Course Level Assessment in the Context of ABET A Presentation for the Lumina Tuning Council Community College Committee January 6, 2011 Dr. LouAnn Berman Assistant Vice President for Assessment and Institutional Effectiveness

The Big Picture Courses completed at Community Colleges Lead to an EAC/ABET engineering degree at a baccalaureate granting institution So all assessment of programs and courses needs to be consistent with the expectations of ABET for engineering degrees

ABET Harmonized Criteria General Criteria 1.Students 2.Program Educational Objectives 3.Program Outcomes 4.Continuous Improvement 5.Curriculum 6.Faculty 7.Facilities 8.Institutional Support 9.Program Criteria

ABET Harmonized Criteria General Criteria 1.Students 2.Program Educational Objectives 3.Program Outcomes 4.Continuous Improvement 5.Curriculum 6.Faculty 7.Facilities 8.Institutional Support 9.Program Criteria Specifies expectations of the student several years after graduation, usually about five years.

ABET-EAC Baccalaureate Level General Criteria 1.Students 2.Program Educational Objectives 3.Program Outcomes 4.Continuous Improvement 5.Curriculum 6.Faculty 7.Facilities 8.Institutional Support 9.Program Criteria

ABET Harmonized Criteria General Criteria 1.Students 2.Program Educational Objectives 3.Program Outcomes 4.Continuous Improvement 5.Curriculum 6.Faculty 7.Facilities 8.Institutional Support 9.Program Criteria Defines the curriculum in broad terms. It does not specify the number of credit hours or specific courses.

ABET Harmonized Criteria General Criteria 1.Students 2.Program Educational Objectives 3.Program Outcomes 4.Continuous Improvement 5.Curriculum 6.Faculty 7.Facilities 8.Institutional Support 9.Program Criteria Specifies additional criteria that may exist for particular programs. Not all programs have program criteria.

The Building Blocks Course Learning Outcomes Program Outcomes Program Educational Objectives

Some Definitions  Program Objective—Expected accomplishments of graduates during the first several years of professional practice following graduation from the program.  Program Outcome—That which students are expected to know or be able to do by the time of graduation from the program.  Course Outcome—That which a student should be able to do at the end of a particular course

How the Pieces Fit EAC/ABET Program Accreditation SACS Accreditation Engineering Programs with Objectives and Outcomes SACS Accreditation Community College Transfer Coursework Community Colleges EAC/ABET Baccalaureate Programs

A Typical Assessment Flowchart

Forward—Backward Looking

Three Steps of Assessment  Articulate the goals for student learning  Gather evidence of student performance  Direct measures—exams, papers, projects  Indirect measures—asking students how well they learned, tracking job placement rates  Use the information for program improvement Walvoord, Barbara A., Assessment Clear and Simple: A Practical Guide for Institutions, Departments, and General Education, Jersey Bass, 2004.

An Example of the Plan Let’s use Calculus I and the follow-on courses as an example of the course assessment process.

An Interesting Thought From Gloria Rogers new blog: You don’t have to be good to get better.