Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology

Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology (DCEIT) Assessment Summary Report for 2008

Overview

The Donaghey College of Information Science and Systems Engineering (DCEIT) is comprised of six departments. Four of these departments (Computer Science, Information Science, Engineering Technology, and Systems Engineering) are currently accredited by various commissions within the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The Construction Management program is accredited by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE). The graduate level Applied Science program is not accredited. This is the norm for graduate programs.

Both Information Science and Computer Science did a self-study for ABET this past year and were awarded with an accreditation for a three year period. Engineering Technology received a six-year accreditation in 2006. Systems Engineering is currently working on their self-study and will be visited by ABET this fall for reaccreditation.

ABET serves the public through the promotion and advancement of education in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. ABET will:

• Accredit educational programs.
• Promote quality and innovation in education.
• Consult and assist in the development and advancement of education worldwide in a financially self-sustaining manner.
• Communicate with our constituencies and the public regarding activities and accomplishments.
• Anticipate and prepare for the changing environment and the future needs of constituencies.
• Manage the operations and resources to be effective and fiscally responsible.

ABET accreditation is assurance that a college or university program meets the quality standards established by the profession for which it prepares its students. For example, an accredited engineering program must meet the quality standards set by the engineering profession. An accredited computer science program must meet the quality standards set by the computing profession.

The quality standards programs must meet to be ABET-accredited are set by the ABET professions themselves. This is made possible by the collaborative efforts of many different professional and technical societies. These societies and their members work together through ABET to develop the standards, and they provide the professionals who evaluate the programs to make sure they meet those standards. This year faculty from Computer Science, Engineering Technology and Systems Engineering all attended ABET accreditation meetings.

The Department of Construction Management is currently working on their accreditation self-study. They are due for their visit by their accrediting agency, American Council for Construction Education (ACCE), this fall of 2009. The mission of the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) is to be a leading global advocate of quality construction education programs and to promote, support, and accredit quality construction education programs. Through promotion and continued improvement of postsecondary construction education, ACCE accredits construction education programs in colleges and universities that request its evaluation and meet its standards and criteria. ACCE is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as the accrediting agency for four year baccalaureate degree programs in construction, construction science, construction management, and construction technology, and as the accrediting agency for two year associate-degree programs of a like nature.

The mission of ACCE is to be a leading global advocate of quality construction education; and to promote, support, and accredit quality construction education programs.

The purpose or purposes for which the corporation is formed are:

• Promote and improve construction education and research at the postsecondary level
• Engage in accrediting construction education programs offered by colleges and universities
• Maintain procedures consistent with policies and procedures established by other accreditation agencies to which the corporation may belong
• Publish current information concerning criteria and procedures adopted by the corporation for accrediting
• Report the results of its activities
• List the colleges and universities which have or are seeking accredited programs of study in construction
• Review at regular intervals the criteria which the corporation has adopted to evaluate programs in construction education
• Do any and all things necessary to carry out the purposes and conduct the business of the corporation as authorized by law

The ACCE also has clear stipulations regarding program quality and outcome assessment. The Construction Management department is able to use the strict accreditation requirements and their relationship to the American Institute of Constructors - Constructor Certification Commission Level One examination for program assessment and evaluation. The ACCE accreditation process requires specific areas of instruction in order to meet accreditation requirements. These specific areas of instruction are directly related to the test content for the Level One Associate Constructor Exam. Thus all students in the Construction Management major have to take the exam and hard data is the result. This hard data results from the Level One Associate Constructor Exam helps Construction Management assess its program.

Accreditation is essential for the survival of DCEIT. Accreditation assures that a program has met quality standards set by the profession. To parents, employers, graduate schools, and licensure, certification, and registration boards, graduation from an accredited program signifies adequate preparation for entry into the profession. In fact, many of these groups require graduation from an accredited program as a minimum qualification. Whether you study applied science, computing, engineering, or technology, ABET accreditation is an important indicator of your program’s commitment to quality and may be a key to your professional future.

The assessment activities undertaken by the college’s departments in 2008 show a genuine commitment to ensure that their programs are of the highest caliber and maintain their accreditation. The DCEIT’s assessment committee met throughout the year to make sure that each department worked to assess their program goals through correctly addressing their learning objectives and outcomes.

Summary of Main Findings for Individual Programs

Construction Management (Download Report)

As an American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) accredited program, the department is able to use the strict accreditation requirements and their relationship to the American Institute of Constructors - Constructor Certification Commission Level One examination for program assessment and evaluation. The ACCE accreditation process requires specific areas of instruction in order to meet accreditation requirements. These specific areas of instruction are directly related to the test content for the Level One Associate Constructor Exam.

The CNMG Department focused on one of their learning outcomes/ objectives this year. The following is the one they focused on.

1. The ability to apply the knowledge of mathematics, physical sciences, construction science, and business fundamentals to manage the construction process.

The department worked with Professor Guellich of the Mathematics Department to develop content for MATH 1311 Applied Calculus and CM students are being encouraged to use this course to satisfy the higher level mathematics requirement. Various construction management classes were analyzed by a variety of ways. Exams, projects, written reports and oral reports were all used to analyze the above program objectives. The conclusions that were drawn and what to do about it were that (1) communication skills have improved from previous semester. The use of assignments and activities involving will be maintained. (2) The students’ problem solving and computational skills are poor. The department is considering the introduction of a lower level course to increase the student’s competency in this area.

Computer Science (Download Report)

The Computer Science Department was visited by ABET this past fall of 2007 and received a 3-year accreditation. The Department of Computer Science seeks to prepare students for careers as computer scientists in business and industry, to train students in software and hardware design and development, and to prepare students for advanced study in computer science.

To measure the students’ success the department has four program objectives that need to be satisfied. The four program objectives are:

1. Prepare students for careers as computer scientists in business and industry
2. Train students in software design and development
3. Train students in hardware design and development
4. Prepare students for advanced study in computer science.

Upon graduation the Computer Science student should be able to satisfy the program goals of the department. The departmental program goals that students should be able to do are:

1. Be capable of problem-solving
2. Be capable of formulating algorithmic solutions to a wide variety of problems normally encountered in real-world computing and also in academe
3. Be capable of expressing their algorithms in at least one of several of the most important computer languages currently in use in academic and local computing environments.
4. Have a sufficient overview of the main subject areas of computer science, so that they can make intelligent decisions as to their future consideration of graduate education.
5. Have mastery of the theoretical underpinnings of computer science at graduation
6. Ability to function both individually and as part of a development team. 
7. Ability to convey technical material in writing and through interacting with an audience in an oral presentation.
8. Understanding professional, legal, and ethical responsibilities.

For this year, the departmental assessment goals were to take some of the suggestions of the visiting ABET re-accreditation team made. Basically their assessment for this year falls into two categories and includes:

1. Formalize program ‘area’ review process

   1. Four program area assessment teams were formed and charged with a formal evaluation of the four major program areas identified. These faculty groups include the programming fundamentals, systems, theory and introductory courses groups.
   2. Each of these committees were tasked with undertaking a holistic evaluation of the contents and student performances across various courses that contained appropriate materials to aid the student to effectively learn and master various issues in these respective areas.
   3. Each group produced a report that will be further reviewed by the departmental ABET visit preparation committee.

2. Refine and formalize Employer/alumni feedback mechanism

   1. It was identified that there was no stable alumni database for us to solicit alumni comments through the mailing of surveys. Comments from alumni were through some alumni who belonged to our advisory board and through personal contacts with some faculty members.
   2. The advisory board is being revamped to allow for better employer participation.
   3. An alumni focus group was held on 12/7/2006 to solicit alumni comments directly. Concerns / Suggestions from Alumni Focus Group

Engineering Technology (Download Report)

The Engineering Technology Department was just visited by it’s ABET accrediting team in 2006. Thus they have an up to date self-study and all of their goals, sub-goals and learning objectives are measured. From their ABET accreditation and UALR a “First-Year Experience” course is needed by each department. The Department of Engineering Technology offers both baccalaureate and associate degrees in Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET) and Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET). Both of these degrees are accredited by the Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (TAC/ABET). Both programs share a number of common courses. ECET 1302 (Introductory Experience in Technology and Computers) is one such course. In 2008 this course was a focus of the department’s assessment activities.

ECET 1302 is a semester-long course with two hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week. This course has no prerequisites and in most cases this is the first course that students take in the department. It is a project-based experiential learning course, designed to introduce students to modern technology through hands-on laboratory activities, team work, cooperative learning, and problem solving.

Based on prior offerings, data have been collected to evaluate the effectiveness of the course in stimulating student interest in the engineering field. The students are surveyed several times during the course to determine their difficulties and aptitude for the subject matter. The beginning survey collects background information on the students, which serves as a benchmark, and is used to assign team members. The mid-semester survey assesses their conceptual difficulties, and provides feedback regarding the pace of the course. The final survey has multiple questions and they are designed to evaluate various aspects of the course including course content, course speed, laboratory exercises, homework, quizzes, math usage, in-context learning approach, hands-on experience, and more importantly the motivational aspect of the course.

Information Science (Download Report)

The Information Science Department was visited by ABET in the fall of 2007 to be accredited under the Information Systems option. They received a 3-year accreditation and thus adopted a 3 year assessment cycle for curriculum quality assurance that includes more direct measures of student achievement. It is their goal that this revised assessment cycle will better evaluate how well our IFSC students are achieving key performance criteria associated with our stated learning outcomes which will enable our students to accomplish the educational objectives of our program. Assessment data collected from this process will be analyzed and the results reported as part of the department’s annual report. This data will also be used by the faculty to generate action plans for improving the undergraduate program.

This past year, the Information Science completed the following assessment activities:

1. In May 2008, assessment data was collected on seniors’ communication (oral and written) and team work performance. These assessment measures coincide with the following two ABET Criteria:

   • An ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal;
   • An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences;

IFSC faculty evaluated students in IFSC 4398: Capstone Project II based on their working relationships, quality of Capstone Project Presentation, and the quality of their Capstone Final Report. Rubrics were used to record the IFSC faculty’s ratings in the areas of oral communication skills and written communication skills. Students used a team work rubric to rate their team mates on their performance working in a group.

2. During the summer, the assessment data was analyzed. The results are included in the Appendix section of this report.
3. Based on the results, several action items were initiated including (1) updating the content and delivery of the senior exit survey, (2) surveying faculty on how they incorporate team and communication skills into their courses, and (3) starting a dialog whereby faculty can share ideas on improving students’ communication and team skills.
4. Advisory Council Activities: Faculty met with its Advisory Council twice during the 2008-2009 year. The Fall meeting was devoted to generating ideas for the types of computing skills (both hard and soft) that our students need to master during the completion of their degree plans (ABET Criteria I). The Spring meeting will be devoted to generating ideas as to how best to incorporate ABET criteria concerning the understanding of processes that support information system delivery and the impact of computing into our curriculum (ABET Criteria G and J).
5. At the end of the Spring 2009 semester, the Information Science Department will collect a second set of assessment measures corresponding to ABET Criteria:
   • An ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate 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.
6. In addition to the ABET criteria to be evaluated under item #5, the department plans to administer a new Senior Exit Survey. The survey will be enhanced to better collect students’ plans for continuing education (ABET Criteria H). We are also working with Computer Science to develop a joint assessment effort to measure ABET Criteria E which evaluates our students’ ability to apply ethical reasoning to their technology decisions.

Systems Engineering (Download Report)

Beginning with the fall 2005 semester, the Systems Engineering Department has instituted a four-year program objective assessment process cycle. For the first three calendar years of this cycle, three or four program outcomes are examined in depth, while the last year of the cycle is reserved for assessing the results of implementing the identified needed changes, process called “closing the loop”. The last year of the cycle, 2008, was dedicated for evaluating the results of the implemented changes at both departmental and individual course levels. These results were presented in their annual assessment report.

The Systems Engineering Department assessment process is performed using evaluation of student preparation through regular course grades, lab teamwork, and capstone design project courses, student portfolios, academic advisement, prerequisite testing, faculty meeting and retreats, Advisory Council Meetings, teaching evaluations, and student, alumni, and employer surveys. Program and curriculum deficiencies may be identified by the faculty as a result of their assessment of student learning in the end-of-the-semester course objective evaluations. Capstone design courses are a major milestone and present an opportunity to assess all 11 program outcomes.