Computer engineering

Program Delivery Modes

The university has expanded in the past ten years in the development of on-line courses. These are used as supplementary material for the class room instruction.

6. Deficiencies, Weaknesses or Concerns from Previous Evaluation(s) and the Actions taken to Address them

In 2001, the broad objectives of the undergraduate program in Computer Engineering 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. These lead to define a set of three broad program educational objectives and a set of seven program outcomes.

A corrective cycle (1999-2001) was carried out in response to the comments/assessment of the ABET team who visited the department. Although, the program was fully accredited, some concerns were raised by the ABET team. These ABET concerns (C) and the corresponding corrective actions (A) that were taken by the faculty are as follows:

1. 
   C-1: There was no enough flexibility in the program. Students could not select general electives from arts or other disciplines (other than their major).
   

2. 
   C-2: There was a need to create a process for validating and evaluating the attainment of the established program objectives and outcomes.
   

3. 
   C-3: Projects taken by students in COE485 (Senior Design Project Course) and in the COOP course (COE351) were mainly limited to analysis and hence did not provide any design experience for the students. There was a need to strengthen the program’s design component through greater emphasis on economic factors, safety, reliability, aesthetic, ethics, and social impact.
   

The Program Educational Objectives (PEOs) have gone through a new phase of revision in 2008. The feedback of the constituents (Faculty and Industrial Advisory Board) was taken into consideration. The revised set of objectives in the final form were discussed and approved by the department and college councils. The new COE educational objectives were published on the department Web site and can be accessed at: http://www.ccse.kfupm.edu.sa/coe/abet/objectives.html

1. 
   C1: It is suggested that surveys of supervisors of Cooperative education and intern students is probably better suited to securing indirect information with respect to fulfillment of outcomes, which may, of course, benefit assessment or suggest changes in Program Educational Objectives.
   

2. 
   C-2: The Self-Study needs to better disclose how actual learning by students is judged and how the ratings of that learning using direct measures – student-by-student in a set of covering course for a Program Outcomes – are assembled into a finding of level of achievement of the Program Outcome.
   

3. 
   C-3: Overall the program Outcomes and associated direct measures based assessment process is reasonable, but requires some refining. Though some redundancy through indirect corroborative measures is generally deemed essential, the degree of indirect, corroborative measures for the Program Outcomes appears excessive and the effort required may not be sustained.
   

4. 
   C-4: Every effort should be made to remove inconsequential but irritating errors in the Self-Study.
   

5. 
   C-5: It is noted that physical education is not usually included in the classification of general education. The remaining courses in the listed general education requirements, including those available as electives, are of limited scope across what are usually though of as humanities and those sciences consistent with an engineering education. However, though limited in scope, those courses available to students appear consistent with the cultural context of the institution and the countries in which they are most likely to enter the practice of engineering. Furthermore, they will undoubtedly help the students acquires the “Soft skills” related Program Outcomes.
   

6. 
   C-6: With respect to the major design experience, the Program needs to more clearly illustrate that is a culminating experience. This could be accomplished by showing a map of the courses displaying their sequence in conformance with semester, pre-requisite, and co-requisite sequencing, overlaid by progressive design sequences leading to the major design experience.
   

7. 
   C-7: As noted for Criterion 7 above, financial support for laboratory resources has been declining somewhat over the past several years. This may be entirely reasonable, but such reasons should be explained in the self-Study.