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Each partner institution
will transition the assessment/evaluation effort on their campus
to a "faculty-owned" initiative. In addition, the relationships
between ABET 2000 and the Foundation Coalition assessment and evaluation
activities will be documented Coalition-wide.
One of the major successes of
Years 1–5 of the Foundation Coalition (FC) has been the national
assessment and evaluation (A/E) effort. Our national assessment
team has developed a robust, well-defined plan for the formal evaluation
of FC curriculum efforts, and our A/E effort is recognized as a
national model for the assessment and evaluation of undergraduate
engineering curricula. Under the direction of our national team,
each partner institution has implemented well-designed, meaningful
assessment procedures on their own campus.
As we move into Years 6–10
of the Foundation Coalition, we will expand and intensify our existing
Coalition-wide plan for the formal assessment of the FC curricula.
(See Appendix D and the FC home page, http://www.foundation.ua.edu.)
We will use the results of the Year-5 metaevaluation, in which professional
external evaluators have examined and evaluated our assessment and
evaluation program, to modify and expand it to improve the quality,
impact, and effectiveness of what we are doing. In addition, all
participating institutions will utilize this information as they
prepare for upcoming ABET visits, and the relationships between
ABET 2000 and the FC assessment and evaluation activities will be
documented Coalition-wide. The presence of our national A/E team
and a Coalition Director for Assessment and Evaluation ensures that
this activity, as well as others, will be done in a cohesive manner.
The duties of the Director for Assessment and Evaluation are detailed
in Section 5.
During Years 6 through 10, the
A/E effort will be embedded as a core component of our integrated
operating environment. In the past, our A/E teams were somewhat
isolated from other FC faculty efforts such as curriculum development.
During the next five years we will ensure that the A/E effort becomes
tightly integrated into our other FC activities (inclusive learning
communities, responsive curricula, etc.). Specifically, we will
transition the A/E effort on each campus to a "faculty-owned"
initiative. In conjunction with Objective 2, Responsive Curricula,
we will embed basic A/E practices into the course development process.
Faculty will address A/E issues associated with a given course as
they develop and teach the course. We believe that, by placing the
teaching faculty in charge of this effort, we can raise our level
of accountability with respect to meaningful assessment. Faculty
who are actively involved with the construction of inclusive learning
communities or responsive curricula now take ownership of the associated
A/E effort. Feedback regarding the success of the initiative goes
directly to the faculty involved as well as the national A/E team.
In addition to continuing longitudinal
studies of students participating in FC curricula, individual campuses
have identified a number of complementary projects that will take
place at their institutions.
- Groups of faculty across multiple FC campuses
will establish discipline-based assessment tools (i.e., Hestenes-type
instruments for the engineering disciplines).
- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology will continue
to coordinate the Coalition-wide A/E effort. In addition, plans
are being made to establish a national center for the assessment
of engineering education on this campus. Although this is independent
of the FC, we will play a major role in its formation and benefit
directly from its presence.
- Arizona State University will work with faculty
to establish mechanisms and guidelines for the formal development
and clear articulation of goals and objectives for all engineering
courses.
- Texas A&M University Kingsville and University
of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMD) will develop a faculty workbook
detailing the specifics of formal student outcomes assessment,
especially as related to ABET 2000.
- University of Wisconsin and Texas A&M University
will develop a model for faculty involvement in assessment and
evaluation. This effort has already begun through activities such
as the development of curriculum assessment process plans in which
stakeholders (employees, faculty, and students) identify issues
that have promoted a dynamic curriculum.
- University of Alabama and UMD will assess the
impact of early co-op programs on students and the appropriateness
of conventional engineering exams (such as the Fundamentals of
Engineering Exam) as assessment tools for undergraduate engineering
education.
Last updated: October 24, 1998.
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