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Learning and Teaching > Program Assessment > Process to achieve outcomes

 

IMSE Response (12/7/05)

 i.      Organization - how are departments organized for continuous assessment/improvement of learning? 
* The Faculty and Curriculum, Assessment, and Standards Committee (CASCOM) are the focal points for addressing continuous assessment/improvement of learning issues, working closely with other constituencies.

ii.      Objectives - What processes do you use to develop and review objectives (course, program)?
The program objectives are developed and periodically evaluated by the faculty and other constituencies. Course objectives include ABET outcome items, and the outcome items are assessed by the faculty and other constituencies. The following diagram depicts the continuous improvement process.

Diagram 1. Continuous improvement process for the program objectives and outcomes

 

iii.      Assessment Measures - direct vs. indirect, qualitative vs. quantitative, what groups/constituencies, what rubrics
* The assessment measures being used range from surveys and focus groups to rubrics. Constituencies include the students, faculty, alumni, and industry stakeholders. The rubrics are primarily course-oriented with three performance criteria for each rubric.

iv.      Continuous Improvement - What changes have been made in your program as result of your assessment feedback process?

* Various efforts for improvement are being made. For example, based on the input from the students and alumni, to improve the global enterprise perspectives (ABET Outcome Item O), we are team-teaching a global supply chain course project with University of Strathclyde, Scotland, Monterrey Institute of Technology, Mexico, and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.

v.      Documentation and Dissemination - This would be primarily the web record of our objectives, processes, and results.

* We are currently documenting our efforts for improvement and the improved results. We have disseminated some of these in the annual national conferences of IIE (May 2005) and ASEE (June 2005).

vi.      College role - What could the college do to help with portfolios, out-year assessments, data analysis and tools, etc.?

* The college could facilitate a practice ABET visit, a workshop of undergraduate programs (to learn from each program), a meeting with an ABET expert (Q&A).