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B. Accreditation Summary
1. Students
Students are evaluated, monitored and advised to provide the instruction and guidance required to successfully complete the Materials Engineering program. The system for evaluating, monitoring and advising students coordinates with and complements the college and university systems. In this section, the MSE department system for evaluating, monitoring, and advising students will be presented, followed by a reference to information on applicable college and university supporting systems.
Materials Science and Engineering Department Infrastructure
While all faculty participate in mentoring, evaluating and monitoring students, the department has three committees to coordinate these efforts. The Curriculum Committee is composed of a faculty member from each of the four areas of specialization (ceramics, electronics, metals and polymers), a representative coordinating assessment efforts and a student representative. The chair of this committee represents the department on the college curriculum committee. The Undergraduate Advising Committee is composed of the 3 designated advisors and the Assistant Chair for Undergraduate Programs to administer advising and aid in recruiting. The chair of this committee represents the department at the engineering college advising committee. The Student Affairs Committee is charged with managing extracurricular activities including professional societies, clubs and organizations. Additionally, the assistant chair of the department oversees these three committees and coordinates their efforts. Coordination of experiential education is also through the assistant chair and Engineering Career Services. A recruitment coordinator develops and executes recruitment plans. The department also has a representative to the college Academic Standards Committee which reviews cases related to academic withdrawal, dismissal, reinstatement and re-entry.
Evaluating Students in the MSE department
Evaluation is a multifaceted task. Evaluation in the form of formative assessment provides students with the feedback they need to develop and improve their learning strategies, it provides faculty the means to monitor their teaching practices, and finally provides the means for assigning grades based on performance. In individual classes, student learning is assessed through a variety of traditional and non-traditional, and formative and summative methods reflective of the variety of faculty and courses taught. These vary given the subject matter, the preference of the professor, and the competency being assessed. Methods include homework, quizzes, written, oral, and electronic (web pages) reports, self and peer evaluation and journals or portfolios. In some cases, external sources are also used including performance evaluations of work experiences and externally supported and evaluated design projects. Detailed discussion of these processes appears in B3. Program Outcomes and Assessment.
Evaluation of incoming students provides the basis for providing appropriate educational experiences and determining equivalency of experiences and courses. In the case of transfer students and students changing from previous catalogs, an "internal degree audit," which models the university form, is used to track course and credit substitutions and deficiencies. Transfer student evaluations for Materials Engineering courses are done in the departmental curriculum committee. Course materials, textbooks and student interviews are used to evaluate the level and content of the course. Evaluation of courses outside the department is done by transfer credit coordinators in the appropriate department. Transfer credit for materials courses for non-majors is evaluated for the major department by the curriculum committee chair. Transfer credit evaluation is discussed in more detail in B3 Program Outcomes and Assessment.
Student Monitoring in the MSE department
Students in the Materials Engineering program are monitored through a comprehensive student database which allows the tracking of the student experience from entry to graduation (and beyond). The following information is tracked:
Personal (school and home addresses, gender, ethnicity)
Academics (entry type, transfer history, reason for choosing MSE, areas of specialization, honors, awards, reason for leaving department (and where))
Schedule (entry date, projected graduation)
Test Scores (incoming ACT, SAT, outgoing GRE, FE, other professional exams)
Professional Experience (including co-op/ internships/ summer employment/ hourly lab research, international experience (either industrial or academic), special program participation, participation and/or leadership in clubs and organization, and permanent employment)
Competencies (currently being developed, including those competencies mapped to program outcomes a-k and Materials Engineering outcomes l-r))
Evaluations (including Advisor evaluates student, Student evaluates professional experience, Employer evaluates student)
This database also has a "company" section which tracks all interactions with companies and organizations including co-op placement, design project involvement, scholarship donors, and permanent placements.
The database is maintained by departmental staff. Database update forms allow the student, faculty, or advisor to submit changes to the staff. Reports can be generated for a single student or on departmental averages/profiles. This information is used to evaluate individual student progress as well as monitor program evolution. Reports on departmental averages and trends are used to guide the evaluation and development of recruiting and retention programs and cooperative education programs as well as tracking progress in meeting our performance objectives (see section B2 on Program Educational Objectives).
Additionally, student performance in classes is monitored through standard University tracking procedures in the form of department designed degree audits which include credits earned in 7 categories: 1. Basic Program, 2. Supporting Courses, 3. Materials Engineering Core, 4. Specialization Courses, 5. Social Science and Humanities Electives, 6. Technical Electives and 7. Free Electives. Student accomplishments and remaining requirements are listed for each area. The degree audit system is further discussed in Appendix II in "Advisement Degree Audits". Academic records are also available on line in a secure website for advisors.
Advising Student in the MSE department
The Materials Science and Engineering department places high value on advising its student body. Each student entering the program is assigned to one of the three faculty advisors. These advisors are each assigned approximately 30-35 students. One of the advisors is the ‘Lead Advisor’ who acts as a liaison between the department and the college advising system. In addition, the Assistant Chair for the undergraduate program acts as a resource person and provides assistance in honors student advising, international experiences, and experiential education programs. For students who enter ISU as declared majors, advising begins during summer orientation where they meet with the Asst. Chair to plan their first semester and future program. At this time the students are personally advised of their options and opportunities within the department (co-op, honors, international study, hourly work opportunities, available scholarships and the concurrent BS/MS program). The program outcomes and objectives are reviewed and discussed. The student is also given a departmental tour of the facilities and introduced to the staff and department chair. Advisors contact the students before they arrive on campus as freshmen and then a couple of times early in the semester. In their first meeting the students are supplied with a number of documents including the MSE undergraduate student handbook, a course flow chart showing sequence of courses and prerequisites, and the departmental vision document - the ‘MSE Roadmap’. As freshmen, the students are introduced to grade accounting and the degree credit tracking systems. This information packet will be available at the time of the visit.
The students as a group meet with the advisors in an "advisors round table" at one of the engineering orientation class periods (ENGR 101 for MSE students) to discuss their progress and/or concerns. The students meet with their advisors at least once every semester prior to pre-registration date. They review course planning for the following semester and evaluate their progress toward graduation with the help of the degree audit. In addition, a weekly departmental newsletter is delivered via e-mail and prominently posted to serve as reminders of important events, deadlines, and opportunities.
Students evaluate advisors at the end of every academic year through a survey form that they can complete anonymously. This survey asks students their impressions regarding knowledge, availability, reliability, approachability, organization, respect, and quality of advice and referrals. Students are also given the opportunity to reflect on the quality of advising during the senior exit interview and survey. A copy of these surveys will be available at the time of the visit.
Recent advisor survey results (Fall, 1999) show that students are extremely pleased with their advising experience with an overall rating of 4.5 (of 5.0). Students reported visiting their advisor an average of 4.5 times a semester. Because the survey was only completed by 20% of the students in the department, future efforts will include improving the feedback mechanism for a higher return rate. This will be accomplished by requiring the students to complete a feedback form before releasing their personal identification number for registration.
Retention is encouraged through a variety of programs focussed on the first two years. The department offers freshmen fellowships to outstanding freshmen. Students can participate in the "Learn and Earn" program as freshmen and sophomores. In this program, a student is paired with faculty. The student works in his/her research lab 5-10 hours/week and earns hourly wages. Additionally, a student-organized tutoring network has been established. Faculty in the department also actively participate in mentoring projects with the Program for Women and Science in Engineering and the Engineering Honors Program. Students are also encouraged to participate in a variety of learning communities. More information on Learning communities appears in Appendix II. The student computing facility also provides an informal atmosphere for students to interact. Additionally, a number of social events provide students the opportunity to interact with faculty, staff and each other in an informal atmosphere.
Recruitment of talented students is key to the success of the MSE department. Although the department has a designated recruitment coordinator, most faculty (and many students) are active participants in the recruitment effort. Faculty and students visit middle schools, high schools, and even elementary schools giving demonstrations and providing information about the field of Materials Science and Engineering. We provide incentives (paid travel expenses) for students to visit their alma mater high schools over holidays and semester breaks. We also take advantage of any opportunity on campus to reach potential students including presentations at "The Road Less Traveled" for girls interested in engineering, Engineering Honors workshops for high school students, "Minority Scholars Days", Scholars Days (for the academically high achieving) as well as taking a prominent role in many of the college’s recruitment efforts. In the 1998-1999 academic year, it is estimated that faculty participated in over 50 events for the purpose of recruitment of a diverse population of high achieving students. These demonstrations are consistently rated the highest among the departments in the engineering college.
College of Engineering
The College of Engineering supports departmental efforts in student evaluation, monitoring and advising through a number of procedures, policies and programs appearing in detail in Appendix II, including:
Admission to the College of Engineering
Admission of Students by Transfer from Other Institutions
Transfer Credit Practices
Students Transferring from Regionally Accredited Colleges and Universities
Students From Colleges and Universities which have Candidate Status
Students from Colleges and Universities Not Regionally Accredited
Students from Foreign Colleges and Universities
Students with Credit Obtained During Military Service
Students with Credit Obtained Through Non-Collegiate Sponsored Instruction
Students with Credit Obtained Through Correspondence Courses
College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
Students with Test-Out Credit
Articulation/Transfer Agreements
- Iowa Regents' Universities Articulation Agreement.
- Associate in Arts Articulation Agreement with Iowa community colleges.
- Vocational-technical credits from Iowa community colleges.
- CLEP credits from Iowa community colleges.
Iowa State University
Iowa State University supports departmental and college efforts in student evaluation, monitoring and advising through a number of procedures, policies and programs which appear in detail in Appendix II, including:
Student Evaluation, Monitoring and Advising at the
University Level
Degree Audit
General University Criteria for Admission
General High School Requirements and Deficiency Policy
Temporary Enrollment Status and Academic Dismissal
Reinstatement, Reentry
Learning Communities
Academic Success Center
Disability Resources
Tutoring – Individual Consultation
Academic Learning Lab
Supplemental Instruction
Student Counseling Service
Career Exploration Program
Individual Counseling, Computer Guidance Systems and
Career Exploration Library
Student Health Center
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