The demand for quantitative assessment by external agencies and internal administrators can leave post-secondary instructors confused about the nature and purpose of learning outcomes and fearful that the demand is simply part of the increasing corporatization of the university system. This need not be the case. Writing learning outcomes has a number of benefits for course design that go beyond program assessment. This article clarifies some key aspects of the push towards using learning outcomes, and introduces a tripartite nomenclature for distinguishing between course outcomes, outputs, and objectives. It then outlines a process for instructors to use these three categories to develop and design courses that meet institutional assessment demands while also improving overall teaching effectiveness. (Contains 7 figures.)