CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 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.

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 2

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.

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 3

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.

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 4

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.

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 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.

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 6

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;

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 7

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;

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 8

(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 …

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 9

CEN Outcome Evaluation ProcessThree-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.

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 10

Course/Outcome Mapping

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 11

Current Issues Following last IAB meeting,

and CEN Faculty Meeting March 31)

• 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.

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 12

Current Issues (cont’d)

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

• CNT-4007C Computer Networking: cover Java threading and synchronization in Operating Systems (a pre-req).

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

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 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 ?

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 14

UPDATE • Assessments were NOT driving the process.• Suggested changes collected during the assessments

process, but not driven by it.• Assessments were “just fine”• This is now changing.

• Need to close loops:– Document some limitation using assessments.– Perform program or course change.– Document improvement using assessments.

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 15

Current 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 assess the issue.

Find out if there's a limitation (< 70% achieving outcome)

• Implement course/program reform.• Assess again, show (> 70%) there's an

improvement, i.e. close the loop.

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 16

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).

UPDATE (cont’d)

• Course Committees revised to encourage cross-course discussion of issues and their assessments.

• Assessments for Spring, Summer 2009 are being collected this way.

• Expect (hope) to have some genuine loop closings within two semesters.

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 17

CISE IAB Meeting October 15, 2009 18

Questions ? Suggestions ?