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Assessment Activities
Overview
Assessment is an important aspect of the department's growth and development. The goal of assessment is to measure how well we are achieving the goals and objectives of the University, college, and the department. The first step in assessment is to gather data about how well we are meeting our objectives. Likely sources of data include:- Students
- Recent graduates
- Alumni in general
- Firms that hire our students
- and others.
Prior to 1998 the department relied on a number of University assessment activities, informal assessment within the department, and the ETS area test. In 1998 we realized a need to formalize our assessment activities because of the CSAB, now ABET/CAC accreditation Criteria 2000 activities, which made assessment an essential component in the accreditation process. As part of our reaccreditation effort during the 1998-1999 academic year we prepared an exit interview for the 1999 graduates. The goal of the exit survey is to gather data from students relative to the accreditation criterion and the University's general education component in the curriculum. The survey focuses on the accreditation issues that most directly impact students, namely,
- Laboratories and facilities
- Curriculum
- Courses in the major
- Cognate courses
- General education courses
- Academic services
The next major data gathering effort was our Alumni Survey, described below.
ETS Area Test
The department has conducted the ETS area test, with mixed results, since 1996. A summary of these results and a brief set of observations appear on the ETS Results page.Student Exit Survey
The Department conducts an annual senior exit survey. The survey instrument and the results are accessible through the links below.Alumni Survey
During the first quarter of 2001 the Department conducted an alumni survey. The survey was conducted through a questionnaire placed on the web. We sent all our alumni a postcard early January 2001. By March 15, 2001 we received 111 respondents, approximately 20% of our alumni. The Results of the survey are now available on-line. The questionnaire and the results are available through the links below.