Establishing the Program Outcomes
The process of defining the PEOs and POs started in 2001-2004 during the self assessment process undertaken by the COE department. The broad objectives of the undergraduate program in Computer Engineering Program were to instill in its graduates a solid foundation of mathematical, scientific, and engineering knowledge, in addition to developing the intellectual skills essential for prosperity and success in their careers. Once the Program Educational Objectives were derived based on input of all program constituents, Program Outcomes were determined to cover the Program Educational Objectives. There are three PEOs for the COE Program (see Criterion 1). Based on the PEOs a set of seven POs were defined by the faculty. The POs should demonstrate that our graduates have ability to:
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1. Apply math, science and problem solving techniques to formulate adequate engineering solutions for:
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a. Design new systems to meet certain specifications
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b. Formulate new hardware or software solutions to adapt technology to societal needs.
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2. Design and conduct experiments, as well as analyze and interpret data.
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3. Effectively utilize up-to-date tools for the design, modeling, analysis or verification of engineering systems.
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4. Work Cooperatively in multidisciplinary teams to produce an integrated system.
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5. Communicate effectively with superiors or subordinates through report writing as well as technical presentations.
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6. Demonstrate active lifelong learning capabilities.
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7. Uphold and demonstrate best standard of professional and ethical practice and responsibility.
Since the last ABET visit to the COE department, the COE program has undergone several assessment-improvement cycles. Indeed, the assessment methods and procedures themselves have gone through several evolutions including the alignment to ABET EC 2K. After a review of the ABET Criteria and the University and College missions, the COE faculty redefined the COE Program Educational Objectives (PEOs) to their current form.
The POs developed by the COE faculty were derived based on the COE PEOs and the (a to k) ABET outcomes. A methodology for assessing the program objectives and outcomes was established by the COE ABET committee. For each course a set of course outcomes were defined and mapped to the POs. The COE faculty studied this mapping and found it suitable for the COE Program. It has been decided to add three more outcomes that are specific for the COE discipline.
The new PEOs and POs were presented and discussed with all faculty members in several departmental council meetings in 2006-2007. The PEOs and POs were also presented and discussed in an IAC meeting which approved them in 2006-2007. the COE council approved the PEOs, POs, and the assessment plan in early 2009. Minutes of the meetings are available as part of the display material.
Revising the Program Outcomes
The ABET Assessment committee periodically presents the POs to the COE faculty council and the IAC for comments, particularly following PEOs revision. We also survey the alumni and employers regarding the adequacy of the POs. Although the alumni survey data alone is not sufficient to measure the achievement of POs, it does ask alumni the survey of also rate the importance of each of the outcomes. The process of revising the POs starts when there is enough evidence for the need for revision, or simply when some trends are observed by the COE faculty from analyzing the above surveys.
In 2008-2009, as part of an effort to integrate into the University assessment process, the COE POs were submitted for review by ABET, by a mock ABET Visitor to the COE program, and by the KFUPM Quality Assurance Committee. The review process has found the POs adequate. In its extension of substantial equivalency recognition, dated October 8, 2008, the chair of the International Activities Council, ABET, Inc. was satisfied with the COE PEOs and POs. In his feedback, he quoted “Overall, the program Outcomes and associated direct measures based assessment process is reasonable, but requires some refining”. The rest of the feedback was mainly on the assessment process and its presentation in the self-study report, such as his comments: “the need for disclosing the rating process of learning using direct measures …”.
All of the reviews external to the department have resulted in approval of the COE POs. Internal to the department, we have decided to focus on addressing weaknesses in our assessment system. We will present proposed changes for external review once we feel that the assessment of the existing outcomes has matured enough.
Program Outcomes
Following a review of the ABET Criteria and the program objectives, it has been decided by the Computer Engineering faculty that the ABET Criteria (a - k) encompass the spirit of our educational vision. Therefore, outcomes (a - k) were adopted as the Computer Engineering Program Outcomes in addition to three additional outcomes as recommended by ABET criteria for Computer Engineering programs.
The Computer Engineering Program Outcomes are:
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an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering.
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an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data.
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an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs.
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an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams (Our interpretation of multidisciplinary teams includes teams of individuals with similar educational backgrounds focusing on different aspects of a project as well as teams of individuals with different educational backgrounds).
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an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems.
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an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility.
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an ability to communicate effectively.
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the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context.
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a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning (Our interpretation of this includes teaching students that the underlying theory is important because the technology changes, coupled with enhancing their self-learning ability).
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knowledge of contemporary issues (Our interpretation of this includes presenting students with issues such as the impact of globalization, the outsourcing of both engineering and other support jobs as practiced by modern international companies).
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an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.
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knowledge of probability and statistics and their applications in computer engineering.
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knowledge of discrete Mathematics.
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the ability to design a system that involves the integration of hardware and software components.
It should be noted that outcomes (l) and (m) were added to the program outcomes because knowledge of probability, statistics, and discrete mathematics is considered important for computer engineers as recommended by ABET for computer engineering programs. Outcome (n) was added to the program outcomes in order to emphasize in our program integration aspects between hardware and software components in the design process. Such aspects are not covered by outcome (c) which focuses on design aspects in general.
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