Outcomes-based assessment for comprehensive curriculum development in mechatronics

The paper describes a comprehensive assessment plan that was carried out as part of an NSF-funded effort to integrate principles of mechatronics throughout the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering curricula at the University of Detroit Mercy. The project team consists of faculty members from three departments: Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Education. The focus of the article is a description of how the assessment results have been used to refine one curricular component of the project: the senior-level course in mechatronics. We present an overview of the project, a summary of the assessment framework, initial results of the formative assessment of the mechatronics course, and an evolving model of outcome based curriculum development.