Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Large Scale Implementation of Outcome-Based Course Assessment

Ronald Land Associate Professor, College of Engineering School of Engineering Design, Technology and Professional Programs The Pennsylvania State University

Abstract Engineering and Engineering Technology programs across the country are implementing new assessment methods conforming to ABET EC2K and TC2K criteria [1] by developing outcomes-based assessment strategies to demonstrate program-level compliance. The new ABET criteria represent a philosophical shift in accreditation from a facilities-based to an outcomes-based approach. This paper describes an assessment strategy that has been implemented among eight associate degree programs and one baccalaureate degree program at twelve campuses in the Penn State University system. The process involves developing a strategy to measure program-level compliance by focusing on course-level outcomes and aggregating results. In particular, the paper will describe the two critical strategies that were used to simplify the process. Those were: • The establishment of course-level outcomes that stipulate criteria, condition, and quality measures by which success would be determined, and • The adoption of a three-part measurement process that considers student performance, student perceptions, and faculty perceptions with respect to the course outcomes. The paper discusses the criteria, conditions, and quality concepts, how they were established, and how outcomes for each course are measured using these elements. It will also describe the on-line database and data collection process that was developed to ease collection and evaluation of the assessment data given multiple programs existing at multiple locations. Key data analysis and presentation capabilities of the on-line system will be described. Finally, the paper reviews preliminary results from the assessment process that were developed during the 2004 academic year, and highlights some of the promising results, as well as system weaknesses, related to quality control of a multi-campus, multi-program system.

Introduction Like many schools, Penn State faces its first experiences with TC2K accreditation visits this coming year, and like most schools, Penn State has been busy developing the necessary practices, procedures and infrastructure to comply with the ongoing quality assessment requirements of the new accreditation process. In many ways, Penn State’s approach has mirrored the approach taken by engineering schools that have already moved to the EAC 2000 accreditation process and by engineering technology schools that have gone through the TC2K process during recent transition years. That is, each of the engineering technology programs at Penn State has undertaken wide-ranging processes to identify and involve their key constituents,

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Land, R. (2005, June), Large Scale Implementation Of Outcomes Based Assessment Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--14998