When does it become foundational knowledge?

Several times over the last couple of weeks, I have been confronted with the question; "was it part of the learning outcome?" Their query was justifiable. Were we asking our students to accomplish things that were not a part of the assignment? I get it. We have expectations as instructors of what we would like our students to achieve throughout the course of a semester or in a particular assignment. 

I question though, at what point does the skill become foundational knowledge and not part of the language of the assessment. Here is an example: 

• APA referencing and citations are part of the first assignment in the first semester of college or university. You get marks for using the style correctly and ultimately gain an understanding about why referencing material is part of the ethical use of information.

As a student, does APA need to listed on every assessment for every research paper from then on, or has the expectation been set, and now it is simply understood that to write an academic paper, you are expected to use a referencing style and cite your sources. I think so, as I do not need to be told that I will need to spell things correctly in my writing or use proper grammar. I understand without being told that if I do not, it will affect my grade. My writing and argument will suffer, as my writing will not be clear nor concise.