1. Departmental Mission and Academic Assessment Goals
The mission of the Department of Electrical Engineering is to prepare students for the future by providing a quality electrical engineering education. In accordance with this mission, specific achievement goals are delineated, and a program is described for the assessment of academic outcomes.
The assessment program is designed to monitor and improve the academic program, and it is prepared in accord with guidelines as provided by the North-Central Association (NCA) and the Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The program is designed to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum, not to assess each student. Great care will be taken to insure that individ ual students are not intimidated or threatened by the assessment tools.
2. The Undergraduate Program
a. Departmental Goals
The faculty believes that each electrical engineering student must:
€Acquire a strong knowledge base in mathematics, basic science and engineering science as the foundation for lifelong learning.
€Acquire the ability to use this knowledge base, and to apply engineering skills to the creative solution of problems.
€Acquire the ability to communicate effectively.
These requirements are consistent with a consolidation of the eleven accrediting criteria found in ABET¹s proposed Engineering Criteria 2000. The level of knowledge that is accepted as a "strong knowledge base" is determined by the faculty as reflected in the design of the direct measures of assessment.
The faculty of the Department of Electrical Engineering concurs with, supports, and maintains the ABET criteria as a set of department goals pertaining to student learning outcomes. Additionally, the department calls upon the knowledge of its External Advisory Committee (EAC) to maintain contact with that portion of its constituency that employs our graduates. The EAC periodically reviews the depart ment¹s goals and fully concurs with those listed above.
The rationale for these goals is expressed as follows:
€Graduates entering the electrical engineering profession are confronted with the highest rate of technology turnover of any engineering discipline. In less than five years after graduation from a baccalaureate program, an electrical engineer will find it necessary to utilize technology that did not exist when that engineer was in college. Today¹s EE students will need to use every learning technique from self-study to distance learning courses to stay current with the extraordinarily rapid changes in technology. To take advantage of the wide range of study methods available, all engineers must have learned the fundamental con cepts of mathematics and science upon which their knowledge of engineering is built.
€ Although some of our students assume challenging
and rewarding careers in non engineering areas of industry, the
faculty¹s purpose is to educate practicing engineers. This means that
our students must be adept at analysis and synthesis; they must be able
to make appropriate judgments relating to social and environ mental impact,
aesthetics, economics and ethical considerations.
€ The department¹s EAC has confirmed that
engineers are expected to work in multi disciplinary teams where
communication among the members and knowledge of team management principles
are vital. Proper documentation of work done and in progress is necessary.
Engineers in all segments of industry must be able to communicate their
ideas and to work together effectively. This requires not only effective
oral and written communication, but also the use of computer based
graphical and information systems.
b. Assessment Measures
Two direct assessment methods and one indirect method have been devised for evaluation of the undergraduate program. These particular methods have been selected to permit the economical evaluation of all students at four well spaced points in their careers. The entire program spans a six year period, from beginning engineering student, to young practicing engineer.
Measures for Outcome #1 Acquire a strong knowledge
base in mathematics, basic science and engineering science as the
foundation for lifelong learning.
i) Administer standard EOY (end of year) assessment
examinations in both the fresh man and sophomore years. The department has
recently added two new courses (EE111 and EE211), one each at the freshman
and sophomore levels. Both courses are required of all students and both
are oriented toward defining, reviewing, and assessing the skills and
knowledge required for further progress toward a degree in electrical
engineering. These courses provide appropriate and economical
environ ments for conducting such assessment examinations. The material of
the exams will be divided into seven areas, with questions developed by the
faculty to determine if the students display the desired knowledge base in
each area. Scores will be reviewed by an assessment committee, and
recommendations for change will be forwarded to the department chair and
the undergraduate curriculum committee.
These examinations will be administered such that the faculty cannot identify specific scores with individual students; thus, no individual student is at risk in any way. Each student will learn his or her own score, however, in each area of study, and the student can seek remedial work in any area with a low score.
The freshman EOY examination will be administered as part of EE111. These will comprise questions about the basic mathematics skills expected by the end of the first year of study and will serve to generate an information profile on incoming students. The sophomore EOY examination will be administered as part of EE211. These will contain questions regard ing the basic circuit analysis skills expected by the end of the second year of study. Using the procedure as described, this result will check basic knowledge and provide feed back on strengths and weaknesses at a midpoint in the program.
ii) Use a standard list of criteria to evaluate the student reports from our capstone senior design projects. A group of faculty will judge the presentation of each group with evaluations in the following areas:
€ The demonstration of a strong
knowledge base.
€ The demonstrated ability to apply
knowledge to a new situation.
€ The ability to effectively use reference materials.
€ The ability to effectively
communicate ideas.
A questionnaire tailored for obtaining information regarding the degree of
group interaction and commun ication will also be administered to each
student at the conclusion of the design project.
The scores will be reviewed in each area to identify areas that need to be improved. Recommendations will again be forwarded to the department chair and the undergraduate curriculum committee.
iii) Survey all departmental alumni three years after graduation. These annual surveys will be started as a questionnaire to be developed by the department. Alumni will be questioned about the adequacy of basic knowledge and the ability to adjust to new situations. They will be asked to provide specific examples of situations that pertain to these answers. The results will be evaluated with a search for patterns in the response that may indicate areas of strength or weakness. The survey will also provide a check on career choices in electrical engineering and the degree of success in acquiring lifelong learning skills.
c. Assessment Measures Outcome #2
Acquire the ability to use this knowledge
base, and to apply engineering skills to the creative solution of
problems.
(See i, ii, and iii above)
d. Assessment Measures Outcome #3
Acquire the ability to communicate effectively.
(See ii above)
e. Assessment Use
Statistical results of the EOY examinations will be compiled. Any consistent patterns of shortcomings will guide curricular modification decisions. These results can also be used by each student to evaluate his or her own performance in each of the various scored areas, and the student can then seek remedial work in any area. The assessment committee will evaluate these results and make recommendations that are forwarded to the department chair and the undergraduate curriculum committee.
Basic knowledge, the ability to creatively apply knowledge to new situations, teamwork, industrial interaction, and communication skills associated with the senior design projects will be examined using the project reports, oral presentations, and questionnaires. The reports prepared by the student design teams will be evaluated in all of these areas with evaluation to detect strengths and weaknesses. The evaluations will be performed by a capstone course committee, and recommendations will be forwarded to the department chair and the faculty.
Summaries of the results of the alumni surveys will be used to evaluate strengths and weaknesses in the program and to guide decisions concerning course content, curriculum revisions, and modifications of depart mental goals. The assessment committee will make recommendations that are forwarded to the department chair and the faculty.
f. Administration and Implementation Schedule
The Assessment Committee, the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and the Graduate Committee, will administer this assessment program with the assis tance of the entire faculty. These committees will continually review the effectiveness of the assessment program and will recommend modifications to the program as necessary. They will also analyze the results of the assessment to determine what changes in the curriculum are desirable.
The annual standard EOY assessment examinations will begin in the spring of 1997. The implementation will occur in existing one‹credit courses (EE111 and EE211).
The capstone design courses will be initiated (with a small group of students) in the 1997‹98 academic year. These courses will be required of all senior students in subsequent years. A provisional questionnaire will be administered to the trial group of students at the end of the spring quarter in 1998; the entire senior class will be included a year later.
The first alumni questionnaire will be prepared and mailed in the 1996‹97 academic year and then repeated annually.
g. Faculty Participation and Support
Successful implementation of this plan requires the active support
and participation of departmental faculty in all aspects of the program.
In January, 1996, the department adopted as part of its strategic
initiatives, the goal to "implement a departmental plan for assessing
student academic success." Faculty have been involved in the
preparation, revision, and approval of this plan.
3. M.S. in Electrical Engineering
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