Summary of EC 2000 Criteria
(*not official*)

[Terminology:
Program educational objectives are statements that describe the accomplishments that the program is preparing graduates to achieve in the years following graduation; program outcomes are statements that describe what students are expected to know or be able to do by the time of graduation.]

1. Students:

  1. Must evaluate student performance, advise students regarding curricular and career matters, and monitor student progress to foster their success in achieving program outcomes.
  2. Must have and enforce policies for the acceptance of transfer students and for validation of courses taken for credit elsewhere.
  3. Must have and enforce procedures to assure that all students meet all program requirements.

2. Program Educational Objectives:

Must have:

  1. detailed published educational objectives that are consistent with the mission of the institution and these criteria;
  2. a process based on the needs of the program's constituencies in which the objectives are determined and periodically evaluated;
  3. an educational program, including a curriculum, that prepares students to attain program outcomes and that fosters accomplishments of graduates that are consistent with these objectives;
  4. a process of ongoing evaluation of the extent to which these objectives are attained, and uses the results to develop and improve the program outcomes so that graduates are better prepared to attain the objectives.

3. Program Outcomes and Assessment:

Must have program outcomes that foster attainment of objectives. There must be processes to produce these outcomes and an assessment process, with documented results, that demonstrates that these program outcomes are being measured. There must be evidence that the results of the assessment are applied to the further development of the program.

Engineering programs must demonstrate that their students attain:

  1. an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
  2. an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
  3. an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
  4. an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams
  5. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
  6. an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
  7. an ability to communicate effectively
  8. the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
  9. a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
  10. a knowledge of contemporary issues
  11. an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.

4. Professional Component:

Faculty must ensure that the curriculum devotes adequate attention to each component, consistent with the outcomes and objectives.

The professional component must include:

  1. one year of a combination of math and basic sciences (some with experimental experience) appropriate to discipline;
  2. 1.5 years of engineering topics [engineering sciences and engineering design appropriate to the student's field of study];
  3. general education to complement the technical curriculum;
  4. Capstone design: Students must be prepared for engineering practice through the curriculum culminating in a major design experience based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work and incorporating appropriate engineering standards and multiple realistic constraints.
Note: One year = 45 credit hours.

5. Faculty:

  1. Sufficient in number to accomodate adequate student-faculty interaction, student advising and counseling, university service, professional development, interaction with industrial and professional practioners, and employees of students.
  2. Sufficient in competencies to cover all curricular areas.
  3. Must ensure proper guidance of the program and to develop and implement processes for evaluation, assessment, and continuing improvement of program.

6. Facilities: Classrooms, labs, and equipment must be appropriate and adequate.

7. Institutional Support and Financial Resources: Must be adequate and appropriate.

8. Program criteria:

  1. Graduates must have knowledge of probability and statistics;
  2. mathematics through differential and integral calculus, discrete mathematics;
  3. basic sciences, computer sciences, and engineering sciences necessary to analyze and design complex electrical and electronic devices, software, and systems containing hardware and software components.