Preparing for Accreditation Under EC 2000: An Experience Report
Preparing for an accreditation evaluation under Engineering Criteria 2000 is a demanding task. For many programs, the most challenging requirements of the criteria have to do with establishing mechanisms to obtain input from various constituencies, formulating objectives on the basis of these inputs, formulating outcomes corresponding to each objective, establishing a range of assessment mechanisms to evaluate the program and outcomes, and establishing feedback mechanisms to use the results of the assessment to improve the program. This paper presents the experience of one program and some of the lessons learned.
THE ATTRIBUTE ASSESSMENT PROCESS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA: YEAR TWO
This paper describes the process in the second year of a three year study at the University of Manitoba that looks at how the 12 CEAB graduate attributes are manifested and measured in the engineering curriculum. The four attributes chosen for this year’s study were Problem Analysis, Use of Engineering Tools, Communication Skills, and Ethics and Equity. Nine instructors from each of the Departments of Biosystems, Civil, Electrical and Computer, and Mechanical Engineering were asked to consider the presence of these attributes in one of their engineering courses taught in Fall 2012. The checklist for this study was revised based on the results of the pilot study conducted in 2011-12, and in an effort to begin to define student attribute competency levels and demonstrate outcomes-based assessment. Similar to last year, this study found that the hard skills in engineering were assessed more frequently than the soft skills, and inparticular, there was little assessment evidence of Ethics and Equity. The majority of instructors reported using assignments and reports as evaluation tools, and communicating evaluations to students using numerical marks and written comments. Competency levels were defined in a variety of ways, highlighting the need to establish a common language for assessment. Finally, this paper reports on the challenges observed in the construction and administration of the survey and outlines next steps.
Detailed assessment of engineering curricula
A scheme for gathering detailed assignment level data on curricula for assessment purposes is presented. An assessment tool that focuses on the individual assignment level can provide detailed information, which may not be apparent at the course or program level. An assignment database containing a record for each student assignment is proposed here to provide a means to access detailed assessment data that is readily available from the faculty teaching the courses in the major. The assessment scheme described here incorporates data that is based on actual student activities in the program. Assignment attributes that are based upon the desired outcomes of the program are provided for each assignment by the faculty responsible for each course. Therefore an inherent connection to the curricula, faculty input and a means for direct feedback to the curricula are built into this assessment scheme. The grade statistics available on the individual assignments can be a component of the performance measures utilized to assess the achievement of the program's desired student outcomes. This database, once built, can be efficiently maintained using standard personal computer spreadsheet and database office software.