Assessment Plan

For a detailed description of the department assessment plan, see the document Assessment Process (PDF).

The assessment process in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department at Utah State University is designed to provide information about how the courses work together to help students attain program educational objectives (PEO) as well as ensure that the criteria of the ABET accreditation body are attained. The process is designed to be a minimal burden on the faculty while leaving flexibility to adjust courses and curriculum to changing needs.

The assessment effort in the ECE department serves multiple purposes. One purpose is to ensure that the overall curricular needs of the department are met: that the courses taught cover the outcomes, that there are no holes in the curriculum, and that courses flow together well. Another purpose is the ensure that the ABET outcomes (a)–(k) of ABET Criterion 3 are attained by each student. Another purpose is to work to ensure that the PEOs are being attained by graduates. Because of these multiple purposes, a variety of input data are used in the assessment cycle. These include:

  • Faculty course assessments
  • Alumni survey
  • Industrial advisory committee
  • Senior exit survey and interviews
  • Special assessments of (a)–(k) outcomes

These assessment processes are under the supervision of the department head, who delegates operational responsibility to the chair of the Assessment Committee.

An important part of the assessment process is that every course has a set of outcomes associated with it. These outcomes are driven by curricular needs, research needs, and the program objectives. The program objectives and how they are modified are described in the full plan.

The assessment process is viewed as a dynamic, changing, even experimental, process, which is modified as we understand better what our goals are and how to measure progress. The processes of incorporating change is described in this document, which processes are themselves constantly undergoing modification.

A graphical portrayal of the elements involved is shown in Assessment Figure (jpg).