Electrical Engineering Assessment Plan
Electrical and computer engineering are two of the most rapidly changing areas of technology in today's society. Therefore, constantly evaluating and updating our programs is critical to their survival and growth. For several years the department has been applying the concepts of continuous program improvement to our programs. Our efforts in this area have been spurred on by ABET 2000. ABET has outlined a "2-loop" approach to program Assessment and Improvement shown below:
•
•
The left loop shows the steps involved in establishing and assessing program objectives; the right loop show how outcomes that support the program's objectives are developed and assessed. The interaction between the loupes assures that the outcome assessment are used to verify that the program's objectives are met. The first step in establishing a process by which we can continuously improve our programs is to define the objectives for the graduates from our engineering programs. The objectives for the Chico EE and CMPE programs are mapped to the ABET Criteria 3 to show how Chico satisfies the ABET Criteria. Because objectives are defined at a relatively high level, measurable outcomes have also been defined for each program.
•
•
After defining the objectives for our two degrees, it was necessary to create a curriculum that supports these objectives. We evaluated each of the courses in our undergraduate program to see how the expected outcomes for the courses supported the program objectives. The relationship between course outcomes and program objectives is shown on the Course Outcomes page. Defining objectives, outcomes, and assessment methods is a good start toward a continuous improvement program, but processes must be in place to ensure that objectives and outcomes are reviewed, that assessment data is collected and analyzed, and that changes are made to the program when necessary.
The ECE Program Improvement Process
To have engineering programs that meet the needs of their constituents, it is necessary to continuously evaluate and improve the programs. To that end, the ECE Department has developed a Program Improvement Process that is repeatable, manageable, and sustainable. The plan is based on the mission statements for the University, College, and Department that are shown below.
1. Setting Program Educational Objectives
Several distinct constituents were involved in setting the objectives for the Electrical and Computer Engineering programs. The constituents included undergraduate faculty, graduate faculty, employers and students. Each group contributed in some aspect to this process. Prior to setting the objective for the Electrical Engineering Program it was necessary to define the mission of the department. To define the department’s mission the faculty first reviewed the University’s and the College’s mission statements to determine how the programs offered by the department could best help the University and College achieve their missions. The University mission statement: “California State University, Chico is a comprehensive university serving Northern California and other regions of the state, as well as the nation and the world, through instruction, research, and public service. Our first priority is the education of our students by creating and maintaining selected quality undergraduate and graduate programs. We will be known for the purposeful integration of liberal and applied learning that provides our students with the knowledge, skills, and moral and intellectual virtues that form the basis for life-long learning and contribution. We affirm the importance of scholarship and public service. We support the exploration of the frontiers of knowledge, the integration of ideas, the connecting of thought to action, and the inspiring of students. 2
We make the results of these academic efforts available for public scrutiny by all our constituents. We will maintain extensive continuing education and public service programs that serve the needs of our varied constituencies.” The College mission statement: “The Mission of the College is to provide engineering, computer science, and technology students with a strong, broad based education that will provide them with the knowledge and skills to be successful practitioners, and empower them to continue their education at the graduate level and cultivate a lifetime of learning. The College mission is also to support the success of its various programs, as articulated through their respective missions and objectives.” Based on these mission statements and what the faculty thought was the best direction for the department to take, the following was established: The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department educates each student to be a responsible and productive electrical or computer engineer who can effectively respond to future challenges. This mission statement was developed by the faculty and reviewed by the department’s IAB and the College administration. They agreed that the statement was appropriate and consistent with the goals of the university and compatible with the University’s mission statement. The faculty then defined what they thought the objectives of the Electrical/Electronic Engineering and Computer Engineering Programs should be. The subject was discussed at several meetings of the entire faculty and a draft objective was defined. That draft was then sent to the subset of faculty who teach the majority of the department’s graduate courses for their review and approval. They were asked to review the objective from the point of view of those who would be evaluating our applicants for admission to graduate programs. After the graduate faculty revised and approved the objective, it was presented to the department’s IAB for review and approval. The IAB was asked if students who met the program objective would satisfy the needs of industry. The IAB felt that graduates who met the program’s objective would be employable in a variety of Electrical engineering jobs. This process lead to the following objective statements: The objective of the Electrical/Electronic Engineering Program is to produce graduates able to: • • • • • Apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering to identify, formulate, and solve electrical/electronic engineering problems. Use industry standard tools to analyze, design, develop and test computer-based systems containing both hardware and software components. Achieve success in graduate programs in electrical engineering or a related field. Continue to develop their knowledge and skills after graduation in order to succeed personally and contribute to employer success. Work effectively as a member of a multi-disciplinary development team and undertake leadership roles when appropriate. 3
• •
Communicate their thoughts, in both written and oral forms, so that others can comprehend and build on their work. Appreciate the importance of ethics in the profession and the need to act in society’s best interest.
The mission and objectives of the electrical/electronic Engineering and computer engineering program are reviewed at least once every six years by all the constituents. Three years after the ABET accreditation visit the department chair solicits inputs from the following groups: • • • • undergraduate faculty- faculty who teach at least 3 undergraduate courses per year graduate faculty- faculty who teach at least one graduate course per year employers- represented by Industrial Advisory Board students- represented by Eta Kappa Nu honor society
The faculty, as a whole, evaluates the inputs to decide if any changes in the objectives are warranted. If changes are made, the assessment plans are revised to evaluate the effectiveness of the changes.
2. Measuring Achievement of Program Educational Objectives
The department is responsible for verifying that its graduates satisfy the education objectives of its programs. ABET has stated that achievement of education objectives should be measured three to five years after graduation, the following process is used to that end. The process is executed once each year, but there is a different set of inputs each year. The ECE Department’s Program Improvement Process is depicted in the Figure 1 shown below. The process in Figure 1 begins each year with a review of the assessment tool(s) that will be used to gather that year’s data. Based on past results, the faculty may choose to update or replace a given assessment tool. When the assessment tool has been chosen, data is gathered from one or more of the sources (employers, IAB, alumni, students, and faculty). The data is collected and tabulated by a subset of the faculty. The data is then reviewed by the faculty to determine what, if any, changes should be considered. If needed, a Change Improvement Plan is developed. Based on the plan, changes are implemented.
3. Timeline for the Assessment/Program Improvement Process
Figure 2 outlines the timing of the yearly cycle of program assessment and program improvement activities.
4
Employers
Evaluate ECE Grads
IAB
Evaluate ECE Programs
Alumni
Complete Alumni Survey
Students
Complete Sr. Exit Survey
Faculty
Assess Performance in Courses
Conduct Program Evaluation
Develop Change Improvement Plan Implement Changes
Program Improvement Coordinator
Update Assessment Tools
Collect & Tabulate Survey Data
Figure 1 ECE Department Program Improvement Process
5
Assess Performance in CoursesFaculty
Evaluate ECE Programs- IAB
Complete Sr. Exit Survey
NOTE: Not all assessments are conducted each year. Click on Assessment Methods link to see schedule.
Complete Sr. Exit Survey
Complete Alumni Survey
Evaluate ECE Grads- Employeers
Develop Change Improvement Plan
Implement Changes
Conduct Program Evaluation
Update Assessment Tools
Collect & Tabulate Survey Data
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Figure 2 Timeline for ECE Department Program Improvement Process Activities
6
4. Assessment of Program Outcomes
The ECE faculty has chosen to adopt the ABET suggested program outcomes commonly referred to as outcomes a through k. These outcomes specify the minimum capabilities that every graduate from each program must have at the time of graduation from the Chico ECE programs. Mapping Required Courses to Program Educational Outcomes: The figure below illustrates several important facts about the Program Outcomes and the courses required in the major. First, every required course in the program, including those taken outside the engineering disciplines, supports at least one of the Program Outcomes. A course may support an outcome by introducing material related to the outcome (Introduced), giving students the opportunity to practice applying methods and techniques necessary to develop proficiency in the outcome (Practiced), or by measuring how well the student has mastered the outcome (Assessed). Second, the table shows that every Program Outcome the material is Introduced, Practiced, and Assessed in multiple courses. This ensures that students have multiple chances to learn how to master each Program Outcome. Third, each Program Outcome is assessed at least once during a student’s course of studies. By requiring each student to pass at least one assignment that directly assessed the mastery of an outcome, we can guarantee that no student will graduate from the program without having demonstrated mastery of every one of the outcomes.
Required Courses In Electrical MATH120Engineering 260 CHEM 111 PHYS 204AC EECE 101 EECE 144 EECE 221 EECE 135 EECE 211 EECE 211L EECE 311 EECE 365 EECE 315 EECE 316 EECE 335 EECE 344 EECE 343 EECE 375 Program Educational Outcomes d e f g h i
a
b
c
j
k
7
EECE 453 EECE 465 EECE 482 ECE 490A ECE 490B CIVL 495 CIVL 302 General Ed. Key: Introduced
Practiced
Assessed
Embedded Assessment Measures: The table below shows the different outcome Pass/Fail criteria. The percentage needed to pass the assessed assignment in the following table varies from class to class depending on the type of assignment.
Outcome Course
a)
EECE 311
Outcome Pass/Fail Criteria Students who do not meet the assessment criteria for a course receive a grade of “F” or “No Credit,” as appropriate for the course. Homework and examinations must demonstrate each student's ability to analyze circuits by: • applying Kirchhoff's Laws and the concepts of energy and power • solving for currents, voltages, and powers in circuit elements, mainly by hand calculations, using complex frequency concepts, linear algebra and calculus, including differential equations, as needed. A student will demonstrate successful completion of this outcome by achieving a score of 4 out of 8 (based on the assessment rubric shown in the attached table) on three class assignments and one examination problem. A student will demonstrate successful completion of this outcome by achieving a score of 4 out of 8 (based on the assessment rubric shown in the attached table) on three class assignments and one examination problem.
b)
EECE 490B
Students must demonstrate their ability to design and conduct experiments, and analyze experimental data by:
8
• • • •
Writing a Product Test Plan that defines what parameters will be tested Describing the procedures that will be used to take the needed measurements Listing all equipment and software that will be required to perform the tests Describing how test data will be analyzed.
To pass, a student must receive a grade of at least 71% on the Test Plan, Test Results, and Test Analysis assignments.
c)
EECE 344
Students must demonstrate their ability to design and verify assigned specifications by designing, constructing, testing and demonstrating a single board microcomputer that can perform audio frequency data acquisition as well as serial communication with another device. The instructor will assess each student’s ability to achieve this outcome by evaluating the student’s semester-long individual design and implementation project. To pass, a student must receive a grade of at least 68% on all design assignments in the course.
c)
EECE 315
Students were given design problems that had to be simulated with Orcad Pspice and constructed in Lab then comparing results between theoretical-simulation-laboratory findings. The students were also required to use Excel spreadsheets for analysis and design. A student will demonstrate successful completion of this outcome by achieving a score of 7 of 10 (based on the assessment rubric shown in the following table) on one or more design projects
d)
EECE 335
Each student must actively participate in a series of team-based writing and presentation assignments. The evaluation of these team-based assignments includes the following aspects:
• •
•
Research – Collaborative research and formulation of project concepts and plans Presentation – A team-based presentation, that describes the project concept and plan. Students are graded both on the overall presentation, and on their individual contributions. Documents – Three collaboratively generated documents: concept, requirements, and design
9
•
Participation – The instructor’s evaluation of each individual student’s successful and constructive participation in the group activities.
To pass, a student must receive a grade of at least 75% on the team participation and team contribution evaluations.
e)
EECE 490A EECE 490B
Students must demonstrate their ability to: • • • Identify a problem by successfully completing a concept document for a project Formulate a solution by successfully completing the technical requirements document for a project Solve a problem by successfully completing all design documents needed to build a project.
To pass, a student must receive a grade of at least 71% on the Test Plan, Test Results, and Test Analysis assignments. To pass, a student must receive a grade of at least 72% on the Project Concept, Technical Requirements, and Design documents.
f)
CIVL 495
Students are required to submit a written memo on a reading assignment concerning professional ethics. To pass, a student must receive a grade of at least 70% on the professional and ethical responsibilities memo.
g)
EECE 490A
Students must demonstrate their ability to communicate effectively by: • Giving one or more oral status reports • Submitting documents that are a part of the normal product development cycle. To assure that students in teams demonstrate satisfactory completion of this outcome: • Each student must give at least one oral status report during
10
the semester. • Each student must be responsible for one or more of the following documents: project concept, technical requirements, preliminary design, and project plan.
To pass, a student must receive a grade of at least 71% on each of the following: Oral Status Report, Project Concept document, and Technical Requirements document.
h)
CIVL 495
Students are required to submit a written memo on a reading assignment concerning the effects of engineering on society in a global context. The article may focus on such issues as war and weapons of mass destruction, environmental pollution, international bribery, and energy. To pass, a student must receive a grade of at least 70% on the global and societal issues memo.
i)
CIVL 495
Students are required to submit a written memo on a reading assignment concerning the effects of engineering on society in a global context. The article may focus on such issues as war and weapons of mass destruction, environmental pollution, international bribery, and energy. To pass, a student must receive a grade of at least 70% on the lifelong learning memo.
j)
CIVL 495
Students are required to submit a written memo on a reading assignment concerning contemporary issues such as overseas outsourcing for engineering designs, the Columbia accident, or engineering contract awards in Iraq. To pass, a student must receive a grade of at least 70% on the contemporary issues memo.
k)
EECE 343
Students must demonstrate their ability to use modern engineering tools by:
•
Applying PSpice to design, analyze and simulate electronic circuits.
11
•
VDHL Programming on computer interface circuit design
To pass, a student must receive a grade of at least 82%% on the MATLAB assignment, and 75% on the PSpice assignment and 100% on the LogicAid/LogicWorks assignment.
k)
EECE 365
Assessment will be based on an evaluation of class assignments and that requires demenstration of proficiency in programming with MATLAB and writing codes to evaluate and test systems A student will demonstrate successful completion of this outcome by achieving a score of 5 of 10 (based on the assessment rubric shown in the attached table) on MATLAB programming assignments
Embedded Assessment Components: Identified elements of selected courses are used to measure, on average, student proficiency at attaining learning outcomes. Although the assessment is embedded in those selected courses, it is not solely the responsibility of such courses to provide the corresponding outcomes. Rather, it is a collective responsibility of the program, including all prior courses for which each outcome is a component. The measure of outcome assessment varies as appropriate to the course and to the outcome. The program faculty review assessment summaries on a yearly basis. Programmatic changes are considered as applicable, and the effectiveness of the assessment is also evaluated and modified as warranted. The assessment components include: Metric: The measure of student proficiency (e.g., a quantitative or qualitative measure of achievement on an assignment or test question which emphasizes the target outcome) Rubric: Evaluative conclusions versus corresponding descriptions of achievement level (e.g., highest score represents mastery) Standard: Evaluative result that represents minimally acceptable achievement of proficiency This link describes the course embedded assessment components for each outcome. The same assessment Metric used for programmatic assessment is also used to assess achievement by individual students. Each student must achieve the score represented by the Standard. Students failing to demonstrate proficiency will be required to undertake remedial tasks, until the proficiency is attained. This additional course requirement is clearly identified in the syllabus of each course used for direct assessment of ABET outcomes.
12