CSE Program Objectives, Outcomes and Assessment Methods

The CSE program uses the following assessment mechanisms:

Conventional assignments and exams in individual courses.
SETs (Student Evaluation of Teaching) in individual sections of courses.
Course group reports (prepared by course coordinators of the courses in a given group, in consultation with instructors of the courses).
Exit Survey Results.
Alumni (Employee) survey results.
Supervisor/Manager survey results.
On-Campus Recruiter survey results.
Annual Undergraduate forum.

The following table relates each CSE program objective with the assessment mechanisms that are used to evaluate how well we achieve the objective in question.

Program Objective: To provide graduates with a thorough grounding in the key principles and practices of computing, and in the basic engineering, mathematical, and scientific principles that underpin them.

Outcomes ABET 2000
Criterion 3.(a-k) Assessment Methods and Feedback Mechanisms

Students will demonstrate proficiency in the areas of software design and development, algorithms, operating systems, programming languages, and architecture. a, c, d, e, g, i, k Evaluate student proficiency in these tasks by assigning suitable programming labs in appropriate courses, and by conducting suitable mid-term and final examinations in various courses. The results of these evaluations will be used by appropriate course coordinators to improve the individual courses.

Students will demonstrate proficiency in relevant aspects of mathematics, including discrete mathematics, as well as the appropriate concepts from physics and electrical circuits and devices. a, i, k Evaluate, via examinations and appropriate assignments, in courses that depend upon this material, how well students have acquired the required technical knowledge. Provide this information to the faculty involved in teaching this material.

Students will successfully apply these principles and practices to a variety of problems. a, b, c, e, k Evaluate, in advanced courses, including in the capstone design courses, how well students are able to apply the principles and practices they have acquired in earlier courses. Report on the results of these evaluations to appropriate course coordinators, as well as to the Curriculum committee (during the every-other-year report on specific course groups). This should enable faculty to make any needed changes in individual courses as well as in the curriculum as a whole.*
Use feedback, as available, on internships, to gauge how successful students are in working on real-life problems.
On a longer-term basis, use feedback from employee and supervisor surveys to gauge how well our graduates are able to apply these principles and practices in the workplace.

*The report that each course group makes to the Curriculum Committee every other year, is a powerful feedback mechanism applicable to all outcomes. Hence we will not repeat it in the `assessment methods and feedback mechanisms' column for the other outcomes listed in this document.

Program Objective: To provide graduates with a thorough grounding in the key principles and practices of computing, and in the basic engineering, mathematical, and scientific principles that underpin them.
Outcomes	ABET 2000 Criterion 3.(a-k)	Assessment Methods and Feedback Mechanisms
Students will demonstrate proficiency in the areas of software design and development, algorithms, operating systems, programming languages, and architecture.	a, c, d, e, g, i, k	Evaluate student proficiency in these tasks by assigning suitable programming labs in appropriate courses, and by conducting suitable mid-term and final examinations in various courses. The results of these evaluations will be used by appropriate course coordinators to improve the individual courses.
Students will demonstrate proficiency in relevant aspects of mathematics, including discrete mathematics, as well as the appropriate concepts from physics and electrical circuits and devices.	a, i, k	Evaluate, via examinations and appropriate assignments, in courses that depend upon this material, how well students have acquired the required technical knowledge. Provide this information to the faculty involved in teaching this material.
Students will successfully apply these principles and practices to a variety of problems.	a, b, c, e, k	Evaluate, in advanced courses, including in the capstone design courses, how well students are able to apply the principles and practices they have acquired in earlier courses. Report on the results of these evaluations to appropriate course coordinators, as well as to the Curriculum committee (during the every-other-year report on specific course groups). This should enable faculty to make any needed changes in individual courses as well as in the curriculum as a whole.* Use feedback, as available, on internships, to gauge how successful students are in working on real-life problems. On a longer-term basis, use feedback from employee and supervisor surveys to gauge how well our graduates are able to apply these principles and practices in the workplace.

Program Objective: To provide graduates with an understanding of additional engineering principles, and the mathematical and scientific principles that underpin them.

Outcomes ABET 2000
Criterion 3.(a-k) Assessment Methods and Feedback Mechanisms

Students will demonstrate an understanding of differential and integral calculus, differential equations, physics and several areas of basic engineering sciences. a, b, e, k Evaluate, via examinations and appropriate assignments, in courses where students acquire these skills, as well as in courses where they are applied, how well students have acquired the required technical knowledge. Provide this information to the faculty involved in teaching this material.

Students will have the ability to work with others and on multi-disciplinary teams in both classroom and laboratory environments. d Evaluate, both in CIS560 as well as in the (appropriate) capstone design courses, how well students are able to perform in teams when working on technical problems. Also evaluate, in CIS601 (following the recent adoption of formal debates in that course), how well students are able to work with (and against?) each other.
On a longer-term basis, use feedback from employee and supervisor surveys to gauge how well our graduates are able to function as team-members in the workplace.

Program Objective: To provide graduates with an understanding of additional engineering principles, and the mathematical and scientific principles that underpin them.
Outcomes	ABET 2000 Criterion 3.(a-k)	Assessment Methods and Feedback Mechanisms
Students will demonstrate an understanding of differential and integral calculus, differential equations, physics and several areas of basic engineering sciences.	a, b, e, k	Evaluate, via examinations and appropriate assignments, in courses where students acquire these skills, as well as in courses where they are applied, how well students have acquired the required technical knowledge. Provide this information to the faculty involved in teaching this material.
Students will have the ability to work with others and on multi-disciplinary teams in both classroom and laboratory environments.	d	Evaluate, both in CIS560 as well as in the (appropriate) capstone design courses, how well students are able to perform in teams when working on technical problems. Also evaluate, in CIS601 (following the recent adoption of formal debates in that course), how well students are able to work with (and against?) each other. On a longer-term basis, use feedback from employee and supervisor surveys to gauge how well our graduates are able to function as team-members in the workplace.

Program Objective: To provide graduates with an understanding of the overall human context in which engineering and computing activities take place.

Outcomes ABET 2000
Criterion 3.(a-k) Assessment Methods and Feedback Mechanisms

Students will demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively. g Evaluate, both in CIS560 as well as in the (appropriate) capstone design courses, how effective students are in technical communications such as design documents. Evaluate, in CIS601, how effective students are in less technical communications both in writing, as well as in oral presentations (in the formal debates).
On a longer-term basis, use feedback from supervisor surveys to gauge how well the communication skills of our graduates meet the needs of the workplace.

Students will obtain familiarity with basic ideas and contemporary issues in the social sciences and humanities. h, j Evaluate, via examinations and appropriate assignments, in courses where students are exposed to these ideas, how well students' appreciation of these ideas has developed. Faculty involved in teaching these courses will, on the basis of this evaluation, make needed changes in the material as well as the approaches used in these courses.
On a longer-term basis, use feedback from supervisor surveys to evaluate what changes, if any, need to be made to these courses.

Students will obtain an understanding of social, professional and ethical issues related to computing. f, h, j Evaluate, in CIS601, via the reports that students are required to write, as well as the content and the attitudes in the formal debates in the course, students' understanding and appreciation of these issues. Make appropriate additions or changes to the software spine as well as other courses to fix any widespread problems that are noticed in CIS601.
Use feedback from supervisor surveys to evaluate how well these lessons have been learned, and how effectively they are being applied by our graduates in the workplace.

Program Objective: To provide graduates with an understanding of the overall human context in which engineering and computing activities take place.
Outcomes	ABET 2000 Criterion 3.(a-k)	Assessment Methods and Feedback Mechanisms
Students will demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively.	g	Evaluate, both in CIS560 as well as in the (appropriate) capstone design courses, how effective students are in technical communications such as design documents. Evaluate, in CIS601, how effective students are in less technical communications both in writing, as well as in oral presentations (in the formal debates). On a longer-term basis, use feedback from supervisor surveys to gauge how well the communication skills of our graduates meet the needs of the workplace.
Students will obtain familiarity with basic ideas and contemporary issues in the social sciences and humanities.	h, j	Evaluate, via examinations and appropriate assignments, in courses where students are exposed to these ideas, how well students' appreciation of these ideas has developed. Faculty involved in teaching these courses will, on the basis of this evaluation, make needed changes in the material as well as the approaches used in these courses. On a longer-term basis, use feedback from supervisor surveys to evaluate what changes, if any, need to be made to these courses.
Students will obtain an understanding of social, professional and ethical issues related to computing.	f, h, j	Evaluate, in CIS601, via the reports that students are required to write, as well as the content and the attitudes in the formal debates in the course, students' understanding and appreciation of these issues. Make appropriate additions or changes to the software spine as well as other courses to fix any widespread problems that are noticed in CIS601. Use feedback from supervisor surveys to evaluate how well these lessons have been learned, and how effectively they are being applied by our graduates in the workplace.

Program Objective: To prepare graduates for both immediate employment in the CSE profession and for admission to graduate programs in computing.

Outcomes ABET 2000
Criterion 3.(a-k) Assessment Methods and Feedback Mechanisms

A large fraction of graduates will be immediately employed in high-technology companies that utilize their computing education. e, k Use data from the placement office to obtain information about how actively our graduates are being recruited by high-tech companies.
Use data from employee surveys (both second year and sixth year) to track how successful our graduates are in advancing in the workplace. If the absence of skills among graduates seem to be impeding their advance, discuss this in the Undergraduate Studies Committee and make recommendations for change (in the curriculum or in the program as a whole).

Strong graduates from the program will be prepared to enter good graduate programs in CSE. a, b, c, e, h, i Use data from the placement office to obtain information about which graduate programs our graduates enter. But, given the enormous industry-demand for qualified and capable CSE graduates, we should keep in mind that the number of our graduates who enter graduate programs is likely to be quite small.

Outcomes	ABET 2000 Criterion 3.(a-k)	Assessment Methods and Feedback Mechanisms
Program Objective: To prepare graduates for both immediate employment in the CSE profession and for admission to graduate programs in computing.
A large fraction of graduates will be immediately employed in high-technology companies that utilize their computing education.	e, k	Use data from the placement office to obtain information about how actively our graduates are being recruited by high-tech companies. Use data from employee surveys (both second year and sixth year) to track how successful our graduates are in advancing in the workplace. If the absence of skills among graduates seem to be impeding their advance, discuss this in the Undergraduate Studies Committee and make recommendations for change (in the curriculum or in the program as a whole).
Strong graduates from the program will be prepared to enter good graduate programs in CSE.	a, b, c, e, h, i	Use data from the placement office to obtain information about which graduate programs our graduates enter. But, given the enormous industry-demand for qualified and capable CSE graduates, we should keep in mind that the number of our graduates who enter graduate programs is likely to be quite small.