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Session 2613

A Senior Exam to Assess the Learning of Core Competencies in a Chemical Engineering Curriculum R.E. Terry, W.V. Wilding, and J.N. Harb Department of Chemical Engineering Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 84602

Abstract

The Chemical Engineering Department faculty at Brigham Young University have identified a set of core competencies that we feel provide the foundation for problem solving in chemical engineering. To assist in our assessment of student learning of these core competencies we have developed a Core Competency Exam to be administered during the senior year. One of the observed benefits of the exam is its role in focusing the attention of both students and faculty members on the core elements of our program. The exam also provides a quality check for graduating students, and feedback for program improvement. Our experience to date indicates that the Core Competency Exam, along with other elements of our assessment plan, will have a significant positive impact on the education of our students.

Introduction

As part of our assessment plan, the Chemical Engineering Department faculty at Brigham Young University have defined a set of core competencies that we have designated for mastery by all of our graduating students1. The intent of these core competencies is to focus on the fundamental concepts and skills upon which more complicated applications are based. The underlying assumption is that mastery of core concepts will improve the ability of students to reason through and address a broad range of problems, as well as provide a foundation for the solution of complex application problems. The goal is to have every student achieve mastery of the core competencies to the point where their understanding effectively becomes engineering intuition.

A Core Competency Exam has been developed in order to assess the proficiency of our graduating students in the core areas. This exam fulfills several important purposes. First, it represents a requirement for graduation. All students who graduate from our program are expected to demonstrate mastery of the core competencies by passing the exam. Second, it provides feedback to our program on specific competencies and areas where our students may be weak. This feedback provides motivation for curricular and/or pedagogical modifications needed to address the problem(s). Third, the exam emphasizes the importance of the core competencies to our students and faculty.

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

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Terry, R. (2002, June), A Senior Exam To Assess The Learning Of Core Competencies In A Chemical Engineering Curriculum Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10675