhere to in England through compliance with ongoing condition of registration B5. Providers registered in England should refer to the OfS regulatory framework, including the sector-recognised standards.’ (The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies)
Subject Benchmark Statements
The QAA Subject Benchmark Statements are a useful further resource when considering what can be expected of graduates in particular subject areas. They describe what graduates might know, understand and be able to do at the end of their studies. The Statements are written by academics and aim to support quality assurance between courses and institutions.
For more guidance, visit: https://www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements
Examples of ILOs from different disciplines
By the end of the course you will be able to…
Recognise complexities in the construction industry, and the need for safe, efficient and sustainable development.
MSc in Modern Building Design (PGT Early Adopter), Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
Apply key engineering management concepts and principles, linking theory and practice meaningfully and identifying the most relevant data to inform decision making.
MSc in Engineering Business Management, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Appraise existing information in order to generate innovative solutions relating to the environmental design of buildings.
MSc in Architectural Engineering: Environmental Design (PGT Early Adopter), Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
Apply the concepts and principles of chemical and biochemical engineering to the solution of engineering problems in both familiar and in unpredictable professional environments.
BEng and MEng Chemical Engineering (Vanguard), Department of Chemical Engineering
Analyse and solve complex open-ended problems relating to the conservation of historic buildings and cultural heritage, identifying possibilities for originality and creativity.
MSc in Conservation of Historic Buildings (PGT Early Adopter), Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
Communicate complex information clearly and effectively to the target audience.
MSc in Civil Engineering: Innovative Structural Materials (PGT Early Adopter), Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
Plan and execute a small project.
BEng in Computer Systems Engineering, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
By the end of the course you will be able to…
Develop coherent arguments and challenge assumptions.
BSc and MSci Sport and Exercise Science (Vanguard), Department for Health
Demonstrate originality and creativity to systematically deal with complex issues at the forefront of sport and exercise science.
MSci Sport and Exercise Science (Vanguard), Department for Health
Construct and sustain a reasoned argument about educational issues in a clear, lucid and coherent manner.
BA Education with Psychology, Department of Education
Design and conduct experimental and observational studies and analyse the data resulting from them.
BSc Economics and Mathematics, Department of Economics
Synthesise a wide range of conceptual and empirical material in a coherent and structured way for a variety of public and policy audiences.
MSc Public Policy, Department of Social and Policy Sciences
Recognise the inherent variability and diversity of psychological functioning and its significance.
BSc Psychology, Department of Psychology
Critically evaluate research.
MA International Security, Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies
By the end of the course you will be able to…
Formulate and test hypotheses.
BSc Biochemistry, Department of Biology and Biochemistry
Propose and apply creative solutions to chemical problems.
BSc Chemistry, Department of Chemistry
Utilise self-directed problem solving and analytical skills in a wide variety of practical situations.
MSc Software Systems, Department of Computer Science
Formulate methods of solution for a variety of mathematical problems and provide a theoretical justification for the methods.
BSc Mathematics, Department of Mathematical Sciences
Apply principles of evidence-based practice to the safe and effective management of patients.
MPharm Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology
Analyse and solve a variety of problems in physics by means of the appropriate application of physical principles and mathematical techniques.
BSc Physics, Department of Physics
Select and utilise appropriate practical methods, models, techniques and tools for the specification, design, construction, documentation and validation of computer-based system.
BSc Computer Science, Department of Computer Science
By the end of the course you will be able to…
Use state-of-the-art business analytics software.
MSc in Business Analytics (PGT Early Adopter)
Critique current business analytics research.
MSc in Business Analytics (PGT Early Adopter)
Develop specialised business analytics models for problems arising in specific contexts.
MSc in Business Analytics (PGT Early Adopter)
Analyse quantitative data and apply statistical techniques appropriately.
BSc Management
Exercise independent judgement and construct a reasoned argument accompanied by evidence in support of conclusions.
BSc International Managemen
Analyse and discuss financial information in a business context, identifying the most relevant data to inform decision making.
MSc in Financ
Identify, reflect upon, and engage critically with appropriate and representative literature in the field of business and management.
MBA Executive