Why Accreditation Matters
Accreditation is a voluntary, peer-review process that requires programs to undergo comprehensive, periodic evaluations. These evaluations focus on program curricula, faculty, facilities, institutional support, and other important areas.
ABET accreditation demonstrates a program's commitment to providing a quality education.
The bachelor's degree program in electrical engineering is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.
Program Objectives and Student Outcomes
- Depth: Graduates apply specialized knowledge in the practice or the advanced study of electrical engineering, including its scientific principles, rigorous analysis, and creative design.
- Breadth: Graduates apply a broad range of knowledge including information on the most important current issues in electrical engineering for productive careers in the public or private sector or for the pursuit of graduate education.
- Professionalism: Graduates communicate clearly and work ethically and professionally in teams in a complex modern environment and engage in life-long learning to adapt to changes in the requirements of their profession.
The student learning outcomes are the expected achievements for a student at the time of graduation. These will lead to longer-term achievements as described in the program objectives. Therefore, there is a relationship between the outcomes and the objectives.
All graduates of the Electrical Engineering Program are expected to have:
- Ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering (1)
- Ability to design and conduct experiments as well as analyze and interpret data (1)
- Ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability (1)
- Ability to function on multidisciplinary teams (2, 3)
- Ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems (1, 2)
- Understanding of professional and ethical responsibility (3)
- Ability to communicate effectively (3)
- Broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, environmental, and societal context (2)
- Recognition of the need for and ability to engage in lifelong learning (2, 3)
- Knowledge of contemporary issues (2)
- Ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice (1, 2)
Relationship of student learning outcomes to program educational objectives
- Outcomes (a, b, c) associated with objective 1, depth
- Outcomes (e, h, j, k) associated with objective 2, breadth
- Outcomes (d, f, g, i) associated with objective 3, professionalism
The Electrical and Biomedical Engineering Department has developed a number of tools that allow it to assess the bachelor's degree program in electrical engineering and provide feedback to faculty.
It has also developed a process through which the feedback is used to modify the curriculum to ensure student outcomes and the program educational objectives are met.
The department has assigned each student outcome to specific courses for assessment purposes. Several outcomes are subdivided to provide more specific information on various aspects of the outcome and the degree to which they are achieved. The instructors of the courses for a specific outcome collect and evaluate assessment data and present their findings to the entire department. If corrective actions are found to be necessary, the issue is referred to the curriculum committee, which in turn proposes remedial actions. The proposals are discussed in department meetings and modified if necessary for approval and implementation.
The complete list of outcomes and corresponding courses is given as part of our student learning outcomes. The department also uses student exit surveys and focus groups to assess the program outcomes.
To assess the success of the program educational objectives, the department uses recent graduate surveys and employer surveys. The results of the surveys are discussed by the department and the curriculum committee is charged with formulating corrective changes in the curriculum, if necessary. The suggestions of the curriculum committee are discussed and approved by the entire faculty.
Degrees and Enrollment