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The Assessment Cookbook: Recipes for Successfully Meeting TC2K Criteria Gregory Neff, Susan Scachitti Purdue University Calumet

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The authors draw on their experience and training as TAC evaluators in sharing how they are preparing their programs for TC2K. This paper will point out sources of information on how to prepare for an accreditation visit and will discuss the recipe being used at Purdue University Calumet (PUC) to meet the TC2K criteria. Thus far, a continuous improvement culture has been cultivated with several measures that will be discussed in the paper. Ten new tools for assessment are being developed that fit within a continuous improvement paradigm. Course embedded assessment measures for student outcomes data are being formalized. Why rush? In fall of 2003 TC2K will be optional, but in fall of 2004, all programs will be evaluated under the new criteria.

Old Practices versus New

Past ABET accreditation was contingent upon successful completion of a questionnaire by an institution and their collection of exhibits that showed that students did relevant assignments to which educators had provided appropriate feedback. This information would be collected for approximately one year then reviewed by a visiting team of qualified evaluators who determined if the institution was adequately instructing individuals on skills and knowledge pertinent to their chosen profession. This method of evaluating an institutional program was based on a strict list of requirements (or one might call it a "proven recipe") that was believed to produce a professional ready to contribute to the work force. Unfortunately, this method of evaluating adherence to requirements had at least one major flaw. The evaluation schedule only required a review once every six years. Therefore, the evaluation was only truly based on a snapshot in time. The requirements adhered to during the years in-between visits were never looked at. However unintentional, it would be possible for institutions to be accredited without regularly meeting the minimum requirements that professions set as the standard for educational adequacy.

The new method of accreditation, TC2K, addresses this issue by requiring an institution to provide proof of continual ongoing assessment and improvement of their programs throughout the six-year period between evaluations. In other words, TC2K requires that institutions not only collect data for show (as was the focus of the old method) but also use this pertinent data to stay current, satisfy their constituents, and continuously make themselves better. One of the positive changes of TC2K is recognition that collecting exhibits of student work does not contribute to program improvement.

Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright ã 2002, American Society for Engineering Education

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Neff, G., & Scachitti, S. (2002, June), The Assessment Cookbook: Recipes For Successfully Meeting Tc2 K Criteria Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10812