Adding GE Learning Outcomes to a Canvas Assignment Rubric using Canvas Outcomes

Learn how to import General Education (GE) learning outcomes into your Canvas course using Canvas Outcomes and integrate them directly into an assignment rubric. This guide simplifies the process of aligning student work with specific academic standards for GE Course assessment.

Extended University
30 steps
3 minutes

Csuci

Navigate to [https://cilearn.csuci.edu/](https://cilearn.csuci.edu/)

Open the GE Course you want to assess.

Open the GE Course you would like to assess. I've used my Sandbox course as an example.

Add GE Outcomes to your course

Click "Outcomes" on the Canvas menu. If you don't see Outcomes in your course menu you can enable it by going to Settings > Navigation.

Click "Find"

Click "Account Standards"

Click "CSU Channel Islands"

Click "GE 2025+". This folder contains the Outcomes for the newest GE numbering system and the associated Program Learning Outcomes and Student Learning Outcomes.

When you select GE 2025+ you will see a list of all of the GE Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs).

Select the PLO that your course is aligned with. The PLO number will be the same as the GE Area for your course. For example, I have selected "GE PLO 4: Understand social, cultural, political, and economic institutions and their historical backgrounds, as well as human behavior and the ..." because I teach an upper division GE course in Area 4. GE PLO 4 is aligned with those courses.

Click "Add All Outcomes". This moves all the Outcomes for that PLO into your course for use with assignment rubrics. Alternatively, you can add individual Outcomes by selecting the Outcomes you wish to add one at a time. For example, you can click on GE SLO 4.1 and click "Add All Outcomes" to add only GE SLO 4.1. Note that some Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) have multiple Canvas Outcomes associated with them. At this point in the process, you are adding Outcomes to your course for future use. Students will not see Outcomes unless they are added to an assignment rubric (see below).

When you have added your desired Outcomes, Click "Done". Repeat this Step if you are uploading multiple groups of Outcomes or uploading multiple individual Outcomes. For example, if I want to upload GE SLO Outcomes 4.1 and 4.3 only. I would select GE SLO 4.1 and click "Add All Outcomes" before going back and doing the same process for GE SLO 4.3.

After you click "Done" you can view the Outcomes in your course by Clicking "GE 2025+"

and expand the GE 2025+ outcome group. Here you can see the Outcomes we added in my course.

Add the Outcomes you have added to a Canvas Assignment using Rubrics

Click "Assignments"

Select the assignment you would like to add Outcomes to. I have clicked on the "M7.8 Movie Reflection Paper 1" assignment in my Sandbox Course as an example.

At the bottom of the Assignment, Click "Create Rubric". Alternatively, if you have an existing grading rubric that you use for the course you can click "Find Rubric" to add that to the assignment.

Name your Rubric in the Rubric Name field. I have called mine "New Rubric"

At this step you can select whether you would like to post this rubric to the Learning Mastery Gradebook, use the rubric for assignment grading, or hide rubric score total from students. Hiding the rubric score total from students will hide the score they receive on the rubric, but not the rubric item.

To add an Outcome to your rubric Click Create From Outcome.

Click "GE 2025+" to view the Outcomes associated with your course.

Click the GE PLO or SLO you want to add to the rubric. For example, I have clicked "GE PLO 4: Understand social, cultural, political, and economic institutions and their historical backgrounds, as well as human behavior and the ..." to add to my rubric.

Click the specific GE SLO you want added to the rubric. I have clicked "GE SLO 4.1: Convey how issues relevant to social, cultural, political, contemporary/historical, economic, educational, or psychological realitie..."

Add all of the Rubric items associated with your GE SLO. I have clicked "GE 4.1 - Analysis of Interactions"

Here you can see how clicking on the GE SLO 4.1 pulls up the three individual Canvas Outcomes associated with that GE SLO. These can each be added to your assignment rubric as a separate rubric line.

If you click the "Use this criterion for scoring" field the Outcome will add 4 points to your grading rubric. If you don't want these points added to your grading rubric make sure this box is not selected. You will not be able to change this setting once the Outcome is added to the rubric.

Click "Import" to add this Outcome as a line in your assignment grading rubric.

We can repeat the steps to add multiple Outcomes.

When you have added all your outcomes click "Create Rubric"

You can click "Preview Rubric" to get a view of all of the Outcomes you have added and any other grading criteria you have added in your rubric.

Here is a view of the Rubric Preview with that Outcome added.