1. Neelam Soundarajan Chair, Undergrad Studies Comm. CSE Department
Accreditation Evaluation of the BS-CSE Program Presentation to the External Advisory Board May 27, 2011
Neelam Soundarajan
Chair, Undergrad Studies Comm.
CSE Department

2. Background
Undergrad programs in CoE: Accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Comm. (EAC)
BS-CSE: Also accredited by the Computing Accreditation Comm. (CAC)
EAC & CAC: part of the Accreditation Board for Engineering & Tech. (ABET)

3. Background (contd.) Standard term of accreditation: 6 yrs
Last evaluation: Au 2005
Hence: Due for re-evaluation in Au 2011
Rest of college also up for re-evaluation.

4. To Be Accredited a BS-CSE Program Must:
Meet a set of criteria specified by EAC;
Meet a set of criteria specified by CAC;
Submit a detailed self-study that shows this (due: June '11);
Host "evaluation team" for a three-day site visit (Autumn '11; typically in October);
Enable team to evaluate various aspects of the program/ dept./ college/ university.

5. But ... It is NOT what you may think it is!
Some highly reputed universities have had problems with ABET accreditation ...
While programs at lesser known schools have sailed through!
It is NOT about your ranking or how good your program is or even how good your curriculum is;
It is all about whether you meet the letter and intent of the EAC and CAC Criteria

6. Our Goal for the Evaluation
Our goal: Get an "NGR" with no deficiencies, weaknesses, or even concerns
And do this during the initial evaluation following the site-visit (rather than in the "due process" as happened last time)

7. The Problem Criteria Are related to: Program Objectives
Program Outcomes; and, especially:
Assessments
Continuous improvement
Other criteria are about curriculum, advising and other support for students, facilities, etc.

8. Criteria Requirements
Program Objectives (ABET definition): statements that describe career & professional accomplishments that the program is preparing graduates to achieve in 3-5 years following graduation. That is rather different from what you might expect prog. obj. to mean; we revised our obj. a couple of years ago to match this definition

9. Our current program objectives:
Graduates of the program will be employed in the computing profession, and will be engaged in learning, understanding, and applying new ideas and technologies as the field evolves.
Graduates with an interest in, and aptitude for, advanced studies in computing will have completed, or be actively pursuing, graduate studies in computing.
Graduates will be informed and involved members of their communities, and responsible engineering and computing professionals.
Comments? Suggestions?

10. Criteria Requirements (contd)
Program must have:
Documented, measurable objectives;
A process involving various constituents in which the objectives are determined & periodically evaluated.
A process of ongoing eval. of the extent of achievement of the objectives & use the results to improve the program.

11. What we have:
Process: We obtain input--via college- adminstered survey--from alumni about:
appropriateness of our objectives; (mostly positive)
how well they have met the objectives; (mostly positive)
Process: Input from current students (via Annual Forums and student reps on Undergrad Comm.)
Process: Input from External Adv. Board (this presentation)

12. Criteria Requirements (contd)
Program Outcomes (ABET definition): statements that describe what students should know/be able to do by graduation.

13. Criteria Requirements (contd)
Program must have:
Outcomes that foster attainment of program objectives;
Assessment process with documented results to measure the degree to which outcomes are being achieved.
Evidence that the assessment results are used to further develop the program.

14. Some of our outcomes: Students in the program will attain:
an ability to analyze a problem, and identify and define the computing requirements appropriate to its solution;
an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams;
an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences;
an understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security and social issues and responsibilities;
These are all taken (more or less) verbatim from the EAC/CAC-specified outcomes.

15. Assessment/Cont. Improvement
POCAT: Multiple-choice Exit exam that students take one or two quarters before graduation;
Questions are suggested by faculty involved with the various higher-level required courses;
UGSC discusses the results and passes on the comments to faculty
Faculty discuss them and propose needed improvements

16. Assessment/Cont. Imp. (contd)
For societal issues: Paper in CSE 601, evaluated using a rubric; need to document the results, identify possible improvements;
For "soft-skills" (team-work etc.): Activities in capstone design courses, evaluated using rubrics; need to document the results, identify possible improvements;

17. Details of the Evaluation
Have to submit self-study by June 30 (Self-study has to document how the program meets the criteria requirements and provide some other information about OSU etc.)
An evaluation team consisting of a CAC team chair, a CAC evaluator, and an EAC evaluator will conduct an on-site visit (late October?) (The EAC evaluator is part of the bigger EAC team visiting the college.)

18. Main purpose of the site visit
Talk to faculty, advisors, etc. to get a feel for the program
Talk to administration about resource issues etc.
Talk to current students to get their views on the program
Examine course materials (course notes, assignments, projects, exams, and samples of student work)

19. Results
At the end of the site visit: An exit interview where the team will present its (preliminary) findings
EAC and CAC will send us draft statements (typically within 4-6 weeks of visit)
We have 30 days to respond to any problems identified in the draft statement
Final results in Summer '12

20. Results (contd.) Possible final results:
NGR: next general review (the best)
IR: interim report (not so good)
IV: interim visit (even worse)
let us now talk about the rest!
One complication: Switch to semesters
Plan: Describe, in detail, what we plan to do;
Persuade team that the program will work well under semesters and, hence, should get NGR

21. Questions? Comments to: neelam@cse Thanks!