Evaluation of the <em>professional</em> student outcomes

Evaluation of the professional student outcomes

Background: A number of courses in the curriculum, including especially several in the general education portion of the curriculum, contribute to ensuring that students achieve several of the professional outcomes. In order to further improve the achievement of a number of these outcomes and in order to assess the degree of this achievement by the time of the students' graduation from the program, CSE 601, the required course on social and ethical issues in computing, requires each student to explore a new or recent product or practice or event etc., consider the local and global impact it may have on individuals, organizations, and society (outcome (h)); consider as well any relevant contemporary issues (outcome (j)) as well as ethical and professional issues (outcome (f)) related to the product, practice, or event; and present the findings in a 3-4 page paper (outcome (g)). The research that the student has to go through in exploring and analyzing the topic contributes strongly to the development of life-long learning skills (outcome (i)). The rubric below is used to evaluate the student's paper with respect to these outcomes.

Rubric: The student's paper is evaluated along six dimensions, these having to do respectively with the student's awareness of global effects that the product/ practice/ event etc. (p/p/e) in question may have; the student's understanding of the involved economic factors; the student's awareness of the implications to society at large; awareness of other relevant contemporary issues; consideration of relevant ethical and professional issues; the quality of the presentation of the ideas in the student's paper; and the style of writing. Note that the first three dimensions are concerned with the "broad education" outcome (outcome (h)); the third and fourth are concerned with the "contemporary issues" outcome (outcome (j)); the fifth is concerned with the "ethical/professional issues" outcome (outcome (f)); and the last two are concerned with effective communication skills (outcome (g)). Each of these dimensions is assigned a score of 1 through 4, these values representing increasing degrees of achievement in the particular dimension, as described in the table below in the rows corresponding to the various dimensions. The numbers in the last column are the actual scores assigned to any particular student, based on his or her paper, along the six dimensions. The overall total score is assigned by simply adding together the scores corresponding to the six dimensions. Note, however, that some dimensions may not be appropriate for certain papers, depending on the topic of the paper; in such cases, no score is recorded in the corresponding row under the "points assigned" column.

Name of person being evaluated: __________________________________________
Course and quarter of evaluation: __________________________________________

   1 2 3 4 Points
assigned

Awareness of global effects of the product/practice/event etc.
(Note: "p/p/e" is used to denote "product/ practice/ event etc.".) Seems to have considered only effects on immediate users; Some awareness of the more extended effects of the p/p/e; Good understanding of the widespread effects of the p/p/e but with somewhat limited perspective about long-term factors; Deep understanding of the immediate and long-term issues involving the p/p/e on users and non-users locally and globally.

Understanding of economic factors Little or no understanding of economic factors involved in the creation and/or use of the p/p/e; Some understanding of these economic factors as applied to this p/p/e; Good understanding economic factors as applied to this p/p/e and how it affects other related p/p/e's etc. Deep understanding of economic factors applied to this and related products and the impact they may have on the economy at large as well as long term trends.

Awareness of implications to society at large Little or no understanding of (or interest in?) implications to society involved in the creation and/or use of the p/p/e; Moderate understanding of the implications to society in the creation and/or use of the p/p/e; Good understanding of the implications to society in the creation and/or use of the p/p/e, as well as its relation to general societal issues; Deep understanding of the immediate and longterm implications to society in the creation and/or use of the p/p/e, and the overall potential benefits and risks to society.

Awareness of (other) contemporary issues (political, cultural, ...) Little or no understanding of (or interest in?) contemporary issues directly related to the creation and/or use of the p/p/e; Moderate understanding of the main relevant contemporary issues directly related to the creation and/or use of the p/p/e; Good understanding of all the relevant contemporary issues directly related to the creation and/or use of the p/p/e; Deep understanding of all the relevant contemporary issues related to the creation and/or use of the p/p/e, as well as of issues that may be only tangetially related; good analysis of all these issues and how they might impact the general acceptance of the p/p/e and how this might affect the future development of similar p/p/e's.

Understanding of ethical and professional issues Little or no understanding of professional/ethical issues even where there are serious questions involved; Some consideration of professional, ethical issues raised directly by the p/p/e; Good understanding of all the essential issues related to the p/p/e; reasonable analysis of the relevant issues; Deep understanding of the professional issues involved and the ethical implications of the p/p/e; careful, convincing analysis of all relevant factors.

Presentation of ideas and organization of the paper Bland presentation; sequencing and pace of topics seems random; doesn't lead up to any clear conclusions; Some of the ideas are presented well; others are lacking; offers plausible conclusion(s); Ideas are well organized and help the reader move along; the key points are presented but does not demonstrate in-depth understanding; leads up to convincing conclusion(s); The paper is clear and focused; relevant, quality details give the reader important information; helps the reader develop insight into the topic.

Style Occasional problems with word choices and sentence structure, leaving the reader unsure of the meaning; often resorts to jargon/ cliches; Words and sentences are adequate in general but lack energy; reader has to struggle to keep reading to the end; Good writing style; sentences flow smoothly and evenly; Compelling writing style; connects strongly with the reader and keeps him or her engaged right to the end.

Total:

	1	2	3	4	Points assigned
Awareness of global effects of the product/practice/event etc. (Note: "p/p/e" is used to denote "product/ practice/ event etc.".)	Seems to have considered only effects on immediate users;	Some awareness of the more extended effects of the p/p/e;	Good understanding of the widespread effects of the p/p/e but with somewhat limited perspective about long-term factors;	Deep understanding of the immediate and long-term issues involving the p/p/e on users and non-users locally and globally.
Understanding of economic factors	Little or no understanding of economic factors involved in the creation and/or use of the p/p/e;	Some understanding of these economic factors as applied to this p/p/e;	Good understanding economic factors as applied to this p/p/e and how it affects other related p/p/e's etc.	Deep understanding of economic factors applied to this and related products and the impact they may have on the economy at large as well as long term trends.
Awareness of implications to society at large	Little or no understanding of (or interest in?) implications to society involved in the creation and/or use of the p/p/e;	Moderate understanding of the implications to society in the creation and/or use of the p/p/e;	Good understanding of the implications to society in the creation and/or use of the p/p/e, as well as its relation to general societal issues;	Deep understanding of the immediate and longterm implications to society in the creation and/or use of the p/p/e, and the overall potential benefits and risks to society.
Awareness of (other) contemporary issues (political, cultural, ...)	Little or no understanding of (or interest in?) contemporary issues directly related to the creation and/or use of the p/p/e;	Moderate understanding of the main relevant contemporary issues directly related to the creation and/or use of the p/p/e;	Good understanding of all the relevant contemporary issues directly related to the creation and/or use of the p/p/e;	Deep understanding of all the relevant contemporary issues related to the creation and/or use of the p/p/e, as well as of issues that may be only tangetially related; good analysis of all these issues and how they might impact the general acceptance of the p/p/e and how this might affect the future development of similar p/p/e's.
Understanding of ethical and professional issues	Little or no understanding of professional/ethical issues even where there are serious questions involved;	Some consideration of professional, ethical issues raised directly by the p/p/e;	Good understanding of all the essential issues related to the p/p/e; reasonable analysis of the relevant issues;	Deep understanding of the professional issues involved and the ethical implications of the p/p/e; careful, convincing analysis of all relevant factors.
Presentation of ideas and organization of the paper	Bland presentation; sequencing and pace of topics seems random; doesn't lead up to any clear conclusions;	Some of the ideas are presented well; others are lacking; offers plausible conclusion(s);	Ideas are well organized and help the reader move along; the key points are presented but does not demonstrate in-depth understanding; leads up to convincing conclusion(s);	The paper is clear and focused; relevant, quality details give the reader important information; helps the reader develop insight into the topic.
Style	Occasional problems with word choices and sentence structure, leaving the reader unsure of the meaning; often resorts to jargon/ cliches;	Words and sentences are adequate in general but lack energy; reader has to struggle to keep reading to the end;	Good writing style; sentences flow smoothly and evenly;	Compelling writing style; connects strongly with the reader and keeps him or her engaged right to the end.
Total:

Evaluator's name: __________________________________________
Date of evaluation: __________________________________________