Linking student achievement to learning outcomes assessment

In 2005, the undergraduate program offered by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, will be undergoing the ABET accreditation review process. In view of the recent changes in the EAC criteria, the Department is currently implementing a reformed assessment program. Direct assessment practices are now being utilized to assess the outcomes, along with the other assessment tools and methodologies used during the previous years. As part of this process, individual courses in the curriculum are identified to target selected learning outcomes, related student work is collected and examined by individual faculty and faculty committees, and the results are used to evaluate the outcomes and identify deficiencies. In this paper we present the outcomes assessment process developed for this purpose, which includes a description of the direct measures of student achievement in engineering courses and the traditional tools such as course and program evaluation surveys and inputs from various constituencies and committees. Specific student work targeted to achieve different learning outcomes is identified for selected outcomes.