One key challenge in academic programs is determining how the learning among individual classes and courses is coordinated and aligns with the program goals, which are often missing or vaguely described. In this session we tell the story of our effort to develop clear program goals for undergraduate (BA, BSc) and graduate (MPH) degree programs that are coherent yet flexible and that can inform the design and deployment of assessments across courses and levels of learning. An overarching goal for our effort is to offer everyone considering or coming into our programs a clear rationale for the teaching and learning activities they will experience, deliver, and/or support. The evidence gathered, and the lessons learned through our endeavor will be shared with the audience who may then make more informed decisions in their own efforts. Because we included students, staff, faculty, and administrators in our work, the target audience for this session is necessarily broad. The session will provide participants with a chance to represent their own stories of alignment/misalignment between program goals and learning assessment. By sharing different journeys and stages of curriculum reform we hope to reveal more effective and meaningful pathways to articulate and assess program level outcomes.
