Session S1C
Work in Progress - Assessment of Graduate Electrical and Computer Engineering Degree Programs at the University of Oklahoma James J. Sluss, Jr., Gerald E. Crain, Monte P. Tull University of Oklahoma, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Norman, Oklahoma 73019
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Abstract - This Work-in-Progress paper describes a newly initiated assessment process for masters and doctoral degree programs in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. The intended outcomes are that graduate students will show evidence of advanced study, focused study, and scholarly study. Procedures for assessing these criteria have been defined and data collection began during the Fall 2004 semester.
CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES TO ASSESS OUTCOMES Goal 1: Students will demonstrate evidence of Advanced Study Criterion 1a): Students will demonstrate appropriate undergraduate training. •
Students admitted to the program must submit official undergraduate transcripts, GRE scores, and letters of reference.
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Assessment will be carried out by monitoring the average GPA and GRE scores for incoming students. Statistics will be compiled and evaluated annually.
Index Terms – Assessment, Graduate Education INTRODUCTION Over the last few years, many papers have focused on the assessment of undergraduate Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) programs, particularly in view of ABET 2000 and the well-known a-k intended outcomes. However, there is scant literature on the assessment of graduate ECE programs. This Work-in-Progress paper describes a newly initiated assessment process for masters and doctoral degree programs in ECE at the University of Oklahoma, in response to a University-wide requirement that all graduate programs be assessed on an annual basis. Three graduate degree programs are offered in ECE; the Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Master of Science in Telecommunications Systems (at Tulsa), and the Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical and Computer Engineering. The educational objectives and outcomes to be assessed are the same for all three degree programs. The educational objectives for ECE graduate programs follow goals set forth by the Graduate College. The intended outcomes are that ECE graduate students will show evidence of advanced study, focused study, and scholarly study. Procedures for assessing these criteria were defined during Academic Year 2003-2004 and data collection began during the Fall 2004 semester. This paper presents the criteria and procedures to assess the intended outcomes. Preliminary analysis of first-year data will be presented at FIE 2005.
Criterion 1b): Student performance will be assessed at advanced levels over those at the undergraduate level. •
Students will complete a minimum of 24 credit hours of graduate-level coursework.
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Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 to remain in good standing. This is a Graduate College requirement and is monitored at the end of each semester. For assessment purposes, the ECE Graduate Studies Committee will monitor students who do not meet this requirement. Statistics will be compiled and evaluated annually.
Criterion 1c): Student skills and knowledge will represent current best practice and knowledge in the field. •
Students will be provided with opportunities to pursue advanced study by offering courses representative of ECE research focus areas.
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For assessment purposes, student performance across all ECE graduate-level courses will be monitored. Statistics will be compiled and evaluated annually.
0-7803-9077-6/05/$20.00 © 2005 IEEE October 19 – 22, 2005, Indianapolis, IN 35th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference S1C-23
Session S1C Criterion 1d): The instructional faculty will be actively engaged in advancing the base of knowledge upon which the discipline is founded. •
Instructional faculty for graduate-level courses will be members of the Graduate College.
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Graduate College membership of ECE faculty is approved by the ECE Graduate Studies Committee, subject to periodic review and renewal. ECE has established guidelines for the various levels of Graduate College membership/appointment. For assessment purposes, graduate-level instructional faculty assignments will be reviewed every semester. In addition, the scholarly works of the ECE faculty will be monitored and compiled annually.
Goal 2: Students will demonstrate evidence of Focused Study Criterion 2a): Students will accumulate a core of factual, theoretical and historical knowledge. •
Students will be provided with the opportunity to focus their course selection in a core area.
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For assessment purposes, student plans of study, as well as academic performance, will be monitored. Further, input from student advisory committees will be monitored to obtain a measure of how well this criterion is being met.
Criterion 2b): strategies.
Students will learn core problem solving
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Students will be provided with opportunities demonstrate their problem solving abilities.
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For assessment purposes, input from student advisory committees will be monitored to obtain a measure of how well this criterion is being met.
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Criterion 2c): Students will learn how to communicate with the public and other scholars regarding knowledge, outcomes, standards, products, ethics and behaviors. •
Students will be provided with opportunities and encouraged to hone there communications skills through participation in seminars and class projects.
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Courses that require oral project presentations will be monitored to assess the range of opportunities being provided in such settings. Annual compilations of student presentations at ECE GSA and TCOM seminars will be collected, along with input from faculty sponsors.
Goal 3: Students will demonstrate evidence of Scholarly Study Criterion 3a): Students will learn how to engage in intellectual discourse with others in the discipline. •
Students will be provided with opportunities to present papers at regional, national, and/or international conferences.
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Presentation of conference papers by students will be monitored. Data will be collected from student surveys conducted at the Exit Interview. Statistics will be compiled and evaluated annually.
Criterion 3b): Students will learn how to identify and to acquire specialized knowledge needed for particular applications. •
Students will work with an advisor/mentor to identify and acquire specialized knowledge, primarily for application to a research project in which the student participates.
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For assessment purposes, input from student advisory committees will be monitored to obtain a measure of how well this criterion is being met.
Criterion 3c): Students will learn how to organize core knowledge, strategies, collegial associations and intellectual processes to solve problems. •
Students will work with a research advisor/mentor to complete a scholarly work, such as a M. S. thesis, Ph.D. dissertation, or journal or conference paper.
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Student publications will be monitored. Data will be collected from student surveys conducted at the Exit Interview. Statistics will be compiled and evaluated annually. Further, input from student advisory committees will be monitored to obtain a measure of how well this criterion is being met. SUMMARY
This Work-in-Progress paper has put forth the educational objectives and intended outcomes for ECE graduate degree programs at the University of Oklahoma. Further, the criteria and procedures to assess the intended outcomes have been described. Data collection began during the Fall 2004 semester. Survey instruments and preliminary analysis of first-year data will be presented at FIE 2005.
0-7803-9077-6/05/$20.00 © 2005 IEEE October 19 – 22, 2005, Indianapolis, IN 35th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference S1C-24
