CEN Faculty Meeting March 31, 2009 1

ABET Accreditation

• Brief history.– 1980’s: faculty qualifications sufficed.

– 1990s: quality of courses, materials, and programs sufficed.

– 2000: CIP Continuous Improvement Process:

• Measure quality, assess measurements, implement changes, measure and assess results.

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ABET Accreditation

• 2006 (Fall) ABET Visit: bar was raised.– CIP throughout accreditation period (2000-

2006, and now 2006-2012).– Evaluate quality of our CIP.– Complete, working cycle.– CEN program fully ABET-accredited until

2012: no concerns, no weaknesses, no deficiencies.

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What is required by ABET?• A functioning, documented Continuous

Improvement Process.• Assessment of what is LEARNED, not what is

TAUGHT.– Indirect Assessments (e.g., alumni surveys, IAB

surveys, exit interviews, etc.)

– Direct Assessments (projects, exam questions, homework questions, presentations, etc.)

• Evaluation of the MEANING of assessment results.

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ABET Definitions

• Outcomes: what students can do when they graduate. Most successful measures: assessment of course work, and senior surveys.– Department assesses oucomes.

• Objectives: what graduates can do after several years. Most successful measures: IAB input (revise objectives) and alumni surveys (measure achievement of objectives). – COE carries out surveys.

CEN Faculty Meeting March 31, 2009 5

Program Objectives(following lengthy process 2005-2006)

A graduate of the University of Florida Computer Engineering Program should have a successful career in computer engineering or a related field, and within three to five years, should:

1. Excel in a career utilizing their education in Computer Engineering;

2. Continue to enhance their knowledge; 3. Be effective in multidisciplinary and diverse

professional environments;4. Provide leadership and demonstrate good citizenship.

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Outcomes: a CEN graduate should have ...

(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, statistics, computer science, and electrical engineering as it applies to computer hardware and software;

(b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to organize, analyze and interpret data;

(c) an ability to design hardware and software systems, components, or processes to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability;

(d) an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams;

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Outcomes (cont'd). A CEN graduate should have …

(e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve hardware and software computer engineering problems, accounting for the interaction between hardware and software;

(f) an understanding of professional, legal, and ethical issues and responsibilities;

(g) an ability to communicate effectively in speech and in writing, including documentation of hardware and software systems;

(h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context;

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(i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning;

(j) a knowledge of contemporary issues;(k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern

engineering tools necessary for computer engineering practice; and

(l) an ability to apply engineering and management knowledge and techniques to estimate time and resources needed to complete a computer engineering project.

Outcomes (cont’d) A CEN graduate should have …

CEN Faculty Meeting March 31, 2009 9

CEN Outcome Evaluation Process

Three-tiered process:

• Outcome instruments assessed in each course.

• Course committee (3 faculty) reviews instruments per course for all relevant outcomes.

• Outcomes reviewed over all courses by oversight committee (CENPOC). Recommendations collected and referred to appropriate bodies.

CEN Faculty Meeting March 31, 2009 10

Course/Outcome Mapping

CEN Faculty Meeting March 31, 2009 11

Current Issues

• Considering two-semester Senior Design course.

• Create new, joint CEN-4914 course. Separate sections for ECE (hardware track) and CISE (software) students.

• COT-3100 Discrete Structures: make CIS-3020 (Introduction to CIS) or CIS-3023 (Progr. For CIS majors II) a pre-requisite. Currently a co-requisite.

• COP-4600 Operating Systems: add C programming course as a pre-requisite.

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Current Issues (cont’d)

• CDA-3101 Computer Organization: add Discrete Structures or Digital Logic as a pre-requisite.

• CEN-4500C Computer Networking: cover Java threading and synchronization in Operating Systems (a pre-req).

• Add one more lab hour to CIS-3020 (Intro. to CIS)

CEN Faculty Meeting March 31, 2009 13

Current Issues (cont'd)

• Except for Operating systems, C/C++ not emphasized in the program (vs. Java). Anecdotal evidence suggests this may be a limitation for our graduates.

• Individual programming skills (apparently) not emphasized enough.

• Mandatory group work in Senior Design ?

CEN Faculty Meeting March 31, 2009 14

NEW ISSUES

• Assessments are NOT driving the process.• Suggested changes collected during the

assessments process, but not driven by it.• Faculty choose assessment instruments:

• OK for showing outcome is achieved (70%).• NOT OK for driving improvement process.

• Assessments are “just fine”.

This must change.

What’s Needed

• Close loops:

– Document an opportunity for improvement using assessments.

– Perform program or course change.

– Document improvement using assessments.

CEN Faculty Meeting March 31, 2009

CEN Faculty Meeting March 31, 2009 16

Suggested Course of Action

• Use recommendations from course evaluation reports to identify opportunities for improvement. – Example: knowledge of programming necessary

for COT-3100 Discrete Structures• Design assessments that will prove there's a

limitation (< 70% achieving outcome)• Implement course/program reform.• Assess again, prove (> 70%) there's an

improvement, i.e. close the loop.

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What we Need

• At least one course improvement for each (most ?) outcome, with fully closed loop.

• A multiplicity of program improvements (with fully closed loop).

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Questions ? Suggestions ?