DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE CRITERIA AND MEASURES FOR ASSESSING PROGRAM OUTCOMES IN ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS

In the advent of EC 2000, Engineering Technology programs have grappled with methods for assessing the ABET outcomes, especially those skills which are not taught in the traditional technology courses. This paper presents the development of performance criteria and measures for detailed assessment of specific students’ performance in the program outcomes in an Engineering Technology (TAC 2007-2008 Criterion 2, a-k outcomes). Performance criteria have been used to break down each program outcome into concrete measurable actions that students are expected to be able to demonstrate proficiency in the outcome. Defining performance criteria for outcomes is not only the first important step to meaningful assessment of outcomes but also the first step in eliminating ambiguity in the interpretation of outcomes that could vary from faculty to faculty. For each of the listed outcomes for the ABET Accreditation bodies, detailed performance criteria are presented in this paper. Suggestions on how the performance criteria can be used in a program are described in detail to allow selective adoption of the performance criteria for different courses. The methodology for defining and using the performance criteria described in this paper enables faculty to (1) fully understand the outcomes, (2) understand a range of performance criteria that need to be measured for each outcome, and (3) remove any ambiguity in the interpretation of the outcomes. In addition, it makes it possible to identify the critical skill-sets to measure for each outcome and makes assessment meaningful for engineering technology programs.