PROCESS FOR ESTABLISHING AND REVISING PROGRAM OUTCOMES

Process Used for Establishing Student Learning Outcomes

The EEE department has developed Educational Objectives (EOs) as described under Criterion 2 of this self-study. Once the EOs were defined, our next step was to design Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) corresponding to each EO. Our goal was to ensure that if every student achieves the skills and abilities specified in each of the outcomes corresponding to an objective, then the program through appropriate measurement of that outcome can satisfy the corresponding objective.

Revising Student Learning Outcomes Procedure

The EEE department policy on revision of Student Learning Outcomes has been voted to be as follows:

The Department Assessment Committee is charged to receive, assemble and review all information as assigned below to monitor Student Learning Outcomes. The Assessment Committee forwards SLO monitoring information in a summarized form to the EEE Department during department meetings. The EEE Department reviews and discusses the information received, and decides with a majority vote whether the revision of SLOs is warranted. The conclusion is then forwarded to the assessment committee either through the curriculum committee for review (if any curriculum changes are pertinent) or directly back to the assessment committee to draft the new Student Learning Outcome or

Outcomes. Once the assessment committee drafts the new outcomes, it forwards them back to the department, and the department casts the final vote. Department policy specifies that Student Learning Outcomes can be revised by a majority vote of tenured and tenure-track faculty members. The vote has to be conducted during a regularly scheduled department meeting with a quorum of full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty members.

The following entities are assigned to inform the department on any changes that possibly affect the SLO:

1. Assessment Committee reviews information generated by monitoring SLOs and forwards findings and suggestions for improvement to the EEE Department.

2. Assessment coordinator reviews abet.org web site and forwards information to both assessment committee and department meetings.

3. Department Chair reviews information from Industry Liaison Council and College Advisory Board Meetings, and forwards meeting minutes to the EEE Department.

4. Director of career services forwards the minutes of Industrial Visits meetings to both Assessment Coordinator and Department Chair. Department Chair reviews the minutes and forwards them to the Department for discussion and review.

5. Department Representative to Community College Articulation Conference or the Department Chair, reviews current information on articulation to the EEE

department.

6. All faculty members advise students during their advising hours. For more information see Criterion 1, Students.

7. Department Chair signs graduation petition, where he monitors and confirms that each student has fulfilled the graduation requirements. See Criterion 1 for more information.

8. Department Chair monitors course evaluations and reports back to the faculty if an issue involving SLO should arise.

EEE department has several mechanisms for monitoring Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Surveys. Details about current surveys are shown in the Current Surveys Binder.

a. Alumni survey, every four years. University Office of Institutional Research distributes alumni survey every four years.

i. Questions that show Not Applicable are counted, to assess the apparent value to the alumnus of specific SLOs.

ii. Student satisfaction is measured through percentage of students who respond mostly positively to a question.

b. Faculty survey, every four years. Faculty are surveyed about the importance of SLOs and EOs. They rate SLOs and EOs on scale from1-6, where 1 is critical and 6 is no relevance.

i. Questions that show Not Applicable are counted, to assess the apparent value to the faculty of specific SLOs.

ii. Faculty satisfaction is measured through percentage of faculty who respond mostly positively to a question.

c. Industrial Liaison Council survey, once every four years. Industrial liaison council members are surveyed about the importance of SLOs and EOs. They rate SLOs and EOs on the scale from 1-6, where 1 is critical and 6 is no relevance. Verbatim:” Please evaluate the following list of educational objectives from 1- Critical, 2- Important, 3-

Desirable, 4- Marginal, 5- Not Important, 6- Not applicable (in this case please explain why) with respect to what is expected from any students 5 years after graduation (for EOs). Please name any other educational objectives you think are desirable, but are not mentioned below. Also comment on whether you would want to change some of these objectives in any way.”

d. Graduating student survey, frequency to be determined, for two consecutive semesters. Students are asked about achievement of SLO.

In addition to evaluation of SLO, we use EO / SLO matrix to evaluate

EO. The most recently, College of Engineering and Computer Science at CSUS has hired a contractor “Educational Benchmarking

International” to survey exiting seniors, alumni and employers.

2. Discussions during Industrial Liaison Council meetings.

3. Discussions during Industrial Visits with alumni and employers, every year.

4. Community college articulation conference.

5. Engineering Accreditation Criteria from ABET, as often as appropriate.

Assessment Committee Chair monitors abet.org web site and compares SLOs suggested by ABET to our SLOs.

6. The College Assessment Committee input. The College Assessment

Committee meets once every three years with specific agenda to review EOs and SLOs.

7. University Assessment Committee (Provost’s Advisory Committee on Assessment) input. University has established Baccalaureate Learning Goals.

The EEE Department SLOs are linked to the University Baccalaureate Learning Goals.

8. Course embedded assessment of Student Learning Outcomes.

9. Data from the above mechanisms is reviewed during assessment committee and department meetings, and revision of SLOs are proposed.

B. Program Outcomes

Faculty in the EEE Department at CSUS are committed to developing,

implementing and maintaining a comprehensive SLOs Assessment Plan that is tied to the Department's mission and can be used to guide decision making, maintain accountability, and foster understanding. With its priority focus on students, the Department provides an environment in which teaching, scholarship, research, and professional activity are valued and supported. We aim to continuously improve programs and processes through introspective assessment and evaluation. This is important in evaluating our efforts in meeting educational objectives. The following student learning outcomes correspond to the curricular requirements and graduate attributes specified in ABET Criteria 2009-2010 and program criteria in Electrical Engineering. The EEE faculty have adopted a set of 15 SLOs which define what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time they graduate. These SLOs parallel the requirements of ABET Engineering Criterion 3, items (a) through (k) and applicable Program Criteria.

List of Student Learning Outcomes

1) A knowledge of mathematics through differential and integral calculus, differential equations, physics and chemistry (Program Criteria)

2) A knowledge of basic engineering sciences including statics and dynamics

(Program Criteria)

3) The ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering to solve problems in E&EE (Engineering Criterion 3(a))

4) A knowledge of core E&EE topics in circuits, electronics,

communications, control systems, microprocessors, electromagnetics, and electric machines (Program Criteria)

5) Depth in at least one area of E&EE out of Analog/Digital Electronics, Control Systems, Communications and Power. (Engineering Criterion 3(j), Program Criteria)

6) Knowledge of probability, statistics and applications to E&EE. (Program Criteria)

7) The ability to use contemporary engineering techniques and tools for analysis and design. (Engineering Criterion 3(k))

8) The ability to work with modern instrumentation, software and hardware, design and perform experiments, and analyze and interpret the results.

(Engineering Criterion 3(b), Program Criteria)

9) The ability to integrate knowledge gained from the core curriculum to solve a complex design problem. This includes the identification, specification, design and implementation of products/components and/or systems that meet desired safety, economic and performance criteria.

(Engineering Criterion 3(c, e), Program Criteria)

10) The ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams and exercise leadership to accomplish project goals. (Engineering Criterion 3(d))

11) The ability to communicate effectively through written technical papers and/or project reports. (Engineering Criterion 3(g))

12) The ability to make effective oral presentations and convey technical material to an audience. (Engineering Criterion 3(g)).

13) An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility and a broad education to appreciate the impact of engineering solutions in the societal context. (Engineering Criterion 3(f, h))

14) Recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in “life-long”

learning. (Engineering Criterion 3(i))

15) An appreciation for and knowledge of diverse cultures and demonstrated proficiency in a foreign language.

Student learning outcomes are published on the Web at

http://www.ecs.csus.edu/eee/portfolio/index.htm and may be accessed from the

Assessment link on the Department Web site. Our program objectives are also published in the CSUS Catalog under the description of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department and on the online catalog Web site at

http://aaWeb.csus.edu/catalog/current/PROGRAM/EEE.asp.