Implementation of Assessment Procedures into the Mechanical Engineering Curriculum
Esche, S. K., Pochiraju, K. & Chassapis, C.
Proceedings of the 2001 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, June 24 - 27, 2001.
Abstract
Stevens Institute of Technology is currently developing and implementing a new undergraduate engineering curriculum.
This curriculum is founded on a broad set of core courses that provide breadth in the sciences, engineering and the humanities while at the same time allowing for later specialization in the engineering disciplines.
As part of this development process, the Department of Mechanical Engineering is aiming at devising a modern engineering program that reflects the recent nationwide trend towards enhancement of traditional lecture-based courses with a design spine and a laboratory experience that propagates through the entire educational program.
Another thread to be woven into the entire educational experience at the Mechanical Engineering Department is the fostering of independent entrepreneurship through Technogenesis, a cornerstone of the institute’s strategic plan.
Technogenesis is the educational frontier at Stevens wherein faculty, students, and colleagues from industry jointly nurture the process of conception, design, and marketplace realization of technology.
It is the driving force for Stevens and pervades all of its core functions and activities.
The scope and complexity of the planned curriculum developments to address the above require careful planning of assessment procedures to ensure the educational integrity of the resulting program.
Therefore, a school wide Assessment Committee was formed and charged with the implementation of outcomes-based assessment by quantitative measurements of performance and attitudes throughout a hierarchical matrix of curricular goals, objectives, and performance criteria.
As part of that work, a Microsoft Windows application termed the Stevens Educational Assessment Application (SeaApp) was developed to automate the assessment system.
This application was designed for the usage by instructors and graders.
It assists them in relating the course objectives to the curriculum objectives and monitoring the performance of students according to curriculum performance criteria.
This discusses the formulation of the program educational objectives as well as the program outcomes of the Mechanical Engineering Department.
These objectives and outcomes are in accordance with the institute’s mission that was devised with the ABET 2000 criteria in mind.
Furthermore, the discussion will elaborate on the issues involved with integrating assessment strategies and tools upfront into the curriculum development process.
The multi-layered structure of course performance criteria, assessment performance criteria and their linkage to the program and institute missions are discussed on the example of one specific course.