1. Neeraj Mittal September 29, 2017
ABET Overview
Neeraj Mittal
September 29, 2017

2. Review of ABET Requirements and Assessment Processes
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

3. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
ABET Requirements
University, School and Department have mission statements
A program has educational objectives
Broad statements that describe what students of the program are expected to attain within a few years of their graduation
A program has student outcomes
Describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of their graduation
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

4. Mission Statement, Educational Objectives and Student Outcomes
Part of undergraduate catalog:
Educational Objectives and Student Outcomes also available on department’s website:

5. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
Mission Statement
The mission of the Department of Computer Science is to prepare undergraduate and graduate students for productive careers in industry, academia, and government by providing an outstanding environment for teaching, learning, and research in the theory and applications of computing. The Department places high priority on establishing and maintaining innovative research programs to enhance its education quality and make it an important regional, national and international resource center for discovering, integrating and applying new knowledge and technologies.
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

6. Bachelors in Computer Science (BSCS) PrograM
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

7. Educational Objectives
Graduates should have a successful, long-lived, computer science based career path
Graduates should meet the needs of industry or academia
Graduates should contribute to, and/or lead, computer science based teams
Graduates should actively pursue continuing learning
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

8. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
Student Outcomes
An ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to program’s student outcomes and to the discipline
An ability to analyze a problem, and identify and define the computing requirements appropriate to its solution
An ability to design, implement and evaluate a computer-based system, process, component, or program to meet desired needs
An ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

9. Student Outcomes (Contd.)
An understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security, and social issues and responsibilities
An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
An ability to analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations and society
Recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in, continuing professional development
An ability to use current techniques, skills, and tools necessary for computing practices
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

10. Student Outcomes (Contd.)
An ability to apply mathematical foundations, algorithmic principles, and computer science theory in the modeling and design of computer-based systems in a way that demonstrates comprehension of the tradeoffs involved in design choices
An ability to apply design and development principles in the construction of software systems of varying complexity
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

11. Bachelors in SoftwaRe Engineering (BSSE) PrograM
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

12. Educational Objectives
Graduates should have a successful, long-lived, software engineering based career path
Graduates should meet the needs of industry or academia
Graduates should contribute to, and/or lead, software engineering based teams
Graduates should actively pursue continuing learning
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

13. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
Student Outcomes
An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
An ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
An ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

14. Student Outcomes (Contd.)
An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
An ability to communicate effectively
The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
A recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

15. Student Outcomes (Contd.)
A knowledge of contemporary issues
An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

16. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
Program ASSESSMENT
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

17. Assessing Student Outcomes
We use two ways to evaluate the level of attainment of student outcomes regularly:
Using course learning outcomes (CLOs):
Course assessment sheets are filled by instructors every semester
Instructor objectively assesses each CLO of the course
Senior exit survey: conducted every year by the Office of Assessment
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

18. CLOs for CS 3305 (Discrete Mathematics for Computing II)
Ability to recognize and construct proofs
Ability to recognize and use equivalence relations and partial orderings
Ability to use recursive definitions and solve recurrence relations
Ability to understand advanced counting methods
Ability to understand graph theory and basic graph algorithms
Ability to use tree terminology and basic tree algorithms
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

19. Assessing Student Outcome
Each student outcome is mapped to a set of performance criteria
Student Outcome
Performance Criteria
An ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to program’s student outcomes and to the discipline
Develop an algorithm to solve a computing problem
Demonstrate the correctness of a computer algorithm using fundamental mathematical and computing principles
Analyze the complexity of a computer algorithm using fundamental mathematical and computing techniques
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

20. Assessing Performance Criterion
Each performance criterion is mapped to a set of course learning outcomes from multiple courses
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

21. Performance Criterion Courses Learning Outcomes Used
Courses Used
Courses Learning Outcomes Used
Analyze the complexity of a computer algorithm using fundamental mathematical and computing techniques
CS 2305: Discrete Mathematics for Computing I
CLO 3: Ability to understand what an algorithm is, use algorithms, use Big-O notation and algorithmic complexity
CLO 4: Ability to use basic counting techniques
CS 3305: Discrete Mathematics for Computing II
CLO 3: Ability to use recursive definitions and solve recurrence relations
CLO 4: Ability to understand and apply advanced counting methods
CS 3345: Data Structures and Introduction to Algorithmic Analysis
CLO 1: Ability to use/analyze asymptotic notations, recurrences, algorithm analysis
CS 4349: Advanced Algorithm Design and Analysis
CLO 1: Ability to use asymptotic notations, solve recurrences, perform algorithm analysis
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

22. Assessing Student Outcomes
E.g., (a) An ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to the discipline
Performance Criteria
E.g., Develop an algorithm to solve a computing problem
E.g., Ability to design, analyze, and prove correctness of algorithms based on Divide-and-Conquer techniques
Course Learning Outcomes
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

23. Program IMPROVEMENTS in the CURRENT CYCLE
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

24. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
Program Improvements
Updated programming sequence courses
CS 0 (CS 1336: Programming Fundamentals): Focus on C
CS 1 (CS 1337: Computer Science I): Focus on C++
CS 2 (CS 2336: Computer Science II): Focus on Java
Added a new section of CS 2 with focus on C/C++ for transfer students
Separate sections of CS 0, CS 1 and CS 2 for non-major students
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

25. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
Program Improvements
Added a new Honors Programs:
CS2: Computer Science Computing Scholars
Separate honors sections for many core courses
CS 2305: Discrete Mathematics for Computing I
CS 3305: Discrete Mathematics for Computing II
CS 3345: Data Structures and Introduction to Algorithmic Analysis
CS 3340: Computer Architecture
CS 4341: Digital Logic and Computer Design
CS 4348: Operating Systems Concepts
CS 4349: Advanced Algorithm Design and Analysis
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

26. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
Program Improvements
Added two required core courses
CS/SE 3162 (1 credit hour): Professional Responsibility in Computer Science and Software Engineering
CS/SE 4347 (3 credit hours): Database Systems
ECS 1200 (Introduction to Engineering and Computer Science) replaced with two courses:
ECS 1100 (1 credit hour): Introduction to Engineering and Computer Science
CS 1200 (2 credit hours): Introduction to Computer Science and Software Engineering
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

27. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
Program Improvements
Significantly expanded tutoring help
Computer Science Mentor Center (CSMC) headed by Dr. Linda Morales
Provides help for several lower division courses:
Walk-in Tutoring
Group Study
Homework/Project Help
Examination Review
Examination Rework
Diagnostic Examinations
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

28. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
Program Improvements
Revised pre-requisite of several courses:
CS 2305 (Discrete Mathematics for Computing I): Score of at least 75% in ALEKS, or C or better grade in MATH 2312 (Pre calculus)
CS/SE 3340 (Computer Architecture): C or better grade in CS 2305 (Discrete Mathematics for Computing I)
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

29. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
Program Improvements
Revised pre-requisite of several courses
Need C or better grade in lower division courses to take more advanced courses
CS/SE 4348 (Operating Systems Concepts): Must have passed CS/SE 3376 (C/C++ Programming in a UNIX Environment)
ECS 3361 (Social Issues and Ethics in Computer Science and Engineering): Junior Standing Required
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

30. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
Program Improvements
Re-aligned contents of CS/SE 3376 (C/C++ in a UNIX Environment) and CS/SE 4348 (Operating Systems Concepts)
Topics covered in CS/SE 3376: shell scripting, regular expressions, processes, inter-process communication, file system, I/O of binary files, version control system, etc.
Topics covered in CS/SE 4348: threads, concurrent programming, CPU scheduling, memory management, file management, disk scheduling, virtualization, etc.
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

31. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
Program Improvements
Instituted new attendance policy
Started pooling of teaching assistants
CS/SE 3345 (Data Structures and Introduction to Algorithmic Analysis)
CS 4349 (Advanced Algorithm Design and Analysis)
CS 4384 (Automata Theory)
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs

32. Assessment of Undergraduate Programs
More Information
Assessment details are available in the BSCS and BSSE self study reports:
Hard copies in faculty mail room
Soft copies at
These slides are available at
Assessment of Undergraduate Programs