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ME Assessment Strategy |
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5-Column
Format
Program Educational Objectives ME Assessment Strategy |
Program Assessment Process: A
schematic diagram of the M.E. Assessment Plan is shown in Figure 1.
There are three levels (Tiers) of assessment:
·
Tier
0 – ABET 2000 – Program Educational Objectives Evaluation: This is a review of the M.E. program educational objectives and
the assessment process. This
process includes evaluation of the Program Educational Objectives (PEO’s)
and assessment process and tools.
Evaluation of program educational objectives is conducted on
a 2-3 year cycle. · Tier 1 – M.E. Program Assessment: The M.E. program is evaluated annually by a faculty team to determine if the program’s desired outcomes are being achieved. Assessment of outcomes is done yearly. Also, this is done to examine how and to what degree each course contributes to the achievement of program outcomes.
·
Tier
2 –M.E. Course Assessment: The courses within the M.E. program are evaluated on an on-going basis
by the faculty teaching the courses (every term).
This includes all core Mechanical Engineering courses, all
specialty courses, and all capstone courses.
The goal is to continually improve the quality of each
course. Annual
Program Outcomes Assessment: The
primary assessment activity for the department is the annual
assessment of Mechanical Engineering program outcomes.
During the summer term, a faculty assessment team (appointed
by the M.E. Head) evaluates the data taken during the previous year.
This annual assessment of the data ensures a rapid
identification and response to problems in the program.
A schematic of the annual process is shown in Figure 2.
The goal of the annual process is to identify weaknesses in
the curriculum, which result in a failure to meet program outcomes.
The faculty team is provided with the assessment data in the
University’s five-column format. The
faculty team evaluates if the numerical metric is satisfied for each
assessment criteria under each program outcome.
If the metric is not satisfied, the team has the following
possible actions:
The
faculty assessment team then prepares a memo to the department head
to summarize their findings. At
a minimum the memo must include a completed five-column assessment
form and an updated five-column matrix used in the following year’s
assessment. Suggested
changes in the curriculum is forwarded to the faculty for
study and action. Course Assessment: is conducted on an ongoing basis. The
faculty receives the results of the student course surveys in a
timely manner, so they can respond to student needs. Faculty members
are informed of the results of the annual program assessments. Documentation Process: To
summarize the documentation process for this assessment plan, each
year a number of assessment measures are taken.
The results are compiled into the five-column assessment
matrix, which will be provided to the department’s assessment
team. Annually, the
assessment team provides:
Generating
this data every year minimizes the effort required during the ABET
visitations years. Figure
1. Overall Mechanical Engineering Assessment Process
Figure
2. Tier 1: Annual Mechanical Engineering Assessment Process Program
Assessment Tools:
The
program assessment tools are those that are used to determine if the
stated program outcomes are being met.
Tools Administered by the Department:
1. Program Exit Survey – Once per year, students complete a program exit survey in all
Mechanical Engineering capstone courses. This survey is used to
evaluate the success of the M.E. program in achieving the program
outcomes. Binder III shows the program exit survey with results and
analysis. 2. Outcomes – Based Course
Survey – Every term, in every M.E. course, a student survey is conducted.
This survey is used to determine the quality of the course,
the various outcomes that this course tries to satisfy, and the
level of achievement of these outcomes.
Also, students’ perceptions of the class (in terms of
program outcomes) are compared to the faculty’s intent.
Binder IV shows the course survey with results and analysis. 3. Capstone Portfolio – In the various capstone courses, each M.E student team creates a
portfolio of their work. The
portfolio includes samples of writing, calculations, analysis,
synthesis and evaluation, a CD and a videotape of the presentation.
An internal/external team evaluates the portfolios at the end
of the year using a one-page form so that the results are considered
to be objective. The
portfolios will be available for the ABET team during their visit.
Binder V shows the capstone portfolio survey with results and
analysis. 4.
Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam – Although the FE exam is not required, the M.E. program tracks the
performance of Mechanical Engineering students who take the exam.
M.E. faculty members educate students about the importance of
professional registration and encourage students to take the exam.
The ME department holds refresher courses twice a year for
all seniors of the University, free of charge for
Tools
Administered by the University and Used for the Assessment of the ME
Program:
The
University’s Office of Institutional Research conducts thirteen
different surveys. The
ME program selected five surveys of direct relevance to assessment: 1.
Employment Survey – This survey is developed and administered by the Corporate
Relations Office to recent graduates.
It is used to measure the starting salaries of
2.
Co-op Survey – Employer (Senior) – Every student’s co-op supervisor fills out this form during their
senior term measuring the satisfaction with the student’s
performance. It also contains EC2000 specific questions. 3.
Thesis Evaluation – Employer – This survey measures the employer’s satisfaction with a student’s
thesis work. It is
considered to be on objective measure of the student’s ability to
function as an engineer and hence is a particularly useful tool for
program assessment. 4.
Educational Benchmarking Inc (EBI) – This survey addresses student’s attitudes and EC2000 outcomes.
Ten questions specific to 5.
Alumni Survey
– Binder
VIII exhibits the results of the Employment Survey, the Co-op
Survey, the Thesis Evaluation Survey, and the Alumni Survey.
Binder IX shows the results and analysis of the Engineering
Benchmarking Survey. The
above selected assessment tools are used to determine if the program
educational objectives and outcomes are meeting the needs of the M.E.
program constituents. They
are used explicitly to determine if the ABET criteria are being met.
The program assessment tools include the curriculum
assessment tools and several additional matrices. Table
1 – Summary of Methods Available for Assessment
Key: F = Formative ; S = Summative; A = Attitudinal; O = Objective; N = No, and Y = Yes.Table 2 – Linkages Between Assessment
Methods and Program Outcomes
Other:
ME Course Contribution to PROGRAM OUTCOMES
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