Advanced application for direct assessment of course and program learning outcomes in engineering higher education

Problem solving curricula form an essential part of the higher engineering education, which is in line with the nature of the profession, skills and attitudes of engineers. This fact renders direct assessment of learning outcomes in the engineering education an indispensable process, although not completely sufficient by itself. Consistent with the problem solving nature of the discipline, direct assessment of learning outcomes in this instance ought to be quantificational, as this paper in fact aims to contribute considerably to the overall process of assessing learning outcomes, compared with indirect assessment tools. The research method of this paper offers a set of three EXCEL-VBA applications that have been precisely designed to assess learning outcomes at course and program levels for engineering university students. The paper also describes the comprehensive algorithm of the applications and formulas used, so that other educational institutes and academics can readily reproduce. The results of the research applications provide a platform of input and output that is easy and quick to use, flexible, versatile and comprehensive in nature. Numerous assessments in the form of assignments, quizzes, major exams, projects, presentations, portfolios and final exams can be accommodated, with flexibility in the critical input parameters, such as criterion of achievement and weight of each assessment instrument. As soon as learning outcomes of all courses can be assessed, the output can readily be fed into a second application to determine the performance of students at a program or departmental level. As a conclusion, applications can be implemented by instructors to determine the performance of their students, both numerically and graphically, against established learning outcomes. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by IASE.