CET - ABET Self-Study - Indiana State University

Program Self-Study Report 

for 

Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering 

Technology 

Submitted by 

Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology 

College of Technology 

Indiana State University 

to the 

Technology Accreditation Commission 

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. 

111 Market Place, Suite 1050 

Baltimore, Maryland 21202-4012 

August 30, 2012

Contents 

Contents 

i 

Preface 1 

1 Background and Overview 2 

1.1 Degree Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

1.2 Program Mode and Curriculum Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

1.3 Department Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

1.4 Department Constituents and Feedback Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

1.5 Report Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

1.6 Contact Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

2 Students 6 

2.1 Undergraduate Student Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

2.2 Admission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

2.3 Student Performance Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

2.4 Transfer Student Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

2.5 Advising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

2.5.1 Adviser and Student Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

2.5.2 Advising Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

2.5.3 General Advising Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

2.5.4 New Students Orientation Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

2.5.5 Advising Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

2.5.6 Adviser Personal Identification Number (PIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

2.5.7 Student Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

i

2.6 Mentoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

2.7 On-line Undergraduate Academic Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

2.8 Student Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

2.9 Tutoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

2.10 Career Guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

3 Educational Objectives 14 

3.1 Institutional, College and Departmental Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 

3.1.1 Institutional mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 

3.1.2 College mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

3.2 Constituencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

3.3 Program Educational Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 

3.4 Consistency with Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 

3.5 Consistency with ABET Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

3.6 Developing Educational Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

3.6.1 Process to Determine Educational Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

3.7 Assessing Educational Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 

3.7.1 Advisory board survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

3.7.2 Alumni survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

3.7.3 Employers survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

3.8 Evaluating Educational Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

3.9 Educational Objectives Evaluation Flowchart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 

4 Student Outcomes 27 

4.1 Student Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 

4.2 Relationship of Student Outcomes to Educational Objectives and ABET Criteria 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

4.3 Student Outcomes and Course Learning Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 

4.4 Developing Student Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

4.5 Assessment Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

4.5.1 Performance Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

4.5.2 Rubric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 

4.6 Assessment Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 

ii

5 Continuous Improvement and Assessment 45 

5.1 Educational Objectives Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

5.1.1 Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

5.1.2 Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 

5.1.3 Data Dissemination and Program Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 

5.2 Student Outcomes Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 

5.2.1 Evidence Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 

5.2.2 Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

5.2.3 Data Dissemination and Program Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 

6 Curriculum 57 

6.1 Foundational Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 

6.1.1 Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 

6.1.2 Mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 

6.1.3 Physical and Natural Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 

6.2 Technical Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 

6.2.1 Technical core . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 

6.2.2 Use of appropriate tools and computer support . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 

6.2.3 The Integration of Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 

6.2.4 Co-operative education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 

6.2.5 Advisory Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 

7 Facilities 61 

7.1 Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 

7.1.1 CET Office Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 

7.1.2 Auditorium and Meeting Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 

7.2 Classrooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 

7.3 Laboratories, Equipments and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 

7.4 Computing and Information Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 

7.5 Library Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 

7.6 Adequacy of Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 

8 Faculty 65 

iii

8.1 Adequacy of Faculty Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 

8.2 Faculty Workload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 

8.3 Student-Faculty Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 

8.4 University Services and Professional Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 

8.5 Concluding Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 

9 Institutional Support 70 

9.1 Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 

9.2 Program Budget and Financial Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 

9.3 Faculty Hiring and Retention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 

9.4 Staffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 

9.5 Support for Faculty Professional Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 

10 Program Criteria 73 

A Industrial Advisory Board Meeting Minutes 76 

B ECET (ECMET) Department Meeting Minutes 84 

C Computer Engineering Technology Faculty Meeting Minutes 89 

D Industrial Advisory Board Survey 96 

D.1 Survey Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 

D.2 2012 Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 

D.3 2009 Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 

D.4 Sample Survey Returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 

E Computer Engineering Technology Alumni Survey 119 

E.1 Survey Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 

E.2 2012 Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 

E.3 2009 Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 

F Employer Survey 157 

F.1 Survey Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 

F.2 2010 Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 

iv

G Senior Exit Survey 167 

H Faculty Resume 180 

I Curriculum 187 

J Institutional Support 191 

K Facilities 203 

L Articulation Agreements 206 

M Computer Engineering Program Brochure 211 

N Syllabi 214 

O Institutional Summary 273 

v

List of Tables 

1.1 Contact Information: Chairperson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

1.2 Contact Information: Program Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

2.1 CET Program Enrollment and Degree Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

3.1 Relationship between Educational Objectives and ABET Program Criteria . 18 

3.2 Educational Objectives Performance Rubric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

3.3 Educational Objectives Assessment Benchmarks, Interpretations, and Program 

Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

4.1 Correspondence between Educational Objectives, Student Outcomes, and 

ABET a-k Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

4.2 Correspondence between CET curriculum and Student Outcomes . . . . . . 30 

4.3 Performance Criteria for Outcome 1: Problem Solving Skills . . . . . . . . . 34 

4.4 Performance Criteria for Outcome 2: Design Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

4.5 Performance Criteria for Outcome 3: Lab Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

4.6 Performance Criteria for Outcome 4: Managerial Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

4.7 Performance Criteria for Outcome 5: Ethics Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

4.8 Performance Criteria for Outcome 6: Life-Long Learning . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

4.9 Performance Criteria for Outcome 7: Teamwork Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 

4.10 Performance Criteria for Outcome 8: Communication Skills . . . . . . . . . 41 

4.11 Assessment Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 

5.1 Survey Summary on the Degree of Importance of Educational Objectives . . 46 

5.2 Survey Summary on the Degree of Readiness of Educational Objectives . . 46 

6.1 Course and Section Size Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 

vi

7.1 ECET Department Classrooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 

8.1 Faculty Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 

8.2 Faculty Workload Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 

8.3 Faculty Workload Average . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 

10.1 Correlation between Program Criteria and Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 

J.1 Programs Offered by the Educational Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 

J.2 Support Expenditures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 

J.3 Faculty Salary Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 

J.4 Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 

vii

List of Figures 

3.1 Program Evaluation Flowchart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

A.1 Minutes of ECT IAB Meeting April 25 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 

A.2 Minutes of ECT IAB Meeting April 6 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 



A.5 Minutes of ECT IAB Meeting November 24 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 



B.1 Proposed Discussion Items on CET Program for IAB Meeting . . . . . . . . 85 

B.2 Proposed Changes to Address ABET Capstone Requirement . . . . . . . . . 86 

B.3 Minutes of ECMET Faculty Discussions on CET Capstone Nov. 11 2009 . . . 87 

B.4 Minutes of ECMET Faculty Discussions on CET Capstone Nov. 13 2009 . . . 88 

C.1 CET Faculty Meeting Minutes October 6 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 

C.2 CET Faculty Meeting Minutes February 8 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 

C.3 CET Faculty Meeting Minutes October 10 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 

C.4 CET Faculty Meeting Minutes November 2 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 

C.5 F-1 Form for CET Capstone Course Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 

C.6 Proposed CET Capstone Syllabus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 

D.1 2012 IAB Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 

D.2 2012 Industrial Advisory Board Survey Results on CET Program Educational 

Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 

D.3 2009 Industrial Advisory Board Survey Results on CET Program Educational 

Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 

viii

D.4 Survey Return Sample: IAB Approval of Educational Objectives . . . . . . . 115 




E.1 2012 Alumni Survey on Program Educational Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . 120 

E.2 2012 Alumni Survey Results on CET Program Educational Objectives . . . . 122 

E.3 2009 Alumni Survey Results on CET Program Educational Objectives . . . . 143 

F.1 2012 Employer Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 

F.2 Employer Survey Results Spring 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 

G.1 Spring 2012 Senior Exit Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 

I.1 CET Program Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 

I.2 CET Program Four Year Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 

I.3 Graduation Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 

J.1 NSF STARS Grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 

J.2 Dean’s Support Letter for CET NSF CCLI Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 

J.3 Dean’s Support Letter for CET NSF TUES Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 

J.4 Dean’s Support Letter for CET NSF S-STEM Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 

J.5 Dean’s Support Letter for CET NSF STEM Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 

J.6 Equipment Order: FPGA Development Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 

J.7 Software Upgrade Order: National Instruments LabView . . . . . . . . . . . 200 

K.1 Library Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 

K.2 Library Funding Allocation Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 

L.1 CET Articulation Agreement with Ivy Tech Community College . . . . . . . 207 

L.2 CET Articulation Agreement with Lakeland Community College . . . . . . 208 

L.3 CET Articulation Agreement with Vincennes University (AS Degree) . . . . 209 

L.4 CET Articulation Agreement with Vincennes University (AAS Degree) . . . 210 

M.1 CET Brochure Page 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 

M.2 CET Brochure Page 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 

ix

Preface 

The Indiana State University Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology 

is seeking accreditation for its Computer Engineering Technology (CET) degree 

under the ABET Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) 2012 criteria. 

Originated from the Computer Hardware Technology program, CET currently has a total 

enrollment of 60 students for the academic year 2011-12. Since its inception in 2008, it 

has seen 22 students graduate. The program strictly follows the department, College and 

university guidelines for admitting, evaluating, monitoring, and advising students. In 

2010, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded the program with a five-year grant 

STARS: Sycamore Technology Academics and Recruitment Scholarships. These scholarships 

are both need-based and merit-based, and are intended to support academically worthy 

yet financially challenged freshmen and transfer students with a special emphasis on 

improving under-represented student population in the program. 

Over the years, measurable educational objectives have been developed under the guidance 

from constituents that fulfill Indiana State University and the College of Technology 

missions, and ABET requirements. In this self-study report we elaborate the systematic 

learning assessment and evaluation plan that have been proposed and implemented by 

the program for its continuous improvement. Also included in this report are faculty, 

facilities, and institutional profiles to demonstrate the program’s strengths and available 

support. 

1

Chapter 1 

Background and Overview 

1.1 Degree Title 

The Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET) at Indiana 

State University (ISU) requests accreditation for the degree program of Bachelor of Science 

in Computer Engineering Technology (CET). The program offers rigorous education that 

prepares students for various computer engineering technology careers. The curriculum is 

structured to provide proficiencies in fundamental technical subjects and experiences that 

fuse life-long learning with professional ethics. 

The CET program is, and has been accredited by Association of Technology, Management, 

and Applied Engineering (ATMAE), formerly National Association of Industrial 

Technology (NAIT). 

1.2 Program Mode and Curriculum Overview 

Computer Engineering Technology is a day program designed for on campus full-time 

students. The program is offered on a semester basis: one 50-minute lecture or one 100- 

minute lab session per week in a sixteen-week semester constitutes one-credit. 

The Indiana State University’s academic year consists of Fall, Spring and Summer sessions. 

During Summer no CET courses are normally offered, but students may take Foundational 

Studies courses. Students are encouraged to participate in co-operative education, 

summer internships and summer professional experiences. 

The 2011-12 curriculum is attached in Figure I.1 to give the reviewers a brief overview 

of the CET program. The educational objectives and student outcomes are implemented 

through this curriculum. Also in Appendix M we have included the latest CET program 

brochure. 

2

CHAPTER 1. BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW 3 

1.3 Department Culture 

The composition of department faculty reflects both experience and growth. Several senior 

faculty have served the College and department for over three decades and are well 

respected within the university and local community. They understand the history and traditions 

of the programs, and have long established close relationships with constituents. 

They also offer invaluable guidance and mentorship to junior faculty. Under the leadership 

of senior faculty the department has groomed a culture that revolves around collaboration 

and consensus. Faculty members share thoughts in an open and equal environment, and 

junior faculty are encouraged to voice opinions. It is always in this fashion that decisions 

concerning curriculum and program development are debated and implemented to assure 

that the program and students’ best interests are served. 

The department has developed a mature mechanism to cope with challenges due to the 

changes in the overall educational environment, and is forthcoming in terms of curriculum 

adjustment. Traditional students that came directly out of high school used to represent 

the majority of the undergraduate population, however the last few years have seen the 

increase of non-traditional students and transfer students from neighboring community 

colleges. The articulation agreements with Ivy Tech Community College and other twoand 

four-year schools are the latest example that demonstrates the department’s acute 

adaptation to sustain programs growth and to provide quality education to those who 

wish to continue study beyond an associate degree. 

Interaction between faculty and students is always the cornerstone of departmental 

philosophy for building a healthy and productive faculty-student relationship. Small class 

size and low student-instructor ratio provide a more open atmosphere for both parties 

to exchange thoughts. Student advising is an element that weighs heavily in faculty service, 

and the process keeps the faculty in close contact with our current and prospective 

students in regards to their academic progress. 

1.4 Department Constituents and Feedback Loops 

The department’s constituents include current and prospective students, alumni, student 

employers, and industrial advisory board. Inputs from these constituents reach the department 

through various channels. These inputs along with the responding mechanism 

form the basis to assure program refinement. 

Current students interact with faculty through classes, individual meetings and special 

events. Suggestions or shortcomings raised through these interactions are normally concerns 

at the course-level and do not affect overall curriculum organization and content. 

Faculty respond to these concerns by making micro-adjustment in teaching pedagogy, material 

presentation and classroom activities. This is considered the inner feedback loop that 

is handled by individual faculty in a relatively short time frame. Concerns that are beyond 

the course-level will be presented to the entire faculty for discussion, and if legitimate, be 

taken into consideration in higher level curricular modifications.


Involvement of a wider array of constituents such as advisory board, alumni and employers 

seeks inputs for larger perspectives, namely curriculum and program level adjustments. 

The survey is the most common format for soliciting feedback. Recruiting and 

outreach are other venues. Faculty study and debate the input, and decide the action 

needed with respect to the department’s facility, manpower, and resources. This is considered 

macro-adjustment as it may result in changes to curriculum, program objectives and 

outcomes. It demands a longer cycle and even a phased plan to implement the solutions 

generated through the process. 

1.5 Report Organization 

This self-study was developed during the 2011-12 academic year, and follows the 2012-13 

criteria approved by the ABET Board of Directors on October 29, 2011. The report is presented 

using the chapter organizational scheme with each chapter dedicated to addressing 

one criterion. The chapter titles are as follows: 

Chapter 2: Students (Criterion 1) 

Chapter 3: Educational Objectives (Criterion 2) 

Chapter 4: Student Outcomes (Criterion 3) 

Chapter 5: Continuous Improvement and Assessment (Criterion 4) 

Chapter 6: Curriculum (Criterion 5) 

Chapter 7: Facilities (Criterion 6) 

Chapter 8: Faculty (Criterion 7) 

Chapter 9: Institutional Support (Criterion 8) 

Chapter 10: Program Criteria 

1.6 Contact Information 

The direct contact personnel for ABET accreditation at ISU for CET program are: Dr. Joe 

Ashby and Dr. Yuetong Lin. Their contact information are listed in Table 1.1 and Table 1.2.


Dr. Joe Ashby 

Chairperson 

Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology 

Office: TC 301 E Phone: 812-237-3457 

Fax: 812-237-3397 

Email:joe.ashby@indstate.edu 

Address: Room 301, 101 North Sixth Street, Terre Haute IN-47809 

Table 1.1: Contact Information: Chairperson 

Dr. Yuetong Lin 

Program Coordinator, Computer Engineering Technology 

Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology 

Office: TC 301 H Phone: 812-237-3399 

Fax: 812-237-3397 

Email: yuetong.lin@indstate.edu 

Address: Room 301, 101 North Sixth Street, Terre Haute IN-47809 

Table 1.2: Contact Information: Program Coordinator

Chapter 2 

Students 

In this section, we will describe the policies and procedures instituted by the department 

and program as required by Criterion 1 to evaluate, advise, and monitor students in a 

manner consistent with program objectives and student outcomes. 

2.1 Undergraduate Student Body 

The ECET Department has been offering undergraduate degrees since 1978. Though having 

experienced several cycles of re-organization, the faculty have always championed the 

core value of excellence in producing high quality graduates. 

There are 60 students in the CET program by the end of Spring 2012 semester, with 

ethnic minorities constituting about one-third of the student population. The program has 

graduated 22 students since Spring 2009. Our students comprise primarily of residents of 

Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. Other states and several foreign countries are also represented. 

Most of the students (57 out of 60) are full time traditional students (18 to 23). 

Enrollment in the computer engineering technology program (previously computer 

hardware technology) has steadily increased from 30+ students to the current level. We 

hope to continue to grow the program, and are working towards this goal through strong 

recruiting/advertisement effort, and improving retention/graduation rate. The historical 

statistics are shown in Table 2.1. 

The ECET Department is strongly committed to improving student diversity. As mentioned 

in the Abstract section, the STARS (Figure J.1) grant was awarded by NSF to help 

CET program recruit academically talented but financially disadvantaged freshmen and 

transfer students over a four-year span. So far African Americans and females constitute 

about one half in the first two cohorts of scholarship recipients. The department is actively 

involved in an annual recruiting event that welcomes female high school students. Several 

ECET labs are the main tour destinations and faculty members use the opportunity to 

showcase the facility and program strengths. The department is also a major sponsor for 

the Female in Technology forum focusing on interaction and career opportunity for female 

6

CHAPTER 2. STUDENTS 7 

Academic Enrollment Year Total Degrees Award 

Year 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Undergrad Associates Bachelors 

Current 

Year 

2011 

FT 16 18 13 10 57 

PT 0 0 1 2 3 

1 

7 

1 2010 

2 2009 

3 2008 

FT 11 9 11 23 54 

PT 1 1 1 1 4 

FT 2 4 6 18 30 

PT 1 0 1 2 4 

FT 2 0 1 21 24 

PT 1 0 0 0 1 

4 

5 

6 

Table 2.1: CET Program Enrollment and Degree Data 

technology students. 

2.2 Admission 

Admittance to ISU at the undergraduate level is handled by the university Admissions 

Office. The program has no involvement with this process. A CET freshman has the same 

eligibility requirements as freshmen in other majors. 

2.3 Student Performance Evaluation 

To earn a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering technology, students must complete 

the subjects in the curriculum, have minimum GPA of 2.0/4.0 in all work attempted at ISU. 

Other requirements include a minimum of 50 hours of 300/400 level courses, and 30 hours 

of residency, etc. 

Pre-requisites for CET courses are strictly enforced. Passing the pre-requisite is necessary 

for an adviser to approve student’s course registration for the following semester. An 

‘F’ grade in courses that are pre-requisites for other courses in the curriculum requires the 

course to be repeated. 

2.4 Transfer Student Policies 

Transfer students constitute an increasing portion in our undergraduate population. Most 

of our transfers come from neighboring community colleges. The main factor contributing 

to this scenario is the expansion of the two-year junior college system in Indiana, which 

has been a priority for the state legislatures and Higher Education Commission to offer 

more affordable college education to Indiana residents. This agenda has posed serious


competition for enrollment at lower levels for our program. In the mean time however, the 

state is also pressing for an increase in the rate of two-year graduates continuing to pursue 

four-year bachelor degree. We therefore consider this to be a great opportunity for future 

program growth, and with a strategically crafted transfer plan in place we expect transfers 

to remain strong in the coming years. 

The CET program has established articulation agreements with sister programs at several 

colleges and regional universities that allow students to complete an associate degree 

and apply credits towards a bachelor degree at ISU. These institutions include: Ivy Tech 

Community College, Lakeland Community College, and Vincennes University. Each articulation 

agreement stipulates the ISU courses that the transfer students need to complete, 

along with the requirements or guidelines that govern the agreement. An associate degree 

holder from these institutions takes the so-called “block-transfer”, i.e., courses with acceptable 

grade would directly substitute ISU equivalents without repeated scrutiny. These 

agreements help pre-establish course equivalence and ease the transition to ISU. They are 

also reviewed and revised if necessary every two years to assure the courses are wellaligned 

on both ends. The most recent agreements are listed in Figure L.1, Figure L.2, 

Figure L.3, and Figure L.4. 

Besides the articulations, CET faculty also utilize the course-by-course approach to evaluate 

transfer requests from students from other schools or programs: 

• Transfer students first apply and are admitted to the university through the regular 

admissions process. Their records will be evaluated first by Transfer Central, the 

on-campus office that provides a centralized processing primarily for non-technical 

credits. If there are any questions regarding the suitability of a substitution or transfer 

course, the program faculty will be consulted. 

• The program will be responsible for reviewing the CET subjects to determine whether 

they have the rigor and coverage equivalent to ones in our curriculum. The decisions 

are made based on the syllabus, course description, and other supplemental material 

presented by students. If a course is not found to be suitable for substitution, a transfer 

equivalence may not be granted. A course that is qualified to be university-level 

work in the technical subjects but cannot be substituted into the curriculum can be 

counted towards the general credit hour requirement or electives. 

A maximum of 94 hours of transfer credit may be assigned towards a bachelor’s degree. 

However in all cases, the final 45 credits of the degree program must be earned while in 

residence. In August 2005 the department unanimously passed a motion to require all 

transfer students to complete a minimum 15 credits of major courses while enrolled at 

ISU. 

We recognize transfer credits may originate from different sources. To maintain the 

curriculum integrity, the program does not “grandfather” credits accepted by other institutions 

and reserves the right to evaluate according to CET requirements.


2.5 Advising 

Academic advising is an integral part of the educational process. The primary purpose of 

advising is to assist students in the development of meaningful educational plans compatible 

with the attainment of their life goals. 

2.5.1 Adviser and Student Role 

The department and program expect advisers to develop the knowledge, experience, and 

interest for effectively communicating with students in a genuine, sincere, accurate, and 

confidential manner. Students are expected to understand university’s and program’s requirements 

and accept the responsibility for fulfilling them. Together advisers and students 

should maintain a professional and mutually respectful relationship as they review 

students’ progress toward the attainment of educational objectives. 

2.5.2 Advising Units 

Advising in CET program starts from the freshman year and will continue through the 

senior year. Students have a variety of advising resources provided by units at the College 

and department level. As a student progresses through the academic program, each advising 

unit will play a different role, depending on the status and concern of the student. 

Key advisement personnel include: 

1. Office of undergraduate academic services. The director of the office is the chief 

administrator in the College for undergraduate academics. This office oversees all 

general advising and curriculum issues. 

There are several support staff in this office who help students on advising, scheduling 

and registration: 

• The central academic adviser. This position was created after the College reorganization 

in Fall 2006 with the goal of having a centralized advising contact. 

The advisor handles the advising requests on a daily basis. 

• The central records coordinator. This staff is to assist the director in organizing 

and coordinating new students orientation program (see 2.5.4), assist students’ 

registration, process transfer request, provide information on Foundational 

Studies requirements, and review degree requirements at the time of 

graduation. 

These staff members establish student contact during the orientation process. In the 

hierarchy of advising team they are the first line of response. Meetings with dean’s 

staff are generally on an “as needed” basis, usually upon student’s request. Having a 

single point of contact provides a convenient and consistent base for students to seek 

help on issues such as transfer credits, Foundational Studies, course substitutions, 

etc.


2. Academic adviser. When a student enrolls as a CET major, he/she is assigned an 

academic adviser who is a full-time member of the faculty. The student will retain 

this adviser as long as he/she feels advising has been productive, thereby enabling 

the development of a closer, more interactive relationship between the two parties. 

Students may request a change in their assigned adviser at any time by contacting 

the department chair or program coordinator. The role of the faculty adviser is to 

provide general guidance regarding CET curriculum and career paths. Each faculty 

adviser has a crucial role in monitoring and advising students, and in catching academic 

problems before they become serious. 

2.5.3 General Advising Policy 

It is mandatory for students to arrange advisement meeting with their adviser at least once 

per semester to review progress and discuss plans and courses for subsequent semesters. 

The adviser will evaluate up-to-date DARS to see if there exists a need to adjust the schedule. 

The meeting is to take place prior to registration for each semester. All students are 

required to obtain adviser’s approval on the signed scheduling form before they can register 

on-line for courses. The approval is also indispensable when students decide to add 

or drop courses from their schedule. 

Besides advisement meetings, advisers routinely monitor each student’s progress towards 

the degree completion, work carefully to identify any deficiencies, and communicate 

the concerns to student through emails and meetings if necessary. In the mean time, 

the student may also request more frequent meetings depending on his/her needs. 

In addition to academic advising, advisers also offer counsel with the help from appropriate 

authority on campus to students who are experiencing emotional, personal or family 

troubles. For students with documented physical and learning disabilities, advisers will 

help accommodate their special needs following university guidelines. 

2.5.4 New Students Orientation Program 

The program is offered in June and early January for fall and spring semester freshman 

During this orientation the freshmen will have the first experience of academic advising. 

Not only will they meet with the entire College level advising team including the 

director of undergraduate academic services and his/her staff, participating CET faculty 

member will have one-on-one session with the students to introduce important advising 

tools such as the university catalog, program guide sheet, and on-line DARS report. Advisers 

also review student’s first semester schedule: these courses are pre-registered based 

on their ACT/SAT score and placement test results. Additionally students learn to search, 

add or drop courses on-line.


2.5.5 Advising Tools 

The main advising tools are the CET curriculum guide sheet and exemplary four-year plan. 

• The guide sheet is a one-page curriculum form that itemizes all the courses required 

to obtain a degree in CET. For the student’s program of study, this is a one-page form 

that many students find to be the most useful means for tracking progress toward 

degree completion (Figure I.1)). Student can carry a copy of the guide sheet as a 

check list to monitor academic progress. 

• The four-year plan (Figure I.2) arranges the curriculum in a suggested semester-bysemester 

track. This document also shows students when classes are offered (fall, 

spring, or both). 

• Degree Audit Report System (DARS) is the most complete curriculum tracker available 

to students through their “isuportal” link. It is especially convenient for transfers 

and students who switch majors. Students have easy access to DARS and are 

expected to understand the contents and all legends after the orientation. 

2.5.6 Adviser Personal Identification Number (PIN) 

For students who have not completed a minimum 63 credits, an advisement PIN is to be 

assigned after a complete scheduling form has been signed by the student’s adviser. The 

department secretary and undergraduate academic services office staff have access to this 

PIN for student inquiry. Students must have the PIN to be able to register. 

2.5.7 Student Record 

The department maintains student’s record in separate folder. The content includes the 

courses in which the student is currently enrolled, which courses have been taken, along 

with student’s grades and notes of advice to the student. Figure I.3 is the checklist for 

graduation kept by the undergraduate academic services office. 

2.6 Mentoring 

It has been part of the department’s culture for faculty to have an “open-door” policy for 

student visits. The primary role of mentoring encompasses general non-curriculum related 

guidance to student concerns on transition to college, employment perspective, and 

professional development, etc. Although there is no structured system for these activities, 

our department prides itself in creating an informal and comfortable social atmosphere in 

which students can routinely communicate with faculty outside classrooms. Survey results 

have shown students are satisfied with faculty’s availability and willingness to serve 

the mentoring responsibility.


2.7 On-line Undergraduate Academic Information 

Internet has become the dominant source to which our students constantly subscribe information 

of interest. Great effort has been spent recently, therefore, to make department 

web site an easily accessible outlet for information regarding curriculum, advising, and 

career advice. 

2.8 Student Awards 

Several awards sponsored by professional societies and individual donors recognize outstanding 

student academics and services. Among these awards are: 

• Kenneth and Zorah (Atkins) Syphax-Rapid Reproduction, Inc. Scholarship: Student 

must be a full-time student in the College of Technology and possess a minimum 

GPA of 2.5 

• Thelma F. Mills Scholarship. Students must have completed the freshman year and 

have demonstrated outstanding academic performance; must be an undergraduate 

student engaged in a meaningful work experience related to their vocational/professional 

objectives which does not average more than 20 hours per week during the academic 

year. 

• ECT Alumni Endowed Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to a student who 

has declared a major in electronics and computer technology. The student must be in 

good standing with the University and the Department of Electronics and Computer 

Engineering Technology. 

• Pamela and Earl Godt Scholarship. The award is presented once every two years 

(alternating with the College of Education) to a full-time student in the Department 

of Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology. 

• Dr. Leland B. & Ruth Trask Moore Scholarship. Given annually, the award is presented 

to a full-time junior level student majoring in electronics engineering technology 

(EET) or CET with the highest GPA. 

• Electronics and Computer Technology Alumni Endowed Scholarship. The recipient 

must be in good standing in EET or CET. The International Society of Automation 

(ISA) recently committed financial support for this scholarship. ISA is a leading 

global organization that is setting the standard for automation. 

The nominations for award recipients are done annually by a selected faculty member. 

The faculty nominates the students in accordance with the award guidelines. The faculty 

makes the final decision through comprehensive evaluation.


2.9 Tutoring 

The rigorous nature of collegiate level study requires tutoring as an indispensable part of 

the learning process. Tutoring services for CET students are available through two avenues: 

• Through Academic Opportunity Program at ISU, students have access for free tutoring 

for most Foundational Studies courses. Sessions may be arranged on one-to-one 

or small study group basis for either long or short term periods each semester. Some 

problems can even be handled on a “drop-in” basis. These services are accessible 

Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM and until 4:30 PM on Fridays. 

Sunday evening tutoring is available 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. 

• The College of Technology has a centralized tutoring service coordinated by the Office 

of Undergraduate Academic Services. The tutors are of junior/senior standing 

and have excellent grades and classroom performance. The hours are from 10:00 AM 

to 5:00 PM on weekdays. ECET tutors are responsible for assisting students on introductory 

circuit analysis, digital logic, computer programming, and math. Faculty 

also offer private tutoring for students in need when schedule allows. 

2.10 Career Guidance 

ISU Career Center offers services to prepare, educate and assist ISU students throughout 

their career development, to prepare them for a competitive work environment, and to 

pro-actively develop and maintain effective relationships among students, employers and 

other relevant constituencies. Career Center is responsible for hosting two career fairs a 

year on campus. Other services benefiting students employment include a) MyPlan: a 

Career Center on-line service to help students plan their career; b) CAREERLINK: a national 

recruiting network and suite of web based recruiting and career services automation 

tools serving the needs of Colleges, employers and job candidates; c) Networking 

etiquette workshop: workshop that lets students learn about and practice important networking 

and dining skills including conversations; interviewing tips; proper dress etc; 

d) Speed interview review workshop: workshop that lets students practice interviewing 

skills in group setting alongside their peers.

Chapter 3 

Educational Objectives 

Educational objectives for the computer engineering technology program have been developed 

in conjunction with our constituents based on, and are consistent with, the mission 

statements of parent units. This chapter contains the mission statements of the university 

and College of Technology, and elaborates the process by which these objectives were 

determined, how the program ensures these objectives are achieved, and the systematic 

assessment to assure continuous improvement of the program. 

It is worth noting that the CET program (and its ancestry program) has been continuously 

accredited by other agency since its establishment. This self study report refers to the 

existing well-documented procedure, and incorporates practices tailored to reflect ABET 

requirements. 

3.1 Institutional, College and Departmental Missions 

3.1.1 Institutional mission 

On February 22, 2008, the Indiana State University Board of Trustees approved the following 

revised version of mission statement and value statement that reflects a commitment to 

research, public service and a well-rounded education. The statements were developed by 

a committee of faculty, staff and students chaired by Dr. C. Jack Maynard, Indiana State’s 

provost and vice president for academic affairs. 

ISU Mission statement. Indiana State University, a doctoral research university, combines a 

tradition of strong undergraduate and graduate education with a focus on community and public 

service. We integrate teaching, research, and creative activity in an engaging, challenging, and 

supportive learning environment to prepare productive citizens for Indiana and the world. 

Values statement. 

14

CHAPTER 3. EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES 15 

• We value high standards for learning, teaching, and inquiry. 

• We provide a well-rounded education that integrates professional preparation and 

study in the arts and sciences with co-curricular involvement. 

• We demonstrate integrity through honesty, civility, and fairness. 

• We embrace the diversity of individuals, ideas, and expressions. 

• We foster personal growth within an environment in which every individual matters. 

• We uphold the responsibility of University citizenship. 

• We exercise stewardship of our global community. 

The mission and values statement are published at the following URL: http://www. 

indstate.edu/whyisu/. 

3.1.2 College mission 

To cope with the changing conditions related to state funding, technology, the economy, 

and student demographics, the College of Technology underwent a major reorganization 

in 2009 that saw the establishment of five departments. Nonetheless the College remains 

fully committed to its undergraduate mission and the goal to delivering high quality education, 

as reflected in the following mission statement: 

The College of Technology will provide exemplary undergraduate and graduate programs, generate 

solutions and knowledge through research, and serve the technology needs of the State, the 

nation, and the international community. 

The COT mission statement is also published in university catalog and on-line at http: 

//www.indstate.edu/tech/aboutcot/mission.htm. 

3.2 Constituencies 

We identify the following stake-holders to be the constituencies with respect to program 

educational objectives and student outcomes. Each group has special interests in these 

stated goals: 

• Students of CET program. The students expect themselves to become technically 

competent, professionally and socially responsible individuals after earning a bachelor 

degree from the program. 

• Alumni. The alumni expect a continued high quality educational program as their 

career and reputation are associated with the quality of their alma mater. 

• Faculty. The faculty are expected to fulfill their educational responsibility in leading 

the students in the learning process, and periodically evaluating and adjusting if 

necessary the teaching pedagogy pertinent to achieving the educational objectives. 

• Industrial Advisory Board (IAB). This selective and highly involved group of individuals 

expect to see the program yield quality graduates that meet industry needs.


• Student employers. This group expects to hire fresh employees who are technically 

competent, productive, self-motivated learners, team members, and have excellent 

communication skills. 

3.3 Program Educational Objectives 

Computer Engineering Technology graduates are expected to demonstrate (short title at 

the end of each objective for future reference in this document): 

1. technical proficiency by applying disciplinary reasoning and critical thinking to identify, 

analyze and solve problems in computers, systems integration, automation, digital 

systems, data communications, computer networks, and electronics (Technical 

Competency). 

2. effective communication skills in both oral and written form to articulate technical 

knowledge, ideas, and proposals (Communication Competency) 

3. organizational, and increasing levels of managerial skills in their chosen field (Managerial 

Competency). 

4. the awareness of professional, ethical and social responsibility and impact of engineering 

technology practices in Indiana and a diversified world (Responsibility Awareness). 

5. the ability to function effectively, think independently and work collaboratively in a 

team environment (Teamwork Competency). 

6. individual desire and commitment to remain technically current by engaging in continuous 

self-improvement and lifelong learning (Lifelong Learning Competency). 

The program objectives are published on the university on-line catalog: 

http://catalog.indstate.edu/preview program.php?catoid=7&poid=1218&returnto= 

140 

3.4 Consistency with Missions 

The program’s educational objectives correlate well with mission statements of all parent 

units. These statements share the common educational values: graduating professionally 

competent students who can serve both as a leader and team member under different 

circumstances, and understand the impact of their work both to themselves and society as 

a whole. 

We believe our educational objectives incorporate these values: 

• The first two objectives reflect program’s commitment to providing quality undergraduate 

education in both technical and liberal studies.


• Objective 3 and 5 address program’s emphasis on students’ team-work mentality in 

professional, community and public service. 

• Objective 4 fulfills program’s contribution to society, and Indiana in particular, by 

advancing students’ awareness on social and environmental implication of their career. 

• Objective 6 represents program’s commitment to graduates’ long-term productivity. 

3.5 Consistency with ABET Criteria 

The development of educational objectives also correlates closely on the skills identified 

under ABET a-k Criteria. Table 3.1 illustrates the consistency of these statements. 

3.6 Developing Educational Objectives 

We developed the educational objectives based on several considerations including ABET 

criteria and mission statements of parent units. In the process we consulted intensively 

with our constituencies, with primary external source of input being the industrial advisory 

board. The rationale for this reliance is: due to the start-up nature of the program, 

other external constituencies, such as alumni and employers, all have very limited numbers. 

Therefore we consider IAB’s feedback to be the most comprehensive and expedient 

for our cause. 

The process of developing educational objectives started soon after the program decided 

to adopt the “engineering technology” name, and began to take shape after a faculty 

representative participated the ABET workshop on program evaluation that helped clarify 

several key components of the procedure. The program faculty then developed a set 

of objectives in conjunction with key constituencies. These objectives were submitted to 

faculty for discussion and revision. In Fall 2009, the latest objectives were presented to the 

industrial advisory board for consultation and advice. With further modifications the final 

version of objectives was approved by the faculty. 

3.6.1 Process to Determine Educational Objectives 

Historical Records 

The program has ample, and well-documented discussions with our constituents–in particular, 

industrial advisory board –in establishing educational objectives. 

The following segments highlight the relevant records: 

IAB meeting minutes We have attached the IAB meeting minutes from academic year 

2004-05 when the department started to contemplate the program title change and curricu-



an ability to select and apply the knowledge, techniques, skills, and modern tools 

of the discipline to broadly-defined engineering technology activities 

an ability to select and apply a knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering, 

and technology to engineering technology problems that require the application of 

principles and applied procedures or methodologies 

an ability to conduct standard tests and measurements; to conduct, analyze, and 

interpret experiments; and to apply experimental results to improve processes 

ABET 2012 Criteria 

an ability to design systems, components, or processes for broadly-defined engineering 

technology problems appropriate to program educational objectives 

an ability to function effectively as a member or leader on a technical team 

an ability to identify, analyze, and solve broadly-defined engineering technology 

problems 

an ability to apply written, oral, and graphical communication in both technical 

and non-technical environments; and an ability to identify and use appropriate 

technical literature 

an understanding of the need for and an ability to engage in self-directed continuing 

professional development 

an understanding of and a commitment to address professional and ethical responsibilities 

including a respect for diversity 

Technical ̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ 

Competency 

Communication 

̌ ̌ 

skills 

Managerial 

̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ 

skills 

Professional, 

̌ ̌ ̌ 

ethical & social 

responsibility 

Team responsibility 

̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ 

Lifelong learning 

̌ 

a knowledge of the impact of engineering technology solutions in a societal and 

global context 

a commitment to quality, timeliness, and continuous improvement 

̌ 

Table 3.1: Relationship between Educational Objectives and ABET Program Criteria


lum revision, to academic year 2007-08 when the CET program was officially established, 

in Appendix A, from Figure A.1 to Figure A.4. The following excerpts highlight the discussions 

on the CET program, and the exchange of ideas in each meeting pertinent to the 

CET program objectives: 

1. April 25 2005 IAB meeting (Figure A.1 on P. 77) 

Prof. Ashby and Dr. Raeisi reported for the Computer Hardware Subcommittee. 

They discussed the proposal to revise the Computer Hardware 

Program and asked for help in finding opportunities for our students. The 

purpose of the program modification is in response to changes in industry. 

The proposed 4-year plan was presented and discussed course by course. 

Several new courses are included in this plan. J. R. Musselman noted the 

addition of several new courses and asked if old courses had been eliminated 

or combined. Dr. Croft clarified what is being done. He also talked 

about how the Computer Hardware major and Electronics major curricula 

currently look almost identical except for only 4 courses. David Adler 

asked about server technology. What course or courses would include that 

material? Brian Bridgewater asked about other networks besides Ethernet 

networking such as bus networks. Dr. Cockrell noted that we no longer are 

working with components. This has become a “systems world”. J.R. Musselman 

expressed that he saw this program modification as a great move. 

He said that we must think about the future, and that the U.S. is becoming 

less of a manufacturing country and is moving more toward Information 

Technology. He asked about Information Security. He was concerned as 

to whether we were including courses covering security. Brian Bridgewater 

mentioned a need for people to understand Data Segregation. Dr. Croft 

said that sometime between now and the next meeting the department will 

be asking for input from the Advisory Board members on the proposed 

curriculum. Brian Bridgewater and J.R. Musselman talked about Wireless 

Technology and how it can be applied to the plant floor. Mr. Musselman 

applauds our efforts and thought we are on the right path but also advised 

us to look to the future. A Computer Hardware Technology Survey was 

included in the materials given to the Advisory Board members. Dr. Croft 

asked the board to answer the questions on the survey and return them 

to the ECT Department by June. There was also some discussion about 

the name of the program and if it conveys what the major is about. Mr. 

Adler mentioned the possibility of using the word “Infrastructure” in the 

program name. 


Dr. Raeisi explained that the program was very similar to the Electronics 

Technology program and that was the reason for revision. The Program 

has undergone a 2 year review. We are presenting the results of that review


and we ask for comments from the Advisory Board. New emerging technology 

courses are to be offered in the revised program. Some courses have 

been eliminated from the old program and new ones added. Mr. Bridgewater 

asked if we based our benchmark against Computer Engineering 

degrees? Dr. Raeisi and Prof. Ashby gave a course by course overview of 

the courses to be included in the new program. Mr. Bridgewater asked if 

any course would cover industry standards such as S95? Dr. Croft asked 

for input–we on the right track, have we missed anything? Ms. Nakanishi 

commented that some 200 level courses have been re-numbered as 

100 level courses. Mr. Bridgewater asked how we will differentiate ourselves 

from MIS or IT majors. Dr. Croft replied that the revised program 

will move us to look like MSI or IT majors, but with much more added. 

We will keep the IT side but will retain the industrial flavor. Dr. Cockrell 

explained that in 1981 the program was called Computer Technology 

and later changed to Computer Hardware Technology. Mr. Bridgewater 

asked if our vision for the program is plant floor perspective or IT perspective. 

He sees too much computer design. Mr. Watler agreed. Those 

things are not needed in industry. Dr. Croft explained that we need to 

produce a person who is employable in all facets and useful in the marketplace. 

Mr. Bridgewater added that our graduates need to be able to 

“program it, understand it, and communicate it”. Ms. Nakanishi sees a 

product design person coming out of this program more than overall systems 

integration. Mr. Roop: (1) In the power industry, there is a need for 

the Computer Hardware program and that is the type of person they look 

for. (2) Small and medium sized businesses are driving the economy and 

this Computer Hardware Program fulfills their needs. Mr. Watler said that 

careful advising will be needed to know what direction a student would 

want to take. Mr. Roop wants to challenge us to be visionary– what will be 

needed for the future. Mr. Watler felt like he got from the ECT Department 

a very good foundation for what he needed in his career. Mr. Bridgewater 

suggested that plant tours would be very beneficial, and that after tours 

students should be asked what route they want to take–plant floor or IT? 

We could ask alumni to give plant tours. 


Computer Engineering Technology. Dr. Croft explained the process 

that has gone into revising the old Computer Hardware Technology program 

which has become the new Computer Engineering Technology major. 

The ECT Department has surveyed Advisory Board members, alumni, 

students, etc. After examining other programs across the country we found 

that we were already a Computer Engineering Technology program. We 

just didn’t have the name. Former students said that the “name” would 

have made a difference in the type of job they could get. The accrediting 

group would change from NAIT to TAC-ABET. Dr. Croft described


the new curriculum and the courses. Mr. Roop: ‘Awesome, this hits exactly 

what we need in industry.’ Mr. Musselman: “I don’t see anything 

on computer security”. The faculty has worked on this program revision 

and voted to approve. Dr. Croft asked for a vote (7-0-0) from the Board to 

proceed. 


Current accreditation is from NAIT. A consultant from TAC-ABET is 

coming later this month to consider accreditation. 

Program faculty emails with the IAB members In Appendix D we include samples of 

emails between CET faculty Dr. Bill Croft and the IAB members during the period that 

leads to the program name change. These emails demonstrate the serious discussions 

between the stake-holders on program future direction and potential curricular changes. 

IAB survey to approve Program Educational Objectives CET program objectives were 

crafted after careful deliberations and sent out to the IAB members for approval. The 

returns are shown in Appendix D: Figure D.3 represents the survey returns summary; and 

Figure D.4 to Figure D.7 are copies of individual IAB member returns. As these evidence 

suggest, the board unanimously approved the proposed educational objectives statements. 

We believe these records unequivocally indicate that the program has reached out to 

IAB members. Their suggestions on program future direction have been assimilated in 

crafting educational objectives. 

3.7 Assessing Educational Objectives 

The data to assess how effectively graduates have met these objectives come from a variety 

of sources. The program has in place the following instruments to continuously collect 

measurable and objective data: a) Survey of advisory board; b) Survey of alumni; c) Survey 

of employers.Though differences exist in the content of the surveys to target different 

groups, all surveys have similar format and share some common questions that are intended 

to poll the respondents to evaluate these statements with respect to the industry 

demands for CET professionals. For returnees who raise concerns about certain aspects 

of educational objectives through survey gradings, we request them provide textual comments 

on proper ways of improvements. To improve the response rate and expedite the 

turn-around time, all the surveys are available online through ISU web site. 

Two performance criteria, i.e., “Degree of Importance”, and “Degree of Readiness”, 

have been established to evaluate survey responses. Both criteria are assessed through a 

five-level rubric as shown in Table 3.2. 

The three types of surveys carry equal weight in the overall indices for importance and 

readiness, which is calculated by averaging the survey returns from the three categories.


Performance Criteria 

Rubric 

1 2 3 4 5 

Degree of Importance Very Inappropriate Inappropriate Neutral Appropriate Very Appropriate 

Degree of Readiness Significantly under-prepared Under-prepared Neutral Well-prepared Very well-prepared 

Table 3.2: Educational Objectives Performance Rubric 

The index for Criterion “Degree of Importance” takes inputs from all surveys, while Criterion 

“Degree of Readiness” index replies only the feedback from alumni and employers. 

The following formula shows the calculation of the overall index for “Degree of Importance” 

of Objective 1, Technical Competency: 

I Technical Competency = 1 3 I alumni + 1 3 I IAB + 1 3 I employer (3.1) 

Similarly, the index for “Degree of Readiness” can be calculated by: 

for Objective 1. 

I Technical Competency = 1 2 I alumni + 1 2 I employer (3.2) 

Three levels of overall index benchmarks are adopted by the program. Table 3.3 lists 

these benchmarks, interpretations, and corresponding program actions pertinent to the 

educational objectives evaluating process. 

3.7.1 Advisory board survey 

A copy of the advisory board survey is shown in Figure D.1 on Page 97. The form is 

distributed in spring semester to board members. The results are collected and saved 

for future reference. Many of our board members work for companies and organizations 

that frequently hire graduates of our program. They have the experience and technical 

expertise to provide a fair and candid view of skills required in workplace. 

3.7.2 Alumni survey 

The emphasis of alumni survey is to collect recent graduates’ professional accomplishments 

pertinent to the validity and achievements of educational objectives. Alumni included 

in the survey ought to be in the workforce for a while so that they have experience 

to properly reflect on their college careers. 

The questionnaire is designed to minimize the time required to complete. Main questions 

include: the extent of involvement in professional societies, advancement in graduate 

study or professional certification, and promotion within the organizations for job performance. 

The survey is intended to be conducted on a three-year cycle, with each survey


Benchmark 

Level Criterion Interpretation Actions 

Level A 

Overall performance 

index ≥ 4 AND no 

individual survey 

category returns 

average ≤ 3 

The specific objective 

meets 

constituents’ and 

industrial need 

The program continues 

to implement the 

elements in the curriculum 

that correlate 

with this objective 

Level B 


index ≥ 3.5 AND 

no individual survey 

category returns average 

≤ 3 

The constituents 

generally approve 

the significance, 

and/or are satisfied 

with graduates’ 

readiness of the 

specific objective 

Adjustments in 

curriculum or teaching 

pedagogy are 

needed. 

Level C 


index ≤ 3.5 OR individual 

survey category 

returns average 

≤ 3 

Constituents have 

serious concerns 

about the appropriateness, 

and/or 

readiness of our 

graduates in meeting 

the objective 

The objective needs 

to be re-developed, 

or curriculum needs 

a significant overhaul 

to address the 

issue 

Table 3.3: Educational Objectives Assessment Benchmarks, Interpretations, and Program 

Actions


samples graduates from different graduation years. Once a graduate has been sampled, 

he/she will not be surveyed again. A sample copy of the survey is attached in Figure E.1 

on Page 120. 

3.7.3 Employers survey 

The survey is designed to both assess the achievement of our objectives and review their 

appropriateness. It correlates closely with the alumni survey in that the companies/organizations 

being polled are the current employers of our graduates who are included in the alumni 

survey. This provides a side-by-side comparison from different perspectives, and allows 

us to gauge any disconnects between how our graduates view our objectives, and how 

they are viewed by the outside world. A sample of this survey is shown in Figure F.1 on 

Page 158. 

3.8 Evaluating Educational Objectives 

Evaluation is to identify areas in educational objectives that warrant improvement, develop 

practical strategies for achieving such improvement, and ultimately implement and 

monitor whether or not these strategies have successfully accomplished their intent. 

Changing educational objectives is a serious academic issue, it therefore needs to be 

approached in both a prudent and proactive manner. We also understand given the limited 

resources we have in the program, i.e., active faculty, administrative support, etc, the 

evaluation should grow gradually in terms of complexity and completeness. 

The process for evaluating the educational objectives begins with data collection by the 

program and individual faculty. The data are then assessed(see Section 3.7). The program 

coordinator is leading this effort, and responsible for reporting the compiled results to the 

faculty and advisory board. 

Currently we are planning a three-year review cycle to assure any change to be implemented 

is in response to a consistent trend and not an aberration. At the end of the second 

year, program faculty will identify the components that need to be strengthened, included, 

or removed from objectives based on the feedback from the three surveys. The key question 

that needs to be answered in the process is: are the objectives meeting the needs of 

our constituents? The third year will initiate the revision process if necessary: program 

faculty will be responsible for developing a draft with proper language; advisory board’s 

opinions and suggested modifications will be solicited during annual board meeting. The 

approval of final language rests in the department faculty. 

The program will publish any changes to the program mission and educational objectives 

online, in undergraduate catalog and other outlets that directly interface with constituencies.


3.9 Educational Objectives Evaluation Flowchart 

The aforementioned process for evaluating and revising educational objectives, strategies, 

and outcomes is illustrated in detail in Figure 3.1, proposed by Dr. Gloria Rogers, Associate 

Executive Director of ABET Professional Services. The figure shows the feedback 

loops that lead to continuous refinement of educational objectives and curriculum improvement. 

Data sources and the respective individuals or units in charge of each link are 

highlighted. The loop that involves educational objectives review and update is executed 

every three years, it assures periodic evaluation and redefinition (if necessary) of the current 

educational objectives and outcomes. The student outcomes and curriculum review 

loop is executed annually, and focuses primarily on outcomes assessment and curricular 

improvements. The two cycles are linked together through student outcomes report.


Figure 3.1: Program Evaluation Flowchart

Chapter 4 

Student Outcomes 

In this chapter, we describe CET student outcomes; their relations with program educational 

objectives and ABET a-k criteria; and the instruments we apply for outcomes assessment. 

4.1 Student Outcomes 

CET student outcomes are to fulfill program educational objectives (Section 3.3, Program 

Educational Objectives), encompass ABET general criteria (Criteria a-k listed in Criterion 

3), and address specific criteria for computer engineering technology program. To this 

end, the following outcomes have been developed that represent the desired capabilities 

of students upon graduation: 

1. the ability to apply principles of mathematics, science, engineering technology, and 

programming languages to solve technical problems in computers, digital systems, 

computer networks, data communications, electronics, and automation. 

2. the ability to incorporate systematic methods and emerging technology to identify, 

formulate, and generate original solutions within the fields of computer engineering 

technology. 

3. the ability to conduct experiments competently in a laboratory setting. 

4. the ability to apply fundamental management principles and techniques in business 

operations, and display leadership qualities in organizing teams and reconciling differences. 

5. the understanding of professional and ethical responsibility, and the impact of technology 

in a global and social context. 

6. the ability to engage in life-long learning to pursue increasing knowledge of current 

and emerging technical and non-technical issues. 

27

CHAPTER 4. STUDENT OUTCOMES 28 

7. the ability to function effectively in a multi-disciplinary team and respect members 

of various background and personality. 

8. the ability to communicate with clarity and conciseness both verbally and in writing 

with peers, clients and targeted audience. 

4.2 Relationship of Student Outcomes to Educational Objectives 

and ABET Criteria 

We view student outcomes as measurable effects of our curriculum. The particular choice 

of outcomes was strongly influenced by our program objectives. As such, there is close 

correspondence between them, which is best illustrated in the matrix shown in Table 4.1 

4.3 Student Outcomes and Course Learning Objectives 

The CET curriculum is designed to support the eight outcomes with one or more technical 

or foundational studies courses. By mapping individual course learning objectives to the 

appropriate outcomes, we can use the results to identify the areas of strengths, and to 

develop strategies to address the weaknesses. Table 4.2 shows the connections between 

program curriculum and the outcomes.


CET Student Outcomes 

Educational 

Objectives, 


and ABET General 

Criteria 

Matrix 

apply principles of mathematics, science, engineering technology, 

and programming languages to solve technical problems 

use modern computational and simulation tools 

incorporate systematic methods and emerging technology to identify, formulate, 

and generate original solutions 

conduct experiments competently in a laboratory setting; collect and critically 

examine data; interpret, report and apply results 

apply fundamental management principles and techniques, 

and display leadership 

understand the impact of technology in a global and social context, 

and develop professional and ethical responsibility. 

engage in life-long learning to pursue increasing knowledge of 

current and emerging technical and non-technical issues 

communicate effectively and respectfully with members of various 

background and personality in multi-disciplinary teams 

communicate with clarity and conciseness both verbally and in 

writing with peers, clients and targeted audience 

ABET Criteria a,b,f a,c a,b,d a,c e, g i, j h,k g,i,j g 

CET Educational Objective 

Technical 

competency 

Communication 

skills 

Managerial 

skills 

Mature responsibility 

Teamwork 

mentality 

Lifelong 

learning 

̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ 

̌ ̌ 

̌ ̌ ̌ 

̌ ̌ 

̌ ̌ ̌ 

̌ 

̌ 

Table 4.1: Correspondence between Educational Objectives, Student Outcomes, and ABET 

a-k Criteria


Table 4.2: Correspondence between CET curriculum and 


CET Student Outcomes 

Curriculum v.s. 


Matrix 

apply principles of mathematics, science, engineering technology, 

and programming languages to solve technical problems 

use modern computational and simulation tools 

incorporate systematic methods and emerging technology to 

identify, formulate, and generate original solutions 

conduct experiments competently in a laboratory setting; collect and critically 

examine data; interpret, report and apply results 

apply fundamental management principles and techniques, 

and display leadership 

understand the impact of technology in a global and social context, 

and develop professional and ethical responsibility. 

engage in life-long learning to pursue increasing knowledge of 

current and emerging technical and non-technical issues 

communicate effectively and respectfully with members of various 

background and personality in multi-disciplinary teams 

communicate with clarity and conciseness both verbally and in 

writing with peers, clients and targeted audience 

ECT 130 ̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 165 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 167 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 168 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 231 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 232 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 281 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 301 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 303 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 306 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 308 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 401 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 403 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 406 ̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ 

ECT 430 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

Continued on Next Page. . . 

CET Curriculum


Table 4.2 – Continued 

Outcome 1 

Outcome 2 

Outcome 3 

Outcome 4 

Outcome 5 

Outcome 6 

Outcome 7 

Outcome 8 

Outcome 9 

ECT 437 ̌ ̌ ̌ 

Mgmt. ̌ ̌ ̌ 

CS 256 

̌ 

MATH 115 ̌ ̌ 

MATH 301 ̌ ̌ 

Eng 

̌ ̌ 

101/105,301 

COMM 101 ̌ ̌ 

Liberal 

studies 

̌ ̌ ̌ ̌ 

4.4 Developing Student Outcomes 

We believe these student outcomes represent the foundation of knowledge and skills for 

CET graduates to maintain competence and achieve professional success upon graduation. 

These outcomes were developed and approved by CET faculty during the preparation 

for ABET accreditation. The faculty are responsible for collecting, reviewing, and interpreting 

information drawn from the designated courses. The outcomes assessment results 

are discussed at the program faculty meetings, where issues regarding student outcomes 

are identified and viable strategies are developed. 

4.5 Assessment Tools 

The program has decided to adopt ECT 406 Senior Project as the primary direct measure, 

ECT 130 Introduction to Electronics and Computer Technology as the secondary direct 

measure, and senior exit surveys and alumni surveys as the indirect measures to assess 

how well individual student outcomes are met. Given the start-up nature of our program 

and current manpower, these measures are selected because they are simple, effective, and 

informative. 

4.5.1 Performance Criteria 

Each outcome needs to be assessed by performance criteria. The criteria have to be specific, 

measurable, and confirmable through evidence. Based on this principle, the following 

criteria have been created.


1. Outcome 1: Problem solving skills 

1. 1 apply algebra, discrete math, and basic law of physics to build, test, and operate 

electric circuits, computer systems and networks. 

1. 2 program in low/high-level computer languages. 

1. 3 understand database principle and working mechanism. 

2. Outcome 2: Design skills 

2. 1 design and implement microcontroller based control applications. 

2. 2 develop digital logic circuitry using FPGA and HDL. 

2. 3 design and implement LAN/WAN for small business environment. 

3. Outcome 3: Hands-on skills 

3. 1 conduct experiments to observe or truthfully record results following manual 

or proposed steps. 

3. 2 apply simulation tools to verify theoretical design or trouble-shoot system problems. 

3. 3 examine and interpret lab results to draw conclusions. 

3. 4 follow safety procedure and lab protocols, handle equipments with care. 

4. Outcome 4: Managerial skills 

4. 1 develop work plan with clearly-defined phased goals and time-line. 

4. 2 follow work plan by observing time line and reporting progress; make timely 

adjustment to cope with unforeseen circumstances 

5. Outcome 5: Ethics and diversity awareness 

5. 1 analyze ethics issues based on professional ethics codes. 

5. 2 understand technology impact on society and environment. 

6. Outcome 6: Lifelong learning 

6. 1 involve in professional societies. 

6. 2 be able to research the latest technological trend in a specific area using credible 

sources. 

7. Outcome 7: Teamwork skills 

7. 1 understand individual role and share duties. 

7. 2 listen to others; cooperate with teammates; respect different opinions. 

8. Outcome 8: Communication skills 

8. 1 produce technical document that is factually correct, with good logical structure, 

proper format, citation, and references.


8. 2 produce technical document with a minimum of errors in spelling, punctuation, 

grammar and usage. 

8. 3 communicate in professional manner, and respond to questions in language that 

is both concise and commensurate with audience’s background. 

4.5.2 Rubric 

A rubric is a scoring guide that is used to measure the work of a student. For each of 

the performance criteria above, we use a rubric with range of one(1) to four(4) to rate 

performance. Each rubric contains specific characteristics arranged in levels to indicate 

the degree to which a standard has been met. Table 4.3 to Table 4.10 show the rubric for 

each student outcome. 

4.6 Assessment Plan 

The assessment plan is shown in Table 4.11.


Performance Criteria 

apply algebra, 

discrete math, 

and basic law of 

physics to test, 

trouble-shoot and 

operate electric 

circuits, computer 

systems and 

networks 

understand 

database principle 

and working 

mechanism 

Rubric 

Unsatisfactory Developing Competent Exemplary 

1 2 3 4 

program in 

low/high-level 

computer languages 

lacks understanding 

of 

syntax and 

semantics 

of the languages; 

cannot 

develop 

algorithm; 

cannot use 

development 

tools 


of database 

architectures 

and data 

structure 

lacks fundamental 

math skills 

and science 

concepts, 

cannot independently 

conduct diagnosis 

and 

testing. 

has basic 

understanding 

of math 

and science 

concepts and 

laws, can 

operate systems 

with 

supervision 

has basic 

understanding 

of the 

languages 

and development 

tools; 

needs direct 

guidance 

to develop 

algorithms to 

implement 

the applications 

or 

circuits 

has basic understanding 

of database 

concepts and 

architecture 

fluent with 

the languages 


tools; 

can develop 

algorithms to 

accomplish 

the tasks 

with minor 

guidance 

has solid 

math and science 

knowledge, 

can 

operate systems 

but may 

need minor 

directions 

on troubleshooting 

has solid 

math skills 

and understanding 

of science 

concepts, 

can independently 

operate systems, 

identity 

and solve 

problem 

master the 

languages 


tools; 

can develop 

algorithms to 

accomplish 

the tasks independently 

understands 

database architecture; 

can filter 

information 

using 

database 

tools; can 

generate 

summary 

report 

can filter data 

for useful 

information 

using 

database 

tools; can 

use data 

for quality 

analysis 

Table 4.3: Performance Criteria for Outcome 1: Problem Solving Skills


Performance 

Criteria 

develop 

digital 

logic circuitry 

using 

FPGA and 

HDL 

Rubric 


1 2 3 4 

design and 

implement 

microcontroller 

based 

control applications 


of microcontroller 

architecture 

and 

interfacing 

mechanism 


knowledge 

of digital 

logic and 

circuits 

design and 

implement 

LAN/WAN 

for small 

business 

environment. 


knowledge 

of 

LAN/WAN 

architecture 

and 

protocols 


of microcontroller 

architecture 

and 

interfacing 

mechanism; 

needs direct 

guidance on 

design procedures 

and 

implementation 

details 


of FPGA architecture; 

needs major 

guidance on 

design and implementation 


of 

LAN/WAN 

architecture 

and protocols; 

can configure 

networks 

under supervision 

understands 

microcontroller 

architecture 

and peripheral 

device 

interfacing 

mechanism; 

needs minor 

guidance on 


understands 

FPGA architecture; 

needs minor 

guidance on 


using HDL 

can implement 

and 

trouble-shoot 

LAN/WAN 

with minor 

supervision 

understands microcontroller 

architecture 

and interfacing 

mechanism; 

can design and 

implement hardware/software 

component based 

on microcontroller 

hardware 

resources and peripheral 

circuitry 

requirements 


design and implement 

digital 

logic circuits using 

FPGA and HDL 

based on technical 

specifications and 

requirements 

can design, implement, 

and configure 

LAN/WAN 

based on technical 

specifications and 

requirements 

Table 4.4: Performance Criteria for Outcome 2: Design Skills


Performance 

Criteria 

conduct experiments 

to observe 

or truthfully 

record results 

following 

manual or proposed 

steps. 

understands 

the objectives 

and studies 

the pre-lab assignments; 

can 

complete the 

lab with minor 

supervision 

apply simulation 

tools to 

verify theoretical 

design or 

trouble-shoot 

potential system 

problems. 

follow safety 

procedures 

and lab protocols, 

handle 

equipments 

with care. 

examine and 

interpret lab 

results to draw 

conclusions. 

Rubric 


1 2 3 4 

does not plan 

ahead for experiments; 

does not 

study pre-lab 

assignments; 

incompetent in 

lab environment 

lacks fundamentals 

of 

simulation concepts; 

cannot 

use simulation 

tools 

totally unaware 

of proper procedures 

and safety 

protocols; handles 

equipment 

rough 

studies and 

strictly follows 

protocols and 

safety procedures; 

handles 

equipment with 

care 


of the 

collected data; 

unable to reach 

any conclusion 

of experiment 

results 

understands 

the objectives 

of the experiment; 

need 

step-by-step supervision 

using 

lab equipment 

is aware of 

the safety procedures 

but 

constantly ignores 

following 

them; handles 

equipment 

rough 

can examine 

and interpret 

lab results 

under guidance 


of simulation 

concepts; can 

use tools for 

basic circuit 

simulations 

has moderate 

understanding 

of simulation 

concepts; can 

apply simulation 

tools 

with minor 

supervision to 

verify design or 

trouble-shoot 

is aware of 

the safety 

procedures, 

occasionally requires 

reminder 

to follow the 

protocols; handles 

equipment 

with care 

can examine 

and interpret 

lab results but 

sometimes unable 

to reach 

a definitive 

conclusion 

understands 

the objectives; 

plan ahead; can 

independently 

complete lab 

procedures; 

records or 

observes lab 

truthfully 

has solid understanding 

of simulation 

concepts; can 

skillfully apply 

simulation tools 

to verify design 

or trouble-shoot 

independently. 

can determine 

experiment 

errors; distinguish 

statistical 

significance 

of difference 

in experiment 

and calculated 

values; draws 

conclusions 

Table 4.5: Performance Criteria for Outcome 3: Lab Skills


Performance 

Criteria 

Rubric 


1 2 3 4 

develop work 

plan with 

clearlydefined 

phased goals 

and time-line. 

follow work 

plan by observing 

timeline 

and 

reporting 

progress, 

make timely 

adjustment 

to cope with 

unforeseen 

circumstances. 

unable to 

develop clear 

definedgoals 

and 

time-line 

does not 

follow timeline; 

no 

record or log 

of project 

progress; 

does not 

adjust schedule. 

is able to develop 

a plan 

but details 

are not clearly 

spelled out 

loosely follows 

timeline; 

constantly 

falls 

behind schedule 

with no 

adjustment 

has defined 

clear goals 

but schedule 

is not detailed 

follows timeline; 

does not 

maintain a 

detail project 

report; can 

adjust work 

schedule. 

has presented a 

clear plan with 

achievable goals 

and a feasible 

time-line 

executes the plan; 

keeps clear and 

detail record of 

work done or 

in progress; can 

acutely adjust 

plan to meet the 

deadline and 

deliver the project 

Table 4.6: Performance Criteria for Outcome 4: Managerial Skills


Performance 

Criteria 

analyze ethics 

issues following 

professional 

ethics 

codes 

understand 

technology 

impact on 

society and 

environment 

Rubric 


1 2 3 4 

has no 

awareness of 

technology 

impact on 

society or 

environment 

has no 

knowledge 

of the professional 

ethics 

codes 

has limited 

knowledge 

of professional 

ethics 

codes 

can research 

ethics 

codes from 

multiple 

professional 

societies 

has awareness 

of 

generic 

impact of 

technology 

on society or 

environment 


research the 

impact of 

an existing 

technology 

on society 

and environment. 

understands the 

commonality of 

professional codes, 

understands both 

sides of the issue 

and is able to draw 

conclusions based 

on ethics codes 

and professional 

precedents 

considers technology 

impact on 

society or environment 

in project 

development 

Table 4.7: Performance Criteria for Outcome 5: Ethics Awareness


Performance 

Criteria 

involve 

in professional 

societies. 

be able to 

research 

the latest 

technological 

trend 

in a specific 

area using 

credible 

sources 

Rubric 


1 2 3 4 

cannot name 

major professional 

societies in 

the field 

cannot independently 

research 

resources 

can name 

societies 

but has no 

interest in 

becoming a 

member 

is comfortable 

with 

only one 

type of 

resource 

to research 

the latest 

technology. 


research the 

latest technology 

using 

multiple excurriculum 

resources such 

as library, 

journals, and 

Web 

is a member 

of professional 

societies but is 

not actively involved. 

understand professional 

societies’ role 

in technology development; 

has joined 

and actively involved 

in student activities; 

will continue to 

be a member after 

graduation 


research the latest 

technology using multiple 

ex-curriculum 

resources; can distinguish 

generic and 

scholarly sources, 

and is able to sort 

through the collected 

information to 

form comprehensive 

review 

Table 4.8: Performance Criteria for Outcome 6: Life-Long Learning


Performance 

Criteria 

listen to 

others; 

cooperate 

with 

teammates; 

and respect 

different 

opinions. 

Rubric 


1 2 3 4 

understand 

individual 

role 

and share 

duties. 

no recognition 

of contributions 

of 

others; does 

not perform 

any duties; 

always relies 

on others to do 

the work 

always talking; 

never 

allows others 

to speak; 

argues with 

teammates; 

usually wants 

to have things 

their way 

performs 

little individual 

duties; 

rarely recognize 

others’ 

work; 

rarely allows 

others 

to speak; 

sometimes 

argues with 

teammates; 

performs nearly 

all individual 

duties; fairly 

recognize others’ 

work; rarely 

needs prompting 

to contribute 

to the team 

listens; sometimes 

talks too 

much; rarely 

argues; usually 

considers all 

views. 

willingly accepts 

and fulfills individual 

role within the 

group; consistently 

and actively contributes 

to group 

goals 

listens intensively; 

speaks a 

fair amount; never 

argues with teammates; 

is sensitive 

to the feelings and 

learning needs of 

all group members; 

always helps team to 

reach a fair decision. 

Table 4.9: Performance Criteria for Outcome 7: Teamwork Skills


Performance 

Criteria 

produce 

technical 

document 

with a minimum 

of 

errors in 

spelling, 

punctuation, 

grammar 

and usage. 

communicate 

in professional 

manner, and 

respond to 

questions 

in language 

that is both 

concise and 

commensurate 

with 

audience’s 

background. 

Rubric 


1 2 3 4 

produce 

technical 

document 

that is factually 

correct, 

and with 

good logical 

structure, 

proper format, 

citation, 

and references. 

document is 

poorly organized; 

does 

not follow 

format requirements; 

no citation 

is included; 

no reference 

listed 

significant 

amount of 

spelling and 

grammatical 

errors 

mumbles, no 

eye contact, 

monotonous 

tone; presentation 

is poorly 

organized 

and prepared; 

no grasp of 

information, 

cannot answer 

any questions 

limited logic 

structure; 

limited knowledge 

of subject 

matters; complying 

with 

format requirements 

sporadically; 

incomplete 

references 

and sources 

inadequately 

cited 

minor spelling 

and grammatical 

errors. 

clear voice; 

speaks too 

fast; presentation 

has logic 

flow but may 

lack focus or 

too brief; does 

not have full 

command of 

knowledge 

to answer 

questions with 

confidence. 

clear logic 

structure; 

demonstrate 

satisfactory 

level of subject 

matters; 

generally consistent 

format; 

complete references 

and 

citations 

negligible 

spellings 

and/or grammatical 

errors. 

clear voice, 

steady 

speed; wellorganized 

presentation 

with occasionally 

missing 

support material; 

may 

occasionally 

experience 

difficulty understanding 

questions; 

demonstrate 

knowledge 

but may not 

answer the 

questions to 

the full extent. 

with clear logical 

structure; 

demonstrate 

full knowledge 

of subjects; 

consistent with 

format requirements; 

has 

complete references 

and 

citations 

no misspellings 

or grammatical 

mistakes 

confident and 

enthusiastic 

delivery; 

well-organized 

presentation 

material with 

complete figures, 

texts, 

and tables etc; 

demonstrates 

full knowledge 

and understands 

clearly 

the questions 

and answers 

with concise 

and accurate 

language 

Table 4.10: Performance Criteria for Outcome 8: Communication Skills


Table 4.11: Assessment Plan 

Performance Criteria Assessment 

Method 

Source of 

Collection 

apply algebra, discrete math, and basic 

law of physics to build, test, and operate 

electric circuits, computer systems and 

networks 

program in low/high-level computer languages 

understand database principle and working 

mechanism 

design microcontroller based control circuitry. 

develop digital logic circuitry using FPGA 

and HDL. 

design and implement LAN for small 

business environment. 

conduct experiments to observe or truthfully 

record results following manual or 

proposed steps. 

apply simulation tools to verify theoretical 

design or trouble-shoot system problems. 


Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

Time of 

Data Collection 

Assessment 

Coordinator 

Yearly Program coordinator 








Evaluations 

of 

Results 

CET faculty 







CET faculty



Method 


Source of 

Collection 

follow safety procedures and lab protocols, 

handle equipments with care. 

examine and interpret lab results to draw 

conclusions. 

develop work plan with clearly-defined 

phased goals and time-line. 

follow work plan by observing time-line 

and reporting progress, make timely adjustment 

to cope with unforeseen circumstances. 

analyze ethics issues following professional 

ethics codes 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

understand technology impact on society Direct and 

and environment 

indirect 

measures 

involve in professional societies. Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

be able to research the latest technological 

Direct and 

trend in a specific area using credible indirect 

sources. 

measures 


ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 130 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 130 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 130 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

Time of 


Assessment 

Coordinator 









Evaluations 

of 

Results 











Method 


Source of 

Collection 

understand individual role and share duties. 

listen to others; cooperate with teammates; 

and respect different opinions. 

produce technical document that is factually 

correct, and with good logical structure, 

proper format, citation, and references. 

produce technical document with a minimum 

of errors in spelling, punctuation, 

grammar and usage. 

communicate in professional manner, and 

respond to questions in language that is 

both concise and commensurate with audience’s 

background. 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

Direct and 

indirect 

measures 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

ECT 406 and 

exit surveys 

Time of 


Assessment 

Coordinator 






Evaluations 

of 

Results 






Chapter 5 

Continuous Improvement and 

Assessment 

ISU’s CET program was launched in 2008, and in Spring 2009 we saw the first batch of 

students graduate with a CET degree. In the last three years the faculty have been working 

diligently with the constituents to conduct periodic assessment on different levels to assure 

program’s quality and its continuous improvement. 

5.1 Educational Objectives Assessment 

5.1.1 Data Source 

Based on the plan elaborated in Section 3.7, we generated three surveys targeting alumni, 

employers, and Industrial Advisory Board. These surveys were distributed in Spring 2010 

and 2012 semester. To expedite the turn-around time, all surveys were developed on-line 

using Qualtrics, a web-based survey software. Qualtrics can save the feedback into Excel, 

Word, Powerpoint, or PDF file, which is convenient for data processing. The following 

links connect the respondents to respective surveys in Spring 2012. 

• Alumni survey: 

https://indstate.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV 6hhyz7igk6H1TSs 

• Industry Advisory Board survey: 

https://indstate.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV bdcTiu8hUsGgF92 

• Employer survey: 

https://indstate.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV a9HkNhfWel0a7Ck 

Both the IAB and alumni have responded really well and we see satisfactory return 

rates in two rounds of surveys. On the other hand, though we had put in significant effort, 

45

CHAPTER 5. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND ASSESSMENT 46 

the response from the employers has been slow. We were unable to solicit any complete 

feedback from employers in the Spring 2012. Therefore we had to use the data from the 

2010 employer surveys in this cycle of assessment. 

The complete dossier of survey returns are attached in Appendix D, E, and F. The 

contents include: 

• Screen-shots of the surveys: Figure D.1 for IAB survey, Figure E.1 for alum survey, 

and Figure F.1 for employer survey. 

• Results reports: Figure D.2 for IAB survey, Figure E.2 for alumni survey, and Figure 

F.2 for employer survey. 

5.1.2 Data Analysis 

Table 5.1 and 5.2 summarize the “Degree of Importance” and “Degree of Readiness” of 

the objectives evaluated by the constituents. The overall indices are calculated using the 

formula shown in Equation 3.1 and 3.2. 

Survey Participants 

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ 


IAB Average Alumni Average Employer Average a Overall Index 

EO 1: Technical competency 5 4.46 4 4.69 

EO 2: Communication competency 4.8 4.33 4.5 4.54 

EO 3: Managerial competency 4.2 4.17 4.0 4.12 

EO 4: Responsibility competency 4.4 4.08 4.0 4.16 

EO 5: Teamwork competency 4.8 4.58 5.0 4.79 

EO 6: Lifelong learning competency 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.53 

a Using 2010 survey data 

Table 5.1: Survey Summary on the Degree of Importance of Educational Objectives 

Survey Participants 

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ 


Alumni Average Employer Average a Overall Index 

EO 1: Technical competency 3.85 4.0 3.93 

EO 2: Communication competency 4.08 4.0 4.04 

EO 3: Managerial competency 3.67 4.0 3.84 

EO 4: Responsibility competency 3.75 4.0 3.88 

EO 5: Teamwork competency 4.33 4.5 4.42 

EO 6: Lifelong learning competency 4.33 3.5 3.92 

a Using 2010 survey data 

Table 5.2: Survey Summary on the Degree of Readiness of Educational Objectives


The constituents overall agreed with six educational objectives, both in their merits 

and the readiness to meet these objectives that our graduates demonstrated in the workforce. 

Based on the benchmarks set forth in Section 3.7, no action is needed to revise the 

objective. However there were individual gradings and comments that deserve serious 

consideration. The following sections detail these respective analysis. 

Education Objective 1: Technical Competency 

• Most of the alumni regarded microcontroller, PLC, networking and robotics as the 

classes that contributed the most to their careers so far. The following quotes are 

extracted from the surveys: 

‘I had a few robotics and networking classes in college that I am finding 

very useful. After I graduated I obtained a job working on robots so these 

classes helped greatly.’ 

‘I took a couple courses related to PLCs that helped me with my job. 

One course was ECT 281 and the other was ECT 679 (did a mini-project 

related to PLCs).’ 

‘Production, Planning and Control has shown to be a valuable course. 

SIMCO is a great class, it makes you work in a team and develope processes 

that are practical for most jobs.’ 

‘The two networking courses.’ 

‘Microprocessor courses, networking courses, digital logic courses, and 

general basic electrical knowledge.’ 

‘PLC Courses’ 

• The followings have been viewed by some alumni to be potential areas of improvement: 

– automation 

– more hands-on 

– more programming classes 

– mechatronics 

– co-op opportunities 

– internship opportunities 

Some direct quotes are shown below:


‘More network management courses, specifically server management. 

Perhaps as an elective here though. My company is smaller so I have expanded 

responsibilities and have to be a database/system/server administrator 

on top of the controls engineer.’ 

‘Classes that had a more hands on approach would have been nice. 

Updated equipment. For instance, the microprocessor used at the time 

was the 68HC11 processor that isn’t used anymore. More programming 

classes should be enforced.’ 

‘I feel that overall my education was good and prepared me well, but I 

feel there is a lack of emphasis on going into the field of automation.’ 

‘Possibly some tours or visits to local businesses. I think requiring a 

relevant internship would have been useful for the degree.’ 

‘I think there should be a requirement to get work experience. Alot of 

jobs prefer work experience so having the opportunity to do that while in 

school will make it alot easier to find a job after graduation.’ 

Education Objective 3: Managerial Competency 

This is the objective that sees the most disparity among respondents. Though overall approval 

of the objective was warranted according to the indices, and some alumni voiced 

support for more management classes, many questioned the need of these classes given 

the fact that most, if not all fresh college graduates will not start from management level. 

Therefore the majority of the management classes will not have immediate impact on graduates’ 

careers. The following quote summarizes this view: 

‘I wouldn’t think management skills would be useful right away because 

you would be looking for an entry level job and you would have to get use 

to the environment and how things work. Also get to know people and their 

positions and I think that is too much for someone just starting.’ 

A somewhat different view though, is expressed by one employer: 

‘Specifically, technical graduates need a mix of business, communication, 

and educational classes to compliment their technical abilities. The advantage 

that comes to an employer from an employee with a B.S. is the understanding of 

business fundamentals over employees from technical or community colleges. 

My recent hire of an ISU grad displays a higher level business operation than 

other candidates.’


Historically, the six credit hours of management courses were an indispensable part 

of the CET curriculum under the ATMAE accreditation. Over time since 2009, there has 

been continuous discussion in the IAB meetings about the structure and subject areas of 

these classes. The most recent one took place in April 2012, as one of the board members 

suggested that “we would our students a favor if they were exposed to what business are 

actually ‘for’, and shareholder wealth creation, etc”. 

Under the looming prospect of reducing both the total credit hours and major credit 

hours, as will be elaborated late, and especially if these proposals become fruition, it seems 

inevitable that the number of hours in management will be among the first to be cut. We 

feel the future alignment of the management classes should focus on project management 

and the understanding of business operation as the IAB and employer alluded to. 

Education Objective 6: Lifelong Learning Competency 

While the respondents in general agreed with its importance, the survey returns showed 

that most of the alumni did not engage in the typical continuous learning activities such 

as taking extra undergraduate or graduate credits, attending workshops or conferences 

etc, post graduation. However when asked about what was the most important factor 

contributed to their careers so far, nearly every respondent credited his/her willingness to 

learn, as evidenced by the following quotes: 

‘My Degree, my work ethic, my knowledge that I have obtained from schooling, 

my willing to learn quickly.’ 

‘Ability to learn and adapt to a variety of technologies.’ 

‘Hard work and having a drive to want to do something. ’ 

‘Constant willingness to learn.’ 

‘Being able to problem solve and troubleshoot. Being able to work as a 

small team, or more importantly work alone but be willing to bounce ideas off 

of your colleages. Also being able to explain how a control scheme, program, or 

electrical setup works to somebody with little to no programming knowledge.’ 

‘Self-motivated, well-organized’ 

‘Ability to learn’ 

While we are pleased with alumni’s self-motivation, we believe that cultivating the 

pro-active lifelong learning mentality and more specifically, helping students realize the 

various professional development venues, would be very helpful when the technical difficulties 

they are to solve are beyond the realm of Q/A on vendor’s forum. And the most 

effective way is to let student understand the benefits of joining a professional organization 

and be actively engaged in the student chapters.


Other Findings 

Other than the information directly associated with educational objectives, we also compiled 

the following statistics that help the faculty further identify program’s strengths and 

weaknesses: 

• The majority of our respondents (11 out of 14) found their first job at the time, or 

within three months of graduation, and are working full-time at the time of poll. 

Considering the tough economic environment and the job market during which time 

they needed to seek employment, we believe the placement rate is very encouraging. 

• Most of the respondents (11 of out 14) are working in either a technical or managerial 

field for which the knowledge base of the CET curriculum has prepared them. Their 

positions include Controls Engineer, Network Operations Engineer, Process Technology 

Engineer, Systems Administrator, Network Engineer, Digital Engineer QA/QC 

Manager, and Equipment Repair Service Manager etc. 

• Most of the respondents (10 out 12) “Agree” or “Strongly agree” that “My education 

in the Computer Engineering Technology (Computer Hardware Technology) program 

has prepared me to continue my educational and professional development”, 

as evidenced by the following selected comments: 

‘I think this program is very well put together. It prepares graduates 

for a wide range of jobs that pay well and are in high demand. Professors 

and advisers are fantastic.’ 

‘I’m not familiar with the departments objectives, I can say it was a 

great opportunity to challenge myself and grow as an individual. Time 

management, working with classmates and professors I was able to take 

alot more away from CET then just what I learned in the classroom. It was 

a great experience.’ 

‘The mixture of electronics, management, programming and networking 

topics allows a career choice in many different directions.’ 

‘The CET program was definitely a challenge for me and I’m proud that 

I was able to complete it. I think by graduating the program gave me the 

confidence of knowing if you set your sight on something and put in the 

work, your outcome for success is much higher.’ 

5.1.3 Data Dissemination and Program Actions 

The findings have been presented to the department faculty and the IAB. After careful 

studying the results, the program coordinator has proposed the following actions, pending 

faculty discussion:


• Implement a system-level course that has been called by the IAB. A feasible plan is 

explained in Section 5.2.3. 

• Use ECT 437 to introduce business operation and business culture, with a focus on 

managing individual project rather than a team. 

• Push the student involvement in student organizations. The plan is also spelled out 

in Section 5.2.3 

However the program does face some uncertainties: 

• Any curriculum change discussions will need to take into consideration the higher 

education overhaul proposed by the accreditation agencies and university. Some of 

the conversations that have direct impact on technology programs are: 

– the proposal being debated in Indiana Higher Education Commission to reduce 

the total credit hours to 120. 

– the proposal being debated in ISU to reduce the major required hours to 50. 

We feel that the dust must be settled for these plans so that we have a clear heading 

from the higher authority. 

• The department and program are facing personnel shortages. Two faculty retired in 

2011, and more senior faculty are getting close to retirement in the next few years. 

Also to comply with the university student credit hours policy, the faculty normally 

have to teach four courses per semester, leaving them with very limited time for new 

courses development. 

Therefore we anticipate it will take some time for the proposed changes to be fully 

implemented. 

5.2 Student Outcomes Assessment 

5.2.1 Evidence Collection 

Student outcomes are assessed using two major courses: ECT 406 Senior Project and ECT 

130 Introduction to Electronics and Computer Technology as the direct measures, and senior 

exit surveys as the indirect measure. The feedback from IAB and alumni that concern 

the curriculum issues are also referenced. 

• ECT 406 Senior Project was instituted in the CET curriculum to fulfill the capstone 

requirement. Since its launching the course has been offered twice, with a enrollment 

of six and four students respectively. The students are required to work in a group 

of two. The titles of the student projects are:


– “Home Automation Control: remote monitoring and control of an electrical 

power plug” by Tim Morgan and Andrick Eldridge 

– “Electronic Alarm System” by Alexander Echele and Justin Turner 

– “Energy Efficient Windows with Prospects of HVAC Controls” by Dale Chandler 

and Jon Reeves 

– “Line Maze Solving Robot with a Follow Bot” by Nick Kelvin Schnabel and 

Michael Roark 

– “Intelligent Car Windows: Reducing the Effects of the Sun” by Raphael Moore 

and Jiawei Gao 

All senior projects are centered around microcontroller-based applications in control 

and communication. Furthermore, every group’s work involves building the hardware 

from ground-up, or using off-the-shelf microcontroller board in conjunction 

with trainer board to connect to accessory circuits. 

The student performance in ECT 406 is graded through two phases: the instructor on 

record, who is the main advisor for all groups, does the in-semester evaluation; CET 

faculty sit in the final presentations session to do the end-of-semester evaluation. 

Student project reports will be organized as exhibit evidence for the visit team to 

review. Recordings of the final presentations will also be available. 

• ECT 130 Introduction to Electronics and Computer Technology is the first major 

course, and was originally designed to satisfy the university learning communities 

requirement that help students’ transition to college life. It has thus been redeveloped 

to offer the freshman, in addition to broad overview of the electronics and 

computer field, the first exposure to non-technical issues such as professional ethics, 

technology impact on environment and society, and life-long learning awareness. 

Students are required to research and study on the given subjects and do presentations 

in class. 

The student performance in ECT 130 is graded based on their homework and in-class 

presentations. 

Student powerpoint presentation materials and the recordings of the presentations 

will also be organized as exhibit evidence for the visit team to review. 

• Senior exit survey was developed and incorporated as an assessment tools in Spring 

2012. The online questionnaire asked graduating seniors to reflect on their education 

in both technical and non-technical preparation for their professional careers. The 

survey has been conducted once so far. The survey report is shown in Figure G.1 

starting from Page 168. 

5.2.2 Data Analysis 

The following summarizes the outcomes assessment conclusions based on performance 

criteria.


Outcome 1: Problem solving skills 

• Overall the students demonstrated good math and circuit analysis skills in building 

and testing the peripheral circuits of their own. Most of the groups can resolve the 

wiring issues with very brief guidance from the advisor. 

• All projects required programming in high-level languages, predominantly C language. 

Most of the groups demonstrated solid understanding of procedural language 

structure, syntax and semantics of C language, and fluency in using software 

development environment. However due to the scale of the undertakings, most of 

the projects didn’t invoke complex algorithms. 

• Only one group considered and incorporated basic database operation in the project. 

The students showed solid grasp of fundamental database management. However 

the scarcity of data makes the evaluation of this specific performance criterion surmised. 

Outcome 2: Design skills 

• All groups chose to work on microcontroller-based home automation, robotics, or 

control projects. The students either infused new elements into existing technologies 

or products to address what they perceived as weaknesses, or formed a fresh idea of 

solving specific technical issues. Though the prospect of translating the project deliverables 

into commercial products is limited, they did demonstrate students’ creative 

thinking of various degrees. 

Every group used commercial microcontroller boards and showed they were capable 

of interfacing the boards with external circuitry if necessary. A few groups needed 

guidance from the advisor on getting valuable information from the product (both 

board and chip) manuals. 

The biggest challenge for a majority of the students was interfacing the sensing and 

actuating unit with microcontroller. The concept of signal conditioning was not established 

in any of the major courses, which explained why students were unable 

to get microcontroller to read sensor inputs, or to drive motors though its I/O pins, 

even though individual parts were working properly. 

• We were unable to assess students’ mastery of this specific knowledge base due to 

the fact no project utilized FPGA. 

• A few groups designed and implemented simple communication protocol (on the 

logic link layer level). They demonstrated solid understanding of the data frame 

structure and were able to set up simple solutions based on the hardware resource 

for the needed bi-directional communication. 

Outcome 3: Hands-on skills 

• All teams truthfully reported the problems that they encountered.


• There was not sufficient data available to assess students’ mastery of simulation tools 

except the network communication simulator employed in one project. 

• Most of the students showed they can troubleshoot the wiring problems if the hardware 

did not yield expected response. Yet as pointed out early they were unable to 

figure out more system-level problems given the lack of knowledge on signal conditioning. 

• All projects involved intensive lab work. Though students worked outside the department 

lab rooms and did not offer advisor/faculty direct observation of their dayto-day 

lab routine, the state of their equipment at the time of final presentation indicated 

that the students were handling hardware with necessary precautions and 

care. 

Outcome 4: Managerial skills 

• Most of the teams demonstrated the ability to work with the advisor to develop a 

feasible plan and time-line. 

• A few teams were unable to follow the time-line, which resulted in falling behind 

schedule and being forced to present incomplete deliverables. 

Outcome 5: Ethics awareness 

• Students demonstrated awareness of the ethic codes for engineering and technology 

profession, and were able to apply the codes to analyze real or imaginary cases. 

• Students demonstrated the understanding that every technology brings both positives 

and negatives to the society and environment. An engineer or technologist’s responsibility 

is to “create that which has never been”, acknowledge every invention’s 

imperfection, and try to maximize technology’s benefits while reduce its pitfalls. 

Outcome 6: Lifelong learning 

• Both the students and graduates do not seem to actively involve in professional societies. 

This is an area that we hope to improve since organizations like IEEE, ISA, 

and ASME have various programs to help members stay connected with peers, and 

more importantly, the latest technology trends. 

• Students demonstrated the ability to use reputable sources, such as vendors’ product 

manuals/developer’s online forum and discussion board etc, to seek potential 

solutions to technical difficulties. However peer-reviewed literature were barely researched 

and studied by all teams. Due to the scope and scale of their projects, it 

makes sense that getting insights from manuals and blogsphere suffices. Nevertheless 

we see the need to train students to conduct more rigorous reviews.


Outcome 7: Teamwork skills 

• Most of the groups had clear assignment of duties. Though it was common that one 

member took the lead and the share of responsibility was not equal, it was obvious 

that every student contributed serious effort to the endeavor. 

• Among the six teams two were composed of students with different ethnicities. We 

observe the students respected each other, collaborate closely, and were able to find 

common grounds via civil and professional exchange of ideas. 

Outcome 8: Communication skills 

• In general every group was able to follow the format requirement and show understanding 

of technical report structure. The reference and citation were the two areas 

whose significance was constantly overlooked. Most of the students were not familiar 

with the proper use of back matter including appendix and bibliography. The 

most common mis-handling was including source code in the main text portion. 

• The overall quality of the project write-up was good, though there existed areas of 

improvement in grammar, consistency, and common technical writing practice in 

practically every report. 

• A majority of the students can communicate well with audience and were able to 

answer questions with confidence and honesty. However a lot of students needed 

improvement on presentation mannerism. 

Senior exit survey analysis 

All three graduating seniors completed the survey. The positive information include: 

• Students overwhelmingly chose “Strongly agree” or “agree” when asked about whether 

the program curriculum prepared them to demonstrate technical and non-technical 

abilities. 

• 100% of the respondents already had a job offer. 

• Students rated highly of the advising they received from the faculty (100% of the 

respondents chose either “excellent” or “very good”). 

The survey results also revealed that most of the students did not plan to take part in 

professional organizations or apply for professional certification, even though two of three 

respondents intended to pursue advanced degrees. Though these results cannot be used 

directly to gauge students’ life-long learning potential, we do like to see future students 

can show more interest in these areas.


5.2.3 Data Dissemination and Program Actions 

Similarly to the findings from educational objectives evaluations, the data gathered for the 

student outcomes assessment has been shared among the faculty. The following actions 

have been proposed by the program coordinator: 

• Vetting the feasibility of re-activating the undergraduate section of the process control 

course that is currently only available to graduate students. The course can be 

used as the nexus between component-, device-, and system-level coverage. 

• Strengthening technical communication skills: 

– Senior level courses, such as ECT 308, 401, and 403, will gradually move to 

project-based learning. Students will be required to write project report and do 

presentations in order to continue the progressive training in these areas. 

– Use ECT 430 to re-enforce technical writing skills, especially on report structure, 

literature review, citation and references. We believe emphasizing these areas 

carries several merits: first, it trains the students to independently search for 

credible technical sources, which will further help them realize the needs of 

life-long learning; second, it is an importance aspect of the professional ethics 

to acknowledge the peers from whom one draws inspiration and insight. 

• Promoting student organizations and encouraging students participation.

Chapter 6 

Curriculum 

In this chapter, we reveal the curriculum the program has built to provide the integrated 

educational experience to develop students’ ability to apply pertinent knowledge to solve 

problems in the computer engineering technology specialty. To this end, the curriculum 

devotes adequate attention and time to prepare students in: a) Foundational Studies (FS) 

subjects; b) Technical subjects. 

The CET curriculum guide sheet along with program recommended four-year plan are 

attached in Figure I.1 and Figure I.2 in Appendix I, Curriculum. CET major course syllabi 

are shown in Appendix N. 

6.1 Foundational Studies 

Criterion 5 of ABET general criteria requires the curriculum embody elements of mathematics 

and physical & natural sciences. In ISU these subjects are covered in university 

Foundational Studies program. Most of these courses should be completed in freshman 

and sophomore year. 

6.1.1 Communications 

CET students’ oral and written skills are developed primarily in three courses: Communication 

101 (or 202, 215, 302), English 101-105/107 (basic English writing and speech classes 

where students will practice writing and presenting general topics with clarity and style), 

and English 305/305T (technical writing and presentation). In addition, communications 

skills are enhanced in several CET major courses where term papers and in-class presentations 

are mandatory and carry significant weight in students’ final grades. 

57

CHAPTER 6. CURRICULUM 58 

6.1.2 Mathematics 

There are two required math courses in CET curriculum: MATH 115 is the entry level 

math course that teaches college algebra; MATH 301, Fundamentals and Applications of 

Calculus, covers integral and differential calculus. These courses provide the necessary 

depth and breadth to meet ABET requirement, and offer students the foundation of math 

skills in solving technical problems. 

6.1.3 Physical and Natural Sciences 

CET students are required to take a minimum of eight credit hours of physical sciences. 

These courses can be chosen from the Science and Laboratory category in Foundational 

Studies. Options include physics, chemistry, biology, and environment. All these courses 

comprise lecture and laboratory sessions. 

6.2 Technical Content 

A total of 71 major credits is designed in CET curriculum, which sits above 1/3 of the total 

credits and is less than 2/3 of the total hours for the program, as required by ABET Criterion 

5. Among these courses, 39 hours are technical core; 12 hours are major introductory, 

senior seminar, and management courses; and 6 hours for technology electives. Students 

also need to complete an advanced program language course, CS 256. 

6.2.1 Technical core 

Technical core offers our students in-depth exposure to six disciplinary areas of computer 

engineering technology, which are: basic electronics, digital logic, microcontroller, 

database, networking, and systems integration. The sequence of course offerings take into 

consideration of increased complexity and subject continuity, which allows subsequent 

courses to build on the knowledge and skills base covered in the pre-requisites. In Table 

6.1 we list the latest courses information of the technical core.


No. of Sections 

Responsible Offered in Avg. Section 

Course No. Title Faculty Member Current Year Enrollment Lecture a Laboratory a Other a 

Fall 11 Spr.12 Fall 11 Spr.12 

ECT 165 D.C. Circuits and Design Dr. Lin/Dr. Clyburn 1 1 20 20 50 50 

ECT 167 A.C. Circuits and Design Dr. Lin 1 1 15 15 50 50 

ECT 168 Comp. Design Technology Dr. Li 1 20 50 50 

ECT 231 Digital Computer Logic Dr. Li/Dr. Croft 1 10 100 

ECT 232 Digital Computer Circuits Dr. Clyburn 1 10 100 

ECT 281 Robotics Controls Dr. Clyburn 1 20 50 50 

ECT 301 Tech. Data Mgt. and App. Adjunct 1 10 100 

ECT 303 Microcontroller Hdw. & Soft. Dr. Croft 1 10 50 50 

ECT 306 Comp. Network Mgt. Tech. Dr. Li 1 10 100 

ECT 308 Micro. App. & Interfacing Dr. Croft 1 8 50 50 

ECT 401 Data Comm. & Internet Tech. Dr. Li 1 10 50 50 

ECT 403 Prac. Digital Logic Design Dr. Lin 1 8 75 25 

ECT 406 Senior Project Dr. Lin 1 4 Individual group meeting 

ECT 130 Intro. to Elec. & Comp. Tech. Dr. Lin/Dr. Ashby 1 1 12 13 100 

ECT 430 Senior Seminar Dr. Lin 1 1 13 10 100 

ECT 437 Indust Comp Systs Management Dr. Ashby 2 17/16 100 

a Enter the appropriate percent for each type of class for each course (e.g., 75% lecture, 25% laboratory). 

Table 6.1: Course and Section Size Summary


6.2.2 Use of appropriate tools and computer support 

Throughout the technical core part of the curriculum, especially the lab-based courses, 

CET students will have significant experiences working with measurement devices, development 

boards, simulation and development tools, and educational robots. The hands-on 

approach incorporated in these courses strengthens students’ knowledge and competence 

in operating the equipments and various computer software. 

6.2.3 The Integration of Content 

CET students must complete a three-hour Senior Project (ECT 406) in their senior year. The 

objective of this requirement is to offer the integrated learning experience that demands 

students to address problems with both technical and non-technical skills. 

6.2.4 Co-operative education 

ECT 351 is the designated co-operative course for all electronic technology and CET majors. 

Though not a required course in the current CET curriculum, all faculty have been 

informed to advise their advisees to complete this elective. The ECET Department has established 

long working relations with numerous industry partners who are willing to offer 

part-time or intern positions that require students to apply classroom experience to solve 

field problems. 

6.2.5 Advisory Committee 

Currently the CET program does not have a separate advisory committee. We intend to 

continue to work with ECET department’s industrial advisory board. Most of the board 

members are department alumni, and the department continues to invite graduates who 

are willing to help the programs improve their education objectives and student outcomes 

to join the board. Over the years the board annual meeting has proven to be a valuable 

source to review program curricula and provide advisement on current and future needs 

of the technical fields in which graduates are employed. The board’s feedback can be seen 

in Appendix A and Appendix D.

Chapter 7 

Facilities 

In this section we will review and demonstrate the adequacy of classrooms, laboratories, 

office space to accommodate the program educational needs and to provide an atmosphere 

conducive to learning. 

7.1 Building 

The CET program together with ECET Department is housed in the John T. Myers Technology 

Center, which is also the home for the Collage of Technology. The building was 

erected in 1997 and has received regular hardware upgrades to incorporate state-of-the-art 

instructional facilities as well as student work and lounge areas. 

7.1.1 CET Office Space 

The ECET Department office complex in located on the third floor of Myers Center. Most 

of the classrooms on this floor are used by the department and CET program. Research 

lab and graduate assistants office also take some space on the same floor. The central 

location of these facilities offers students the convenience to further enhance encounters 

with faculty, fellow students and graduate assistants. 

All CET faculty have their own offices in Suite 301, close to the class rooms, labs, and 

meeting rooms. It is standard for faculty to have Dell PC desktop computers and/or IBM- 

Lenovo T60 laptop computers. The Suite also has office space for undergraduate/graduate 

student workers and adjunct faculty. 

7.1.2 Auditorium and Meeting Rooms 

The College of Technology has an auditorium or theater-like classroom that seats 100 students. 

There is also an atrium to hold large social gatherings. The ECET Department has 

61

CHAPTER 7. FACILITIES 62 

one meeting/conference room. In addition, the College of Technology has three meeting 

rooms and two breakout rooms. 

7.2 Classrooms 

ECET classrooms also function as laboratories, which allows students to continue on lab 

experiments in the same room when the lecture session of the class is complete. All classrooms 

are equipped with PC’s with network access, educational software required for 

courses taught in the room, and the latest teaching apparatus including the audio/visual 

cabinet with master control, VCR/DVD player, and audio amplifier. Most of the rooms 

have installed overheard projector, and pull-down projector screen. Each room also has 

multiple equipment/documentation cabinets to store lab tools and manuals, e.g., motherboards, 

oscilloscopes, multimeters, function generators etc. 

Room physical dimension is usually large enough to accommodate up to 24 seats, which 

is the normal cap for class size. The layout is designed to facilitate student interaction and 

collaboration on labs. 

Room 306 is the primary teaching room for core CET courses. The room has two types of 

Motorola microcontroller development boards, and Xilinx Spartan-3 development boards. 

On computers integrated development software are installed. 

Room 304 is one of the 17 new sympodium classrooms across ISU campus. The Smart 

Sympodium in this room operates identically to a Smart Board. The system allows each 

input to switch from desktop, laptop, and other visual sources. Writing on the touch screen 

can also be saved through special software. 

Table 7.1 shows the room number and main functions: 

Room Lab Specialization CET Major Courses Taught 

TC 304 ECT Classroom & Lab ECT 130, ECT 167, ECT 306, ECT 430, ECT 

437 

TC 305 IT Lab ECT 168, ECT 401 

TC 306 Microcontroller Lab ECT 303, ECT 308, ECT 403 

TC 307 Transistor Lab ECT 231, ECT 232 

TC 308 Solid State Lab ECT 165, ECT 167 

TC 315 Robotics Lab ECT 165 

TC 316 Pilot Projects Lab ECT 281 

Table 7.1: ECET Department Classrooms 

7.3 Laboratories, Equipments and Tools 

The computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) laboratory (3600 sq ft) has been developed 

to represent modern automation. The CIM lab has seven Adept robots, some with vision


systems, a Fanuc robot, an automated guided vehicle (AGV), an automated storage and 

retrieval system (ASRS), and an automated conveyor system. All of these systems have 

been integrated so they function as an automated factory. 

In addition, the College has a lab dedicated to the study of programmable logic controllers 

(PLC) (2400 sq ft), a wet process control lab (2400 sq ft) that helps students learn 

about automation used in the chemical and plastics industries, and a Mitsubishi robot lab 

(2000 sq ft). The Mitsubishi lab has eight robots and I/O systems. All of these systems are 

computer operated and can be migrated for web delivery. 

Besides commonly-used software such as Microsoft Office Suite, most of the classroom 

PC’s have field-specific software including MultiSim, LabVIEW, and Microsoft Visual Studio, 

installed. 

7.4 Computing and Information Infrastructure 

ISU contains 85 technology enhanced classrooms, 15 public labs and 45 discipline specific 

computer labs, and 5 distance-learning classrooms. Campus infrastructure currently 

supports over 100 servers and high performance computing facilities. The campus has become 

a notebook institution beginning with freshmen in Fall 2007. The campus is served 

by an extensive fiber optic cable system, and uses a gigabit backbone to deliver data and 

interactive video connections to every building. Wireless network access is available in 

all academic areas. High speed connection to both the commercial Internet and Internet2 

is provided for faculty and student use. Student computing needs are served by 450 microcomputers 

in general use computer clusters, and 600 microcomputers in special use 

clusters. 

Students have multiple venues for computer access. Besides PC’s in every classroom, 

staffed public computer labs are available to students, faculty and staff, one of which is 

located in Myers Center (Room 212) that is equipped with 24 stations (Dell PC’s), one laser 

printer, one Smartboard, two additional projector screens, and one scanner. The list of software 

packages accessible on these stations can be seen online at http://www.indstate. 

edu/oitlabs/software.html. 

The computers in each classroom receives regular upgrades. The hardware configuration 

is sufficient to meet the requirements to run various educational software. 

7.5 Library Services 

The university library has a liaison for the College of Technology who works with the 

College library representatives. The College is well informed of the library budget and 

funding allocation procedures (See Figure K.1 and Figure K.2).


7.6 Adequacy of Facilities 

Overall the quantity of space available to the program, for both teaching and administrative 

needs, is adequate. However the department lost some rooms after the 2010 College 

reorganization. With the steady increasing enrollment in the CET program and the department 

as a whole, we will be needing a bigger lab space to offer students sufficient hands-on 

learning. In addition we need designated lab rooms for the newly developed CET major 

courses such as networking and advanced digital logic design.

Chapter 8 

Faculty 

In this chapter, we review the qualifications of CET faculty. CET faculty shares diversity 

in background, race, and ethnicity. The regular full-time workload includes teaching, 

scholarly activities, and services. Faculty members have terminal degree in computer engineering 

or closely related areas. The teaching by the faculty as a whole is well received 

by our students as evidenced by the students evaluations each semester. 

8.1 Adequacy of Faculty Size 

There are three (3) full-time faculty members (tenured or tenure-track) directly associated 

with CET program, among whom are one full professor, one associate professor, and one 

assistant professor. Dr. Yuetong Lin is the coordinator who takes charge of representing 

the program to external entities. Three full-time ECET faculty and one adjunct instructor 

also teach technical core or elective courses. The department has a tradition of hiring 

adjunct faculty members but due to the budget constraints, has decided to cut back on 

these appointments. All faculty members share the responsibility of teaching, advising 

and service pertinent to the program. The faculty are also the main body to revise and 

implement program curriculum. . 

The number of full-time faculty is sufficient to accommodate the current level of teaching, 

student-faculty interaction, service activities, professional development, communications 

with industrial partners. Table 8.1 shows the rank and educational background of 

CET program faculty, where full C. V’s are included in Appendix H. 

65

CHAPTER 8. FACULTY 66 

Type of Years of Experience Level of Activity (high, med, low, none) in: 

Academic FT a Institution from Professional 

Appointment or which Degrees Govt./Industry This Registration/ Professional Professional Work in 

Name Rank TT b , T c , NTT d PT e Degrees Earned & Year Practice Teaching Institution Certification Society Development Industry 

Bill Croft Professor T FT Ph.D. Indiana University, 1997 6 30 30 low mod low 

Yuetong Lin AssociateProfessor T FT Ph. D. University of Arizona, 2005 1 9 7 high mod low 

Xiaolong Li AssistantProfessor TT FT Ph. D. University of Cincinnati, 2006 6 5 mod mod low 

a FT=Full-Time 

b TT=Tenure-Track 

c T=Tenured 

d NTT=Non Tenure-Track 

e PT=Part-Time 

Table 8.1: Faculty Analysis


8.2 Faculty Workload 

The teaching assignments are designed to accommodate individual interest and skills, 

while maintaining accountability and a reasonable level of balance. This flexibility in the 

teaching load distribution is possible because our faculty can teach comfortably several of 

the courses in our curriculum. Besides teaching major courses, some CET faculty are also 

assigned to teach basic electronics and graduate level courses. Table 8.2 shows workload 

summary for CET faculty in 2011-2012 academic year. 

Faculty Member FT or Classes Taught 

(Course No./Credit Hrs.) 

Total Activity Distribution 

(name) PT Term and Year Teaching Consulting Other 

Dr. Bill Croft FT ECT 231 Fall 11 3 hrs 

ECT 303 Fall 11 3hrs 



ECT 308 Spring 12 3hrs 




Dr. Yuetong Lin FT ECT 130 Fall 11 2hrs 




ECT 430 Fall 11 1hr 

ECT 167 (001 & 002) Spring 

12 3hrs 

ECT 421(web) Spring 11 

3hrs 


ECT 430 Spring 12 1hr 

Dr. Xiaolong Li FT ECT 160 Fall 11 3hrs 





ECT 373 (001 & 002) Spring 

12 3hrs 


70 10 20 

60 30 10 

60 30 10 

Table 8.2: Faculty Workload Summary 

Four courses per semester are considered as the full load. Table 8.3 demonstrates the av-


erage load for program faculty. However the load can be reduced if insufficient enrollment 

numbers are presented. In addition, faculty with research agenda can also have teaching 

load reduced with the consensus from department faculty and administration. 

Range Average 

Credit Hours 9 - 15 12 

Contact Hours Per Week 4 - 6 5 

Laboratory Size 10 - 24 10 

Class Size 8 - 25 10 

Advisees 10 - 15 12 

Table 8.3: Faculty Workload Average 

8.3 Student-Faculty Interaction 

The department and program believe that it is in the best interest of students and teaching 

effectiveness to have small class size. CET classes are usually capped at 24 seats, with 

average size of 10 students. This allows a high level of student-faculty interaction and 

individual student attention. The faculty are also involved in many aspects of the students’ 

extra-curriculum activities. 

CET faculty interact with students on regular basis and through various channels: 

1. Student advisement. The faculty size is adequate for advising all CET undergraduate. 

Faculty a) help students select courses that will ensure progress towards graduation; 

b) help students understand the core curriculum and requirements; c) assess 

students’ ability to complete the required academic load and offer alternatives when 

appropriate; d) refer students toward support services available to help with academic 

progress. 

2. Office hours. it has been a tradition of the faculty to keep an open door policy 

throughout the semester for additional advising and counseling. 

3. Faculty involvement in professional societies as student chapter adviser. Dr. Yuetong 

Lin has assumed the role of student adviser for IEEE and ISA. 

4. Faculty might involve undergraduates in research projects. 

The student evaluation of the faculty in relation to their knowledge of the subject that 

they are teaching has always been quite high. 

8.4 University Services and Professional Development 

CET faculty provide significant service to the administrative, research, and educational 

objectives of the university, as well as the community.


The faculty are involved in a number of professional development activities. These include: 

organizing professional conferences, serving as technical society program committee 

members, serving as peer-reviewers for professional journals, and serving appointed 

members in professional societies. These activities can also be found in the faculty resume’s 

. 

Travel to professional conferences is included in faculty start up packages (funded by 

College). Department travel funds, although amount limited, are used to sponsor faculty 

members to attend professional meetings or workshops. The university’s Center for 

Instructional Research and Technology organizes several professional development workshops. 

Sabbatical leave is offered per the university guidelines. 

8.5 Concluding Remarks 

The CET faculty is of satisfactory size and is well qualified to cover the curricular areas of 

the program by virtue of their education and professional experience. The faculty members 

are enthusiastic about improving the quality and effectiveness of the program. The 

faculty keep close contact with industry through advisory board meetings and professional 

activities, and are involved with professional societies, publications, and conferences. 

Workload is as evenly distributed as possible. Student responses to the end-ofsemester 

evaluation indicate that the faculty communicate well both inside and outside 

the classroom.

Chapter 9 

Institutional Support 

In this chapter, we elaborate the administrative support and financial resources to the CET 

program provided by various university units. 

9.1 Leadership 

The administration, from ISU president, to the College of Technology and the department, 

has been very supportive of the direction the CET program is headed. President Bradley 

has frequently inquired about the preparation of accreditation process. The dean allocated 

fund to support CET and MET faculty representative to attend ABET workshop on 

program assessment. Associate dean, who is the coordinator for all accreditation efforts, 

directed his office to help furnish data on faculty, enrollment, and transfer students etc. 

The department also provided both personnel (office assistant and part-time worker during 

summer), and consulting (An expert in ABET accreditation was invited to campus for 

consultation) support. 

CET is one of the several academic programs, both on undergraduate and graduate 

level, within ECET Department. Table J.1 shows all program information. The department 

chair works closely with CET faculty to balance work load, and to provide administrative 

support for program development in recruiting and articulation. The program is headed 

by one coordinator, whose regular duties include, but are limited to calling program faculty 

meetings and receiving prospect students. The faculty jointly make recommendations 

to the department on curriculum issues. 

9.2 Program Budget and Financial Support 

ISU is a public university and its main resources are state funds and tuition revenues. The 

university allocates its funds to each college following a formula that considers the number 

of faculty, staff, graduate assistants, and student workers with their salaries and benefits, 

70

CHAPTER 9. INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT 71 

number of students, student credit hours generated, equipment and supplies including 

labs, travel funds for professional development, etc. College of Technology dean allocates 

funds to each department. From the department the money is used for programs and 

faculty based on the needs. Categories of budgeted items and corresponding amounts 

have been shown in Table J.2 for the ECET department. ECET faculty salary data are 

shown in Table J.3. Both tables are in Appendix J, Institutional Support. 

The department has been very accommodating equipment acquisition and update requests. 

Over the years the department has appropriated funds to purchase, or upgrade 

microcontroller and FPGA boards. To oversee the allocation of department equipment 

money for proposals exceeding $ 2500, an Equipment Committee, on which each program 

of the department has its representative, was created. In the April 2009 meeting, the 

committee approved all purchasing requests from CET program including Xilinx Spartan 

3-E, an FPGA development board with LabView module support, and Xilinx Virtex-II Pro 

FPGA Development System (Figure J.6). The department also approved the renewal of 

National Instruments’ LabView site license upon the request of CET faculty, with money 

coming from the dean’s office in the amount of $ 3116.79 (Figure J.7). 

9.3 Faculty Hiring and Retention 

The dean of the College recommends to the Provost the hiring of tenure-track faculty, and 

authorizes hiring of adjunct instructors based on demonstrated needs for maintaining adequate 

size of faculty and quality of the program. Department chair makes the request 

and recommends to the dean the on personnel issues. Both the dean and chair responded 

swiftly in approving the request for a national search to fill a CET tenure-track position 

when a faculty member left for another institution in 2008. 

Each tenured/tenure-track faculty member is evaluated in terms of teaching, scholarship, 

and service. The dean often meets with junior CET faculty, among tenure-track 

faculty from other programs, individually after annual review to offer his own advice on 

how to prepare tenure & promotion dossier. The administration also supports program 

faculty to apply for both internal and external funding. Evidence included in Appendix J 

are the letters that the dean provided for CET’s proposal for NSF CCLI/TUES (Figure J.2 

and Figure J.3) and STEM (Figure J.5 and Figure J.4) program. 

9.4 Staffing 

The ECET Department has one administrative assistant who has been a staff at ISU for 

over 20 years. Lately the department normally has a quota of hiring three graduate teaching 

assistants to help faculty members with grading and lab supervisions. The TA’s also 

shoulder most of the equipment testing and repair.

CHAPTER 9. INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT 72 

9.5 Support for Faculty Professional Development 

These supports predominately come in the form of travel funds. The faculty members are 

encouraged to make presentations at the professional meetings and/or attend professional 

workshops. The travel funds included in budget categories shown in Table J.2, though 

limited, are used to support faculty travels related to the research and professional development. 

The university’s Center for Instructional Research and Technology also organizes 

different types of workshops for faculty development.

Chapter 10 

Program Criteria 

The ABET program criteria for computer engineering technology require that the graduates 

of baccalaureate degree must demonstrate knowledge and hands-on competence in: 

Criterion a. the application of electric circuits, computer programming, associated software 

applications, analog and digital electronics, microcomputers, operating systems, 

and local area networks, and engineering standards to the building, testing, 

operation, and maintenance of computer systems and associated software systems 

Criterion b. the application of natural sciences and mathematics at or above the level of 

algebra and trigonometry to the building, testing, operation, and maintenance of 

computer systems and associated software systems. 

Criterion c. the ability to analyze, design, and implement hardware and software computer 

systems. 

Criterion d. the ability to apply project management techniques to computer systems. 

Criterion e. the ability to utilize statistics/probability, transform methods, discrete mathematics, 

or applied differential equations in support of computer systems and networks. 

As demonstrated in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, the CET curriculum has been designed 

to incorporate these criteria into educational objectives and student outcomes. We have 

discussed in detail the assessment plan that is to assure the aforementioned criteria be fully 

satisfied. In more general terms, we summarize the correlation between these program 

criteria and CET curriculum as follows: 

Criterion a. The core of CET curriculum is structured to cover subjects in circuit analysis, 

low and high level computer programming, microcontroller architecture and applications, 

digital circuits, industrial data management and communication, and networking. 

Many courses are lab-based, i.e. students will spend significant amount of 

73

CHAPTER 10. PROGRAM CRITERIA 74 

class time doing hands-on experiments. These courses span from freshmen to senior 

year, and are intended to achieve targeted proficiencies. 

Criterion b. Students are required to learn basic electronics and digital logic, and their 

applications in computer systems. To understand the working mechanism of basic 

analog and digital components and pertinent concepts relies on the knowledge of 

physics fundamental. Students are also expected to use phasor and liner equations 

in both D.C and A. C circuit analysis. 

Criterion c. Two microcontroller courses (ECT 303 and 308) and digital logic design courses 

offer students learning experience on the analysis and design of computer hardware 

and software systems. 

Criterion d. Besides one major required course in Industrial Computer Systems Management 

(ECT 437), students need to enroll in a minimum of six hours of management 

courses. These courses focus on the understanding of industrial organization, economic 

analysis and production control. Students will have sufficient exposure to 

basic managerial skills and practices. 

Criterion e. Applied calculus and discrete maths are covered in advanced calculus (MATH 

301) and major courses such as Digital Computer Logic (ECT 231). Students should 

be able to apply related mathematics knowledge and skills in solving practical problems 

in computer systems design and analysis.

CHAPTER 10. PROGRAM CRITERIA 75 

Program Criterion 

Criterion a 

Criterion b 

Criterion c 

Criterion d 

Criterion e 

Curriculum Items 

ECT 165 - D.C. Circuits and Design 

ECT 167 - A.C. Circuits and Design 

ECT 168 - Computer Design Technology 

ECT 231 - Digital Computer Logic 

ECT 232 - Digital Computer Circuits 

ECT 301 - Computer Network Management Technology 

ECT 303 - Microcontroller Hardware and Software 

ECT 306 - Technical Data Management and Applications 

ECT 308 - Microcontroller Applications and Interfacing 

ECT 401 - Data Communications and Internet Technology 

ECT 403 - Practical Digital Logic Design 

ECT 406 - Senior Project 

ECT 165 - D.C. Circuits and Design 

ECT 232 - Digital Computer Circuits 

ECT 303 - Microcontroller Hardware and Software 

ECT 308 - Microcontroller Applications and Interfacing 

ECT 403 - Practical Digital Logic Design 

ECT 406 - Senior Project 

ECT 406 Senior Project 

ECT 437 Industrial Computer System Management & a minimum 

of six hours from 

MET 404 Engineering Design and Management 

MET 405 Economic Analysis for Engineering and Technology 

TMGT 471 - Production Planning and Control I 

TMGT 478 - Industrial Organization and Functions 

TMGT 492 - Industrial Supervision 

MATH 301 Fundamentals and Applications of Calculus 

ECT 165 D. C. Circuits and Design 

ECT 167 A. C. Circuits and Design 

ECT 231 Digital Computer Logic 

ECT 403 Practical Digital Logic Design 

Table 10.1: Correlation between Program Criteria and Curriculum

Appendix A 

Industrial Advisory Board Meeting 

Minutes 

76

2 

Present: 


Department of Electronics And Computer Technology 


Advisory Board Meeting 

April 22, 2005 

Minutes 

Advisory Board Members: Mr. David Adler, Mr. Brian Bridgewater, Mr. J. R. Musselman, and 

Mr. Richard Roop 

ECT Department Faculty: Mr. Joe Ashby, Dr. David Beach, Dr. William Clyburn, Dr. Gerald 

Cockrell, Dr. William Croft, Mr. Nicholas Farha, Mr. Richard Jinbo, Mr. David 

Malooley, and Dr. Reza Raeisi 

Guest: Dr. Tad Foster 

The annual Industrial Advisory Board Meeting for the Electronics and Computer 

Technology Department was held April 22, 2005 on the campus of Indiana State University, TC 

314. The meeting came to order at 10:00 a.m. Members introduced themselves briefly. 

Opening remarks were made by Dr. William Croft who gave an overview of the ECT 

Department curriculum and announced our recent reaccreditation by NAIT. 

Prof. Farha reported on the Information Technology major which currently has about 130 

majors. ECT, MIS, and CS departments are all involved in this major. 

Dr. Clyburn talked about the M.S. in ECT Program on campus. He spoke of his duties as 

Coordinator and stated that there are currently 54 students in the program. A brief overview of 

the curriculum was presented. 

Dr. Cockrell described the M.S. in ECT at Distance Program. ISU has become a leader 

in presenting distance courses and simulation via the internet. The only advertising for the 

program is done through ISA. The content is exactly the same as for the students who study on 

the ISU campus. There are currently 66 active students in the M.S. at Distance program. 

Dr. Cockrell also spoke about the Ph.D. in Technology Management degree. It is made 

up of a consortium of five universities, and is the largest doctoral program at ISU. Admission to 

the program is very selective, with about 150 students currently accepted. Eleven students have 

graduated to date. 

consideration to offer the program nationwide. He told the board members that he will be 

seeking their input on issues they may anticipate in offering the courses on a nationwide basis. 

Prof. Ashby and Dr. Raeisi reported for the Computer Hardware Subcommittee. They 

discussed the proposal to revise the Computer Hardware Program and asked for help in finding 

opportunities for our students. The purpose of the program modification is in response to 

changes in industry. The proposed 4-year plan was presented and discussed course by course. 

Several new courses are included in this plan. J. R. Musselman noted the addition of several new 

courses and asked if old courses had been eliminated or combined. Dr. Croft clarified what is 

being done. He also talked about how the Computer Hardware major and Electronics major 

curricula currently look almost identical except for only 4 courses. David Adler asked about 

server technology. What course or courses would include that material? Brian Bridgewater 

asked about other networks besides ethernet networking such as bus networks. Dr. Cockrell 

noted that we no longer are working with components. This has become a “systems world.” 

J.R. Musselman expressed that he saw this program modification as a great move. He said that 

we must think about the future, and that the U.S. is becoming less of a manufacturing country 

and is moving more toward Information Technology. He asked about Information Security. He 

was concerned as to whether we were including courses covering security. Brian Bridgewater 

mentioned a need for people to understand Data Segregation. Dr. Croft said that sometime 

between now and the next meeting the department will be asking for input from the Advisory 

Board members on the proposed curriculum. Brian Bridgewater and J.R. Musselman talked 

about Wireless Technology and how it can be applied to the plant floor. Mr. Musselman 

applauds our efforts and thought we are on the right path but also advised us to look to the future. 

A Computer Hardware Technology Survey was included in the materials given to the Advisory 

Board members. Dr. Croft asked the board to answer the questions on the survey and return 

them to the ECT Department by June. There was also some discussion about the name of the 

program and if it conveys what the major is about. Mr. Adler mentioned the possibility of using 

the word “Infrastructure” in the program name. 

A motion was made (Cockrell/Malooley) to have Brian Bridgewater and David Adler as 

permanent members of the ECT Industrial Advisory Board. 

Dr. Croft reported to the board about the ECT Department Scholarship Initiative. It is an 

in-house initiative to promote new scholarships for our students. What can we do to establish 

and offer new scholarships to our students? He asked for input from the board members as to 

where we might seek money for this program. 

Lunch was served at George’s Café, 12:00-1:00pm. 

Prof. Malooley described the Electronics Technology B.S. degree and the articulation 

programs with 2-year schools. He gave an overview of our current curriculum and 4-year plan. 

Dr. Cockrell asked the Advisory Board what foreign language they would view as most 

beneficial for advisors to recommend to students. All agreed that Spanish is the language they 

would recommend. 

Dr. Croft talked about the distance-based undergraduate program in ECT . IHETS 

courses have been eliminated and delivery is now internet-based, paving the way for 

Dr. Cockrell reported that the Automation Task Force was looking at developing among 

several departments an interdisciplinary program in Automation. The Dean would like to 

develop a Center for Automation and Systems Integration which would be a Center for 

Expertise to be utilized by industry. Dr. Cockrell asked for input as to whether 

something like this is needed. Mr. Adler mentioned that Imperial College (London) 

might be a good place to model the Center after. He could provide information about that 

institution. Mr. Bridgewater said this would allow high school students to know what can 

be done with this kind of degree. He thinks they would find it fascinating. Dr. Croft 

asked what kind of issues they could see us having to deal with. Mr. Adler mentioned 

colloquialisms and ways we communicate with other cultures. Dr. Croft asked how does 

industry view hiring people who have a distance based education. Mr. Adler related that 

Lilly is very traditional in the types of people they hire, and are more inclined to hire 

people from the Midwest. 

At the conclusion of the meeting the Industrial Advisory Board members were 

invited to tour the John Myers Technology Building and the ECT laboratories. 

The meeting adjourned at 1:50 p.m.

Present: 


Department of Electronics and Computer Technology 



April 7, 2006 

Minutes 

Advisory Board Members: Mr. Brian Bridgewater, Ms. Dana Nakanishi, Mr. Richard Roop, 

and Mr. John Watler 


Cockrell, Dr. William Croft, Mr. Nicholas Farha, Dr. Yuetong Lin, Mr. David Malooley, 

and Dr. Reza Raeisi 

Guest: Dr. Tad Foster 



314. The meeting came to order at 9:45 a.m. Members and faculty introduced themselves 

briefly. Opening remarks were made by Dr. William Croft. 

Dean’s Remarks. Dean Foster mentioned that Digital Communications was the largest 

contingent in the Ph.D. program. Electronics Technology is always changing and is challenged 

to remain current. He briefly discussed budgetary issues at ISU. 

Dr. Croft announced that Dr. Maloba has resigned his faculty position in the ECT 

Department and remains in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the President of the National 

Electric Company there. 

Undergraduate Electronics Technology Program. Prof. Malooley gave an overview 

of the curriculum. The Program is scheduled to be revised in the next two years. He asked 

board members for their input for program revision. ECT 160 will become a non-major course 

and will be developing a section of 160 for Automotive majors. He announced that we will be 

offering our program (ECT 321 forward) at a distance on a nationwide basis. Mr. Roop inquired 

as to what had previously limited it to the state of Indiana. Dr. Cockrell asked the board 

members what language would be most beneficial for our students to study. They replied: 

Chinese, Spanish, Japanese. Prof. Malooley also talked about the transfer and articulation 

process and showed ISU’s Transfer Central website and the Computer Assisted System (CAS). 

ISU is one of 259 institutions participating in CAS, and students may log on and get direct 

course equivalency information. Also, an interactive DARs is soon to come online. 

Computer Hardware Technology Program. Dr. Raeisi explained that the program was 

very similar to the Electronics Technology program and that was the reason for revision. The 

Program has undergone a 2 year review. We are presenting the results of that review and we ask 

for comments from the Advisory Board. New emerging technology courses are to be offered in 

the revised program. Some courses have been eliminated from the old program and new ones 

added. Mr. Bridgewater asked if we based our benchmark against Computer Engineering 

degrees? Dr. Raeisi and Prof. Ashby gave a course by course overview of the courses to be 

included in the new program. Mr. Bridgewater asked if any course would cover industry 

standards such as S95? Dr. Croft asked for input—are we on the right track, have we missed 

anything? Ms. Nakanishi commented that some 200 level courses have been re-numbered as 100 

level courses. Mr. Bridgewater asked how we will differentiate ourselves from MIS or IT 

majors. Dr. Croft replied that the revised program will move us to look like MSI or IT majors, 

but with much more added. We will keep the IT side but will retain the industrial flavor. Dr. 

Cockrell explained that in 1981 the program was called Computer Technology and later changed 

to Computer Hardware Technology. Mr. Bridgewater asked if our vision for the program is 

plant floor perspective or IT perspective. He sees too much computer design. Mr. Watler 

agreed. Those things are not needed in industry. Dr. Croft explained that we need to produce a 

person who is employable in all facets and useful in the marketplace. Mr. Bridgewater added 

that our graduates need to be able to “program it, understand it, and communicate it.” Ms. 

Nakanishi sees a product design person coming out of this program more than overall systems 

integration. Mr. Roop: (1) In the power industry, there is a need for the Computer Hardware 

program and that is the type of person they look for. (2) Small and medium sized businesses are 

driving the economy and this Computer Hardware Program fulfills their needs. Mr. Watler said 

that careful advising will be needed to know what direction a student would want to take. Mr. 

Roop wants to challenge us to be visionary-- what will be needed for the future. Mr. Watler felt 

like he got from the ECT Department a very good foundation for what he needed in his career. 

Mr. Bridgewater suggested that plant tours would be very beneficial, and that after tours students 

should be asked what route they want to take—plant floor or IT? We could ask alumni to give 

plant tours. 

Nationwide Articulation. We are preparing to open up our 3 rd and 4 th year degree 

completion program to distance students nationwide. We would transfer in as a block for 

students who have earned an A.S. degree. Question to the advisory board: Do you have any 

reservations about the concept or ideas on the subject. Mr. Bridgewater expressed concerns 

about resourcing or staffing to support the courses. Could graduate students teach? Mr. Watler 

asked how large we anticipated the population grow, and that we might consider limiting 

enrollment if needed. Dr. Cockrell sees this as growing to be similar to the University of 

Phoenix, and added that it will be open to those in the military. Mr. Bridgewater asked who we 

are aligned with for marketing? Dr. Croft asked if there were any cons to consider and how it 

might be viewed by employers. Mr. Roop asked if we have a plan in place to prevent other 

schools from copycatting. Ms. Nakanishi asked if we had the hardware requirements to support 

the increased student enrollment. The Advisory Board as a whole gave their approval to offering 

the program on a nationwide basis. 

Information Technology Program. Prof. Farha gave a brief overview of the program, 

explaining that there were four ways to approach the study of computers at ISU: 1. Computer 

Science (Programming), 2. MIS (Business based), 3. Computer Hardware Technology 

(Electronics based), and 4. IT (Technology based, broadest content). Currently there are 126 

majors in the IT Program. Prof. Farha hopes to add a securities course to the program. Mr. 

Watler suggested that we open up Computer Technology courses into the IT program. 

M.S. Program. Dr. Clyburn gave an overview of the program. He reported the 

enrollment figures for the on-campus M.S. in ECT program were 51 students in Fall 2005, and 

40 students in Spring 2006. He has admitted an additional 40 students for Fall 2006. Enrollment 

in the on-campus program is primarily made up of students from India. He asked board 

members to keep in mind that these students have BSEE degrees and could help with projects or 

problems in industry, and the students could then use that experience as a Major Project. 

Advisory Board members could then serve as a member of the student’s Major Project 

committee. 

M.S. Program (Distance). Dr. Cockrell reported that currently 24 students are enrolled 

in the distance M.S. program. These students are full time working professionals. 

Ph.D. Program. Dr. Beach gave an overview outlining specializations and participating 

consortium members. There are currently 152 students enrolled, 48 are in Digital 

Communications. 

Faculty Activities, Grants, etc.: 

Prof. Joe Ashby: Mini-grant ($5,000) for PLC Trainers for remote lab to allow distance 

students to perform hands on lab work. 

Dr. David Beach: Serving on 37 Ph.D. dissertation committees 

Dr. William Clyburn: Mini-grant for Systems Integration 

Dr. Gerald Cockrell: He is involved in a long-term project with Russia. 11 students 

came here last summer for a week as part of an exchange program with ISU. 6 more students are 

scheduled to visit this Fall. He has been teaching a Distance Project Management course and 

will be awarding completion certificates at the end of this semester. He also announced the 

creation of CASI (Center for Automation and Systems Integration). 

Dr. Yuetong Lin: Mini-grant for the upgrade of software. He is also collaborating with 

Dr. Beach on the Neural Network. 

Dr. Reza Raeisi: Internal grant to revitalize micro-controllers in labs. 

Recruitment. Dr. Croft reported that recently the faculty met for a brainstorming session 

regarding ideas for recruiting new students to ECT. They came up with 30 ideas and narrowed 

those down to the top 5. Dr. Cockrell asked student Michael Grounds what he would view as the 

best way to reach high school students? And what influenced him to come to ISU. Suggestions 

from the advisory board: Science Fairs, Boy Scout Science Fair, and 4-H. 

NAIT. Dr. Clyburn reported that the ECT department is in the process of preparing a 2- 

year report. During our last review, the accreditation team felt that we were in partial 

compliance for 10 items. A 2-year review will answer those problems. We were criticized 

heavily on our Assessment Plan. 

What about the possibility of a Career Day—bring in alumni who are professionals for 

students to talk with? (Mr. Roop) 

Dr. Croft asked the board members to complete the written surveys before they left for 

the day including an Assessment Survey. 

Mr. Bridgewater mentioned that Purdue graduates are required to do a 4-year project as 

an assessment tool. 

Mr. Watler suggested an Exit interview with students upon graduation. A one-on-one 

informal interview. Not necessarily every student, maybe just a sampling. 

Mr. Roop suggested a Senior Exam that would pull everything together in their major. 

Dr. Croft asked, “What do we do with the results?” Compare grade results with those in courses 

taken by the student. Mr. Roop said the exam does not need to be difficult—just something to 

see that students have basic competency and help bring together everything they have learned. 

Bring career application-type questions into the exam. Or—questions to graduates after one year 

of work to find out if students are adequately prepared. 

What competencies are needed? Written and verbal communication skills (Nakanishi 

and Bridgewater). Mr. Roop suggested that each course require a written report. Senior projects 

would challenge students’ technical and communication skills. Ms. Nakanishi added that 

presenting gives students the opportunity to present in a safe environment. 

Dr. Croft asked, “What made your employer hire you?” I was able to exhibit 

fundamental methodology of problem solving (Nakanishi). Common sense and could 

communicate. They saw that I had a degree and knew that I could problem solve (Watler). 

Titles are very important buzzwords to employers when they hire (Roop). 

Suggested Content Areas for the Future: 

• Technical Research skills (Watler) 

• Being able to read prints (Roop) 

• Understanding Standards (Bridgewater) 

• Industry Regulations (Nakanishi) 

• Regulatory bodies—teach OSHA, NFPA, etc. (Roop) 

• Industrial Safety Network (Nakanishi) 

The meeting adjourned at 3:35 p.m. 

Questions from the Advisory Board: 

What is our budget for the year? (Mr. Bridgewater) 

$11,000 equipment 

What about contact with alumni and gifts? (Mr. Roop) 

• Scholarship initiative 

• ECT Foundation 

• New Development Director interviews are currently taking place 

What about the possibility of a Mentoring program (alumni)? (Mr. Bridgewater)

Present: 





April 13, 2007 

Minutes 

Advisory Board Members: Mr. David Adler, Mr. John Brasker, Mr. Brian Bridgewater, Mr. J. 

R. Musselman, Ms. Dana Nakanishi, Mr. Richard Roop, and Mr. John Watler 


Cockrell, Dr. William Croft, Mr. Nicholas Farha, Dr. Yuetong Lin, Mr. David Malooley, 

and Dr. Reza Raeisi 

Guest: Mr. Brian Bonnett (TRW) 



101E. The meeting came to order at 9:45 a.m. Members and faculty briefly introduced 

themselves. Opening remarks were made by Dr. William Croft. 

Dean’s Remarks. Dean Foster reported on the College of Technology’s reorganization 

from five to three departments effective Fall 2007. He also spoke about the COT’s participation 

in Project Lead the Way, a program whereby high school students can earn up to 15 credit hours 

for courses taken. The Dean talked about some of the COT graduates and the jobs they are being 

offered upon graduation. He also mentioned the competition being provided by IVY Tech. 

Advisory Board members each gave updates on their recent activities. 

Minutes from the last meeting (4/7/06) were approved (Motion, Watler/Cockrell) 

unanimously. 

Undergraduate Electronics Technology Program. Dr. Cockrell reported that the ECT 

programs have gone about 25 years without modifications. He asked board members what they 

see as new electronics technology for the future. Dr. Cockrell talked about program 

considerations such as standards being very important in the curriculum. Ms. Nakanishi noted 

that we should include not only U.S. standards, but also global standards. Is there benefit to 

putting a lab together? A large percent of our curriculum is lab-based. Is that what we should 

continue to be doing? Or can we simulate? It was suggested that much of the labs could be done 

in Project Lead the Way. 

Dr. Croft asked how much of these program considerations need to be emphasized? 

Mr. Bonnett: Some consolidation could take place. 

Mr. Musselman: AC-DC op amps could be condensed, and that fundamentals should be covered 

at a shallow level while upper level material should be at a deeper level. 

Mr. Bridgewater: Ability to communicate in a technical way. 

Mr. Brasher: Students can not get enough Physics. 

All agreed that Fluid Power should remain. 

Math 

IMT 103---some yes, some no 

Dr. Cockrell: The emphasis in the last two years has been critical thinking and critical analysis. 

Ms. Nakanishi: Make first two years better than what IVY Tech students are getting in their first 

two years. 

Internship Report. Jesse Wortman transferred to ECT from Lakeland. He had an 

internship during Summer 2006 at B&C Machine & Design in Effingham, IL and gave a 

presentation about his experiences and discussed the types of technology used. Jesse is 

graduating May 2007 and has been offered a job at Praxair. 

Nationwide Electronics Program at Distance. Dr. Croft explained the Nationwide 

articulation which would open up our 3 rd and 4 th year degree completion program to distance 

students nationwide. We would transfer in credits as a block for students who have earned an 

A.S. degree. 

Computer Engineering Technology. Dr. Croft explained the process that has gone into 

revising the old Computer Hardware Technology program which has become the new Computer 

Engineering Technology major. The ECT Department has surveyed Advisory Board members, 

alumni, students, etc. After examining other programs across the country we found that we were 

already a Computer Engineering Technology program. We just didn’t have the name. Former 

students said that the “name” would have made a difference in the type of job they could get. 

The accrediting group would change from NAIT to TAC-ABET. Dr. Croft described the new 

curriculum and the courses. Mr. Roop: “Awesome, this hits exactly what we need in industry.” 

Mr. Musselman: “I don’t see anything on computer security.” The faculty has worked on this 

program revision and voted to approve. Dr. Croft asked for a vote (7-0-0) from the Board to 

proceed. 

Information Technology Program. Prof. Farha gave an overview of the IT Program 

and noted that it does lack a security course. If it did include a security course he would put it up 

against any IT program in the nation. Mr. Musselman: Needs a security course and system 

design (configuration, etc.) 

Graduate Programs. Dr. Clyburn reported briefly that there are approximately 80 

students currently in the on-campus M.S. ECT Program. These students are mainly from India, 

and come here without any advertising or promoting. 

Mr. Musselman: Through his company, he works with Vanderbilt Advisory board. They 

solicit companies for projects. 

Dr. Cockrell talked about the M.S. ECT Distance Program and that it continues to grow. 

Students are enrolled from all over the United States. 

Dr. Cockrell also spoke about the Ph.D. Program. 156 students are currently enrolled in 

the program among a consortium of five universities. He reported that Mr. Timur Mirzoev is 

graduating from the program in May and has a faculty position at Georgia Southern University 

beginning in Fall 2007. 

Articulations. Our articulations with two-year colleges have recently been updated. 

Internships/Co-ops. A list of recent internships and co-ops was presented to the Board. 

Placement. The ECT Department continues to have very high undergraduate placement 

numbers (80-85%). 

Student Recruitment & Retention. After brainstorming sessions, the ECT Department 

tried the simplest thing first—we sent letters to all the Guidance Counselors in Indiana and 

Illinois. Then we sent letters to technical teachers in those high schools. We are now beginning 

to get calls and inquiries from these people. 

NAIT Accreditation. Dr. Croft announced that we have full accreditation until 2010 for 

all programs in the department. 

Faculty Grants. 

Prof. Joe Ashby: His Promising Scholar funding is internal ISU money, but came from 

Lilly. His project is “Remote Labs.” Mr. Ashby also has an IRTS grant. He reported that he 

will be going to Project Lead the Way Training. 

Dr. Yuetong Lin: Has a Promising Scholar grant. His project is “Combining Neural 

Networks & Fuzzy Logic.” 

Dr. Reza Raeisi: Has a grant for Digital Logic Design. 

Dr. Gerald Cockrell: Has been awarded an NSF grant. He mentioned that this opens the 

doors for ISU College of Technology to get more of these grants in the future. He will write 60 

modules to be used in conjunction with IVY Tech. The award is for $800,000 over 3 years. 

College of Technology Reorganization. The ECT Department will meld with a portion 

of the IMT Department. We will take on four of their faculty and some of their programs. Our 

programs will continue to exist as they are and we will still have need for our Advisory Board. 

Assessment Plan. NAIT said that we lacked an Assessment Plan. Dr. Croft presented a 

two page (draft) questionnaire. The Advisory Board suggested that the wording in the 

questionnaire be changed from “liked best” or “liked least” to something like “strongest points.” 

Directions for the Future. Mr. Musselman again mentioned the Vanderbilt Advisory 

Board and suggested that it might have some benefits for us. 

Dr. Croft thanked all for coming, and emphasized that we do listen to their suggestions 

and advise. He gave each member a College of Technology shirt. The meeting adjourned at 

2:50 p.m.

Present: 





April 11, 2008 

Minutes 

Advisory Board Members: Mr. John Brasker, Mr. Richard Roop, and Mr. John Watler 

ECT Department Faculty: Mr. Joe Ashby, Dr. David Beach, Dr. William Clyburn, Dr. 

William Croft, Dr. Nicholas Farha, Mr. Richard Jinbo, Dr. Yuetong Lin, Mr. David 

Malooley, and Dr. Ming Zhou 

Guest: Dr. Todd Jochem (by teleconference) 



314. The meeting came to order at 9:45 a.m. Opening remarks were made by Dr. William 

Clyburn. He explained the reorganization that has taken place within the College of Technology 

and what programs are now included in the new ECMET Department. He talked about the 

challenges facing us as well as opportunities. 

Dean’s Remarks. Dean Foster told the advisory board how important their input is to 

our department. He reported that graduate enrollment is growing, undergraduate enrollment is 

declining. He mentioned that a new faculty member has been recommended by the department 

for hire (Dr. Xiaolong Li). He also reported that a TAC-ABET consultant will be visiting on 

April 23, 2008 to explore the possibility of accreditation. Dean Foster also talked about the 

Automation and Control Engineering Technology (formerly CIM) major that was recently 

moved to this Department. 

Comments, Concerns, Etc. from the Advisory Board members: 

Brasker: How are we dealing with increased pressure because of legislature changing the status 

of Vincennes University and IVY Tech. 

Roop: His son recently graduated from Wabash College. He was amazed at their marketing 

success. He asked if money has been allocated for recruitment with high school counselors, etc. 

Dean Foster answered that Prof. Ashby is certified with the Project Lead the Way Program. 

Participating schools get $450/student. Those students come to us with 15 college credit hours 

and technology experience. ISU is reaching out to these students. 

Dean Foster: IVY Tech has the same course content as the first two years of our programs, same 

accreditation, but it 40% cheaper for students. 

Roop: Suggested that a market positioning statement is needed. Also suggested that we should 

use our alumni database for recruitment. R.O.I. (Return on Investment) should be stressed. 

Jochem: Campus activities are much richer at ISU than IVY Tech or Vincennes University. He 

suggested that we find out what salaries their graduates are getting as compared to ours. 

Jochem: Left ISU in 1990 (graduated 1996 with a Ph.D. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon). He 

helped develop lane departure (drowsy driver) warning system for large trucks. 

Brasker: 1981 ISU graduate, and is a team leader at Eli Lilly in insulin manufacturing facility. 

Roop: 1980 Murray State EET graduate, received MBA at ISU. He began working in portfolio 

investments in 2001. 

Watler: 1994 ISU graduate (M.S.) 

Updates by Faculty on Curriculum. 

Electronics Technology Prof. Malooley 

Computer Engineering Technology Dr. Lin 

Information Technology Dr. Farha 

Automation & Control Engineering Technology Prof. Ashby 

MSECT Dr. Clyburn 

Ph.D. Program Dr. Beach 

Farha: Asked Ashby how do you attract high school students to the Automation program? 

Ashby: Project Lead the Way 

Clyburn: Suggested that names of large well known industries that hire our students be used in 

our recruiting. 

Brasker: Suggested that we get information about the Automation & Control Engineering 

Technology Program into publications such as Control Magazine, etc. 

Ashby: We are getting really good publicity from ISA. Scholarships will also help attract 

students. 

Brasker: Don’t forget IEEE. 

Student Co-ops and Placement. Dr. Croft reported that we have several students doing 

co-ops in local corporations. The last data we have regarding placement of our graduates was 

gathered for our last NAIT accreditation. Placement information is no longer being kept by the 

university. We do have graduates working all over the nation and in major and minor 

corporations all over the state. Our graduates also work in insurance and other unexpected 

fields. 

Grants. Prof. Ashby reported that we recently received a NSF grant in the amount of 

$800,000. Dr. Cockrell and Don Arney (Ivy Tech) are P.I.s. Prof. Ashby is a secondary 

investigator. He talked about the remote lab advantage over simulation and outlined the 60 

learning modules being developed. 

Recruitment & Retention Activities. Dr. Farha talked about activities on the College of 

Technology level: Tech Trek, Tech Prep, Hands On High Tech, Articulation Agreements, and 

new brochures are being developed. Also University level: new web site (indstate.edu), 

Foundational Studies Program, First Year Students Program, Sycamore Advantage, Knowing 

Sycamores. Dr. Croft also mentioned that the ECT Department sent out materials to local and 

area high schools for the past few years and has begun to see some benefits from that effort. 

Scholarships. Dr. Croft said that he had attended an Honors Day ceremony a few years 

ago where the ECT Department only awarded one scholarship. So we initiated a campaign to 

start new scholarships for our students (Alumni Endowed Scholarships). This year we were able 

to award four scholarships from this fund. Mr. Roop asked if it would be appropriate for the 

Advisory Board members to support a student scholarship? 

Program Accreditation. Current accreditation is from NAIT. A consultant from TAC- 

ABET is coming later this month to consider accreditation. 

Faculty Search Update. Prof. Malooley reported that we recently conducted a 

nationwide search. We had 40+ candidates and brought in 3 for interviews. The Search 

Committee has made their recommendation to the Dean. The Dean is currently contacting the 

candidate who was the number one selection. 

Chair. A nationwide chair search was not granted. Dr. Ming Zhou is the Interim Chair 

until June. 

Directions for the Future. 

Jochem: We value critical thinking skills. One way to do this is to give students projects. He 

would encourage this. He would also encourage ECT students to take as many Computer 

Science courses (Linux, C++, etc.) as they can. 

Roop: Suggested that we should be selling “a quality of life” instead of selling our product. 

Most big companies are using this approach to their advertising. 

Brasker: What distinguishes us from other programs? He said that the Automation and Control 

Engineering Technology Program may be just that thing. He sees a real need in industry for 

graduates of this exact program. 

Jochem: Does the department or college have funds for marketing without asking the university? 

Prof. Malooley replied that we are required to go through our marketing office for permission to 

use any ISU logo, etc. Dr. Jochem said to tell the university that our advisory board suggests 

these things (“This is industry talking.”) He asked what can we as outsiders do for you? We 

suggested that as outsiders we can say & do things that faculty cannot. He said that we need to 

build constituency and support within the College of Technology. 

Roop: Suggested that we approach the Marketing Department to have students to a project 

advertising our department. 

Croft: Asked the board members what we can do to increase enrollment? He suggested the 

possibility of setting up communication among themselves and providing input to us. 

Jochem: He suggested the possibility of offering a Robotics Engineering Technology program. 

Roop: Robotics and Automation are the new basic skill sets to take out and market. 

Watler: Recruit high school counselors and IVY Tech counselors. 

Jochem: Asked if it would be possible for the advisory board members to get a list of new 

admits to contact by phone. Watler and Jochem both agreed that could be very useful. 

The meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m. Faculty members took the advisory board members on a 

tour of the ECT labs and facilities.





November 24, 2009 

Minutes 

Present: 

Advisory Board Members: Mr. David Adler, Mr. John Brasker, Mr. Brian Bridgewater (by 

teleconference from Ireland), Mr. J. R. Musselman (by teleconference from Nashville, 

TN), Ms. Dana Nakanishi, and Mr. John Watler. 

ECT Department Faculty: Dr. Joe Ashby, Dr. David Beach, Dr. William Clyburn, Dr. Gerald 

Cockrell, Dr. William Croft, Dr. Xiaolong Li, Dr. Yuetong Lin, Mr. David Malooley, and 

Dr. Ming Zhou 

Guest: Dr. Brad Sims 


Technology Department was held November 24, 2009 on the campus of Indiana State 

University, TC 314. The meeting came to order at 9:00 a.m. Opening remarks were made by 

Dr. Ming Zhou. He outlined some of the challenges facing our programs, such as enrollment 

concerns, financial constraints, and competition from other institutions. He asked the board for 

their help with efforts to continue improvements to our programs and with issues and 

requirements regarding accreditation. 

Dean’s Remarks. Dean Sims welcomed members of the advisory board and thanked 

them for their participation and efforts to improve programs in the College of Technology. He 

said that priorities within the COT are boosting enrollment and increasing outside funding. 

Prof. Malooley thanked the advisory board for their participation in this meeting on such 

short notice. He said that we are currently in the midst of three accreditations: North Central 

Association (University), ATMAE, and TAC-ABET. He gave an overview of the current 

curriculum, and asked whether board members think that courses currently being offered are 

appropriate, or if there are others that should be added. What direction do we need to go to 

ensure that our students are successful? 

Electronics Technology. 

Cockrell: Do we still need to be doing device level courses? 

Musselman: No. 

Adler: Students need to know the basics even if they don’t actually use it. 

Watler: Agreed that you need to have an understanding. 

Musselman: Suggested combining ECT 231 and ECT 232 into one course. 

Watler: Agreed that courses could be compressed or combined. 

Ashby: What are emerging technologies that should be included in the curriculum? 

Musselman: Anything about I.P. 

Clyburn: How about communications? 

Watler: Students should know how to interface software & hardware. 

Malooley: What about Visual Basic? 

Watler: Said that he deals with that every day. 

64 

Adler: Students need to know about embedded microcontrollers 

Sims: Suggested adding more soft skills in addition to technical skills—negotiating, 

Selling, and writing. Hopefully our students want to be managers. 

Dana: Students are doing Power Point presentations in elementary schools now. 

Cockrell: We try to produce problem solvers. 

Bridgewater: Asked if surveys to recent graduates are being done? 

Adler: How do we keep current with hardware that is obsolete in three years? 

Clyburn: If you understand basic fundamental concepts, you have an education and 

have the ability to learn new things. 

Adler: There is a perception in industry that academia is teaching technologies that are 

dated. He said he doesn’t have the answer, but just stating the problem. 

Musselman: What type of people are we trying to develop? 

Prof. Malooley asked the advisory board members to create a graduate profile for each of the 

three programs and get them back to us within the next 3 weeks. The ECT faculty will then see 

how we can mesh this into our curriculum. The hope is with this information in hand to be better 

equipped to have three well designed programs. 

Computer Engineering Technology. 

Dr. Lin thanked the advisory board members for their response to his recent survey. He also 

outlined deficiencies found in the CET program by the TAC-ABET team. 

The team did not see enough involvement by the advisory board. 

Periodic surveys are needed. 

More meetings – at least one meeting per semester 

Board members assist with co-ops. 

Developing program educational objectives. 

Must define educational objectives in consultation with advisory board. 

Continuous improvement must be shown. 

Capstone course or integrating experience needs to be implemented into curriculum. 

Prof. Malooley said that we are going to need to know more from the board members, and have 

at least two sit down meetings per year. Also, we will be more frequently bouncing ideas off 

them throughout the year. He asked the board if they are willing to increase their participation, 

and respond to frequent communications. We are being required by our accrediting agencies, as 

well as increasing our commitment to them, as employers, by raising our level of students we 

provide to industry. 

Bridgewater: Can we sit in on senior projects as a way to help critique the program? 

Musselman: Invited us to bring our students to his company for co-ops. He also 

Challenged all advisory board members to become more involved 

and more productive. 

Watler: He said he is willing to commit more time. 

Cockrell: He said he would like to see the board create the agenda for our meetings. 

Adler: Culminating experience is important not only for accreditation, but also to 

Show employers what the student has or can accomplish. This type of capstone 

course can make this school even better. 

65 

Musselman: Described his experience as a member of the advisory board for Vanderbilt 

Engineering School (Nashville, TN) and being involved with students and 

guiding them in a two-semester group co-op course. 

Lin: Do we need to add a capstone in the curriculum, or take one 3-hour block out and 

Convert it to a capstone experience? How do we approach this? 

Bridgewater: Due to the rising cost of education, he does not agree with adding more 

hours. He suggested re-arranging the curriculum to add the capstone. 

Watler: We all agree that a capstone course needs to be added, however it may be 

implemented. 

VOTE: 6-0-0 to add a Capstone or culminating experience to the curriculum. 

Malooley: Should the program name be changed from Electronics Technology to 

Electronics Engineering Technology and move to TAC-ABET accreditation? 

There was discussion regarding the marketing aspect and employer recognition. Motion 

(Musselman/Watler), VOTE: 6-0-0. 

There was general agreement by Mr. Brasker, Ms. Nakanishi, and Mr. Watler that the main 

reason for favoring the name change is program marketability and employer marketability/name 

recognition. Mr. Bridgewater said that the Engineering title is also more recognized 

internationally. 

VOTE: 6-0-0 to seek TAC-ABET accreditation. 

Electronics Technology Questionnaire. Prof. Malooley said that the questionnaire identifies 

21 areas that make up the program and asks graduates to rate them. He asked advisory board 

members to take a look at the questionnaire and let us know if any changes should be made to 

the form. 

Brasker: #10 and #11 are duplicates 

Croft: Instead of C++ , he would prefer “high level structured language” 

Malooley: Asked if the board has heard of a program called “Python,” and should we 

discontinue the requirement of Visual Basic? The general consensus was no, 

Visual Basic should stay. 

Croft: Change #18 to theories of amplification circuits. 

Dana (and Musselman agreed): change PLC to automation controllers and 

instrumentation. 

Employee Information Form. 

Musselman, Brasker, and Watler: That subject is an “untouchable” one for them as employers. 

They are not allowed to talk about their employees to anyone. 

NSF Grant. 

Dr. Cockrell mentioned that he and Dr. Ashby are working on a NSF and gave disks to advisory 

board members containing examples of the work that is being done, presentations, etc. 

66

2 

Present: 





April 15, 2011 

Minutes 

Advisory Board Members: Mr. David Adler, Mr. Brian Bridgewater, Ms. Dana 

Nakanishi, and Mr. John Watler 

ECT Department Faculty: Dr. Joe Ashby, Dr. David Beach, Dr. William Clyburn, 

Dr. William Croft, Dr. Yuetong Lin, and Mr. David Malooley 

Guest: Dean Sims 


Engineering Technology Department was held April 15, 2011 on the campus of Indiana 

State University, TC 314. The meeting came to order at 9:15 a.m. Opening remarks 

were made by Dr. Joe Ashby. His informational presentation included departmental 

statistics, the new College of Technology structure, departmental faculty and the phased 

retirements, programs in the ECET Dept., budgetary items and how recent cuts have 

affected the department, and enrollment figures and trends. 

Program Status Reports 

Electronics Engineering Technology (Malooley). By adding the word Engineering to 

the program name we hope to increase enrollment, and move toward ABET accreditation. 

President Bradley has encouraged all programs to pursue ABET. Prof. Malooley also 

discussed changes in students in recent years as reflected in the GPA decline. 

Computer Engineering Technology (Lin). Enrollment has increased over the last two 

years (CET Fall 2011 applications to date: 139). ATMAE accreditation was received. 

The recent ABET accreditation visit resulted in 4 deficiencies. We were requested to put 

the program up for accreditation which was actually two years early. As a result, the 

program withdrew its ABET application. The department does plan to apply in 2012 for 

ABET accreditation along with other COT programs. All five of the new CET courses 

were rolled out one year ahead of schedule, and fulfills the capstone requirement. 

STARS grant—5 year grant supported by NSF aimed at recruiting freshmen and transfer 

students. 

Information Technology (Ashby). The program prepares students to do Broadband PC 

support. Elements of the curriculum were discussed. He described the typical IT major 

as not a math or science oriented type of student. This program also can serve as a fall 

back program for CET students who don’t make it. Enrollment shows continuing 

growth. The IT program is not accredited but we are working toward ABET. Dr. Ashby 

presented the proposed IT major curriculum following the ABET model. He said that the 

department needs to find a new faculty member to serve as a champion for the program. 

Brian Bridgewater asked about Network Security courses, and Dave Adler asked about 

Cloud Computing. 

Automation and Control Engineering Technology (Clyburn). Dr. Clyburn said that 

some growth is being seen in this program. Equipment has been shifted around recently, 

and we have a new robot in the CIM Lab. We also have equipment to teach RFID 

system. He discussed some proposed curriculum modifications based on changes in 

other departments. 

MS ECT (Clyburn). The department has seen a 50% decline in enrollment since Fall 

2007 (Fall 2007=76 students; Fall 2010=46 students). Possible reasons are: (1) 

Computer Science MS degree, (2) students from India are having difficulties getting 

visas. The drop is mainly in the on-campus program. The MS ECT Distance program 

has steady enrollment and is getting good feedback from students. Possible changes 

discussed were: (1) broaden the program for people already in the work force in hopes of 

attracting a different market and not being dependant on international students’ ability to 

get visas, (2) creating concentrations---Information Technology; Instrumentation, 

Systems & Automation. 

Ph.D. in Technology Management (Beach). There are currently 134 active students, 

and 67 graduates of the program. It is the only consortium program of its type in the 

world. 

Minors EET and CET (Ashby). Dr. Ashby has been trying to lead IT students into 

these minors. He said he would like to add a minor in IT for CET students. Brian 

Bridgewater asked about job placement, and whether we get emails from students after 

graduation. Dr. Lin replied that CET has a Facebook presence and that we get feedback 

from former students that way. 

Fall applications to the ECET Department to date are 234. 

Dr. Croft stated that the department has 8 cr. physical science requirement, the university 

has 7 cr. physical science requirement. The result is that we are always writing petitions 

for the additional 1 cr. He asked should we continue with two 4 hour lab courses (Phys. 

Sci.) or instead one 4 hour lab class plus one 3 hour physical science course. David 

Adler favored courses with labs. 

Dr. Ashby asked for ideas on developing internships and CET Senior Projects. David 

Adler said that he likes to hire students who have worked one on one with a professor. 

Dean Sims talked about the complete reconstruction in the TA building for The Built 

Environment Department which is to include 3 classrooms, 3 labs, and office suites. He 

3 

also talked about enrollment figures in the ECET Department, curriculum changes in IT, 

programs in the COT, and the upcoming Strategic Planning meeting for the COT. 

Dr. Clyburn asked the opinion of the Advisory Board members regarding a general focus 

for the MS ECT program vs. Concentrations. After discussion, David Adler said that if 

everything were equal, he would hire the student who had done a 6 hour project course 

over the student who had the 3 hour course. John Watler said that the concentration label 

is not as important as the courses they took. 

Dr. Lin asked why the Advisory Board members thought that there were so few 

applicants for the STARS scholarship. 

Dr. Lin encouraged the Board to let us know if they have internship opportunities. 

Suggested topics for projects--- 

David Adler: Wireless, Operator Interface for Automation, HMI Design, Black & 

White/Grey Screen 

Dana Nakanishi: Standards 

The meeting adjourned at 2:15 p.m. Faculty members took the advisory board members 

on a tour of the ECT labs and facilities.

2 

Present: 





April 20, 2012 

Minutes 

Advisory Board Members: Mr. David Adler, Ms. Dana Nakanishi, and Mr. Richard 

Roop 

ECT Department Faculty: Dr. Joe Ashby, Dr. David Beach, Dr. William Clyburn, 

Dr. Gerald Cockrell, Dr. William Croft, Dr. Xiaolong Li, Dr. Yuetong Lin, Mr. 

David Malooley, and Prof. Edith Wittenmyer 

Guests: Dean Sims, and Dr. Robert English 


Engineering Technology Department was held April 20, 2012 on the campus of Indiana 

State University, TC 314. The meeting came to order at 9:15 a.m. Welcome and 

opening remarks were made by Dr. Joe Ashby. His informational presentation included 

Spring 2012 enrollments in each of the ECET programs and the role international 

students play in these numbers. He also discussed internships. Dr. Ashby also 

announced the plan to hire a tenure track faculty member for the Information Technology 

program. 

Dean Sims remarks. Dr. Sims talked about three new programs in the College of 

Technology, the growth of internships, and other events going on in the COT. He said 

that we are set for the largest freshman class ever, and that to date there are 240 admitted 

freshmen in the COT for Fall 2012. He also talked about budget and state support issues. 

Dr. English remarks. Dr. English gave some updates at the University level. He said that 

some things that ISU is currently doing are in response to the Indiana Commission for 

Higher Education (i.e., degree completion, low income students, on time graduation). 

Their focus will be completion, progression, and productivity. State support has declined 

to 45%, and we are being asked to cut our majors to 50 hours, as well as restrictions as to 

appropriate minimum number of faculty in departments. 

Dr. English also talked about the proposed B.A.S. degree (Bachelor of Applied 

Science), and said that IVY Tech is very supportive of this degree. 

Program Status Reports 

Electronics Engineering Technology. Prof. Malooley discussed enrollment numbers in 

this program. He also talked about areas needing attention for purposes of increasing 

enrollments, retention & graduation rates. He also discussed what we are doing to try to 

increase transfers, and increase high school visibility of our programs. He talked about 

the University push to limit total credits in a major, and asked the Board about the 

appropriateness of our current curriculum structure. He also asked the Board for letters 

of support for retaining credit hours in our majors. David Adler replied that in examining 

the curriculum of our majors he sees nothing that could be eliminated if we are to 

continue producing successful graduates. 

Computer Engineering Technology. Dr. Lin gave an overview of the CET Program 

including enrollment data, and said that 18 students had graduated from the program 

since 2009. He talked about the curriculum rollout including new courses. The CET 

program is currently accredited by ATMAE, and is going for ABET accreditation in Fall 

2012. Dr. English mentioned the decline in responses to our ATMAE alumni surveys 

which could cost us accreditation. 

Information Technology. Prof. Wittenmyer spoke about her background in industry, 

and is now teaching IT courses. She is trying to enhance the program and bring new 

technologies and hands on experiences to students. She is working on having the A+ 

certification test given here at ISU. She asks her students to do class presentations and 

requires them to dress professionally. She works with the Females in Technology (FIT), 

STEM, Project Lead the Way, and talked about occupational safety garments as part of 

her work with the Textiles and Merchandising (TAM) program. 

Automation and Control Engineering Technology. Dr. Clyburn talked about recent 

changes in the ACET curriculum. Also, considering the creation of a new 18 hour ACET 

minor which would be attractive to EET, CET, and MET majors. 

MSECT. Dr. Clyburn discussed recent changes in the MSECT curriculum which 

includes the creation of a core section and concentrations---IT and Automation & 

Controls. 

Minors. Dr. Ashby discussed the push to increase the numbers of students pursuing 

minors in ECET Department programs. 

ABET Preparation. Dr. Lin said that he will be sending out a survey to the Board 

members requesting their feedback on educational objectives and curriculum. He asked 

the board if 6 hours in math—college algebra & trigonometry and applied calculus are 

enough, or if more are needed. He asked if anything seemed to be missing from the total 

curriculum. 

Dr. Cockrell and Prof. Wittenmyer spoke about the concept of Cloud Computing. David 

Adler mentioned servers, which Dr. Li said is covered. 

Dana Nakanishi said that when hiring an Automation Systems engineer she would hire an 

Automation & Controls major before she would hire a CET major. The conclusion was 

that the CET major should retain the Automation flavor. The Management course 

requirement was also examined. Rick Roop felt that we would do our students a favor if 

3 

our students were exposed to what businesses are actually “for,” and shareholder wealth 

creation, etc. 

Student recipients of ECET scholarships were introduced, presented with their 

scholarship certificates, and then accompanied Advisory Board members and faculty at a 

luncheon held in Generations Restaurant. 

Dr. Ashby asked for feedback, questions, etc. from the Board. Prof. Malooley said we 

would like to have a letter of strong support from the Advisory Board stating minimum 

number of credit hours needed in our majors, and that 50 credits will not suffice. 

Dr. Cockrell asked if any of our courses teach Critical Thinking in Technology. He 

added that students who know how to think critically are the ones who become very 

successful. 

Dr. Ashby asked if the Advisory board saw any fundamental problem with a B.A.S. 

degree. 

David Adler observed that the state of education is moving at speeds never seen, and it 

appears that the metrics are forcing lower standards. 

The meeting adjourned at 2:05 p.m.

Appendix B 

ECET (ECMET) Department Meeting 

Minutes 

84

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APPENDIX B. ECET (ECMET) DEPARTMENT MEETING MINUTES 87 

ECMET Department Meeting 

Monday, November 2, 2009 

Approved 11/23/09 

Present: J. Ashby, D. Beach, W. Clyburn, P. Cochrane, G. Cockrell, W. Croft, X. Li, Y. Lin, 

D. Malooley, R. Peters, M. Shahhosseini, M. Zhou 

Guest: 

Dr. Jeffrey McNabb 

Absent: T. Alberts, A. Badar 

The meeting was called to order at 12:00 Noon by Dr. Zhou. 

1. A motion (Malooley/Cochrane) was made to approve the minutes of the previous meeting 

(10/15/09) as modified to indicate that R. Peters was absent. Vote: 10-0-1 

2. NCA Accreditation. Dr. McNabb shared information about what progress has been made to date 

toward submitting the required data for each program within the College of Technology. He 

estimated that the complete report is due in about 30 days. 

3. TAC-ABET. Dr. Zhou shared the results and findings from the recent TAC-ABET evaluation 

team’s visit. He emailed a copy of the report from the team to all ECMET Department faculty. 

Dr. Zhou is working on the 30 day response. Dr. Wayne Unsell, team leader, indicated that he 

was willing to work with CET between January and June 2010. 

Dr. Lin suggested that a meeting of the ECT Industrial Advisory Board be called this month. He 

asked senior faculty to take the lead in contacting the board members to organize the meeting. 

Dr. Lin also talked about the team’s concern that there was no capstone course for CET. 

He indicated and discussed two options: 

• Create a new capstone course. 

• Take one course in existing curriculum and modify it into a capstone course. 

4. ATMAE. Prof. Malooley needs updated Personal Data Sheets and course materials for the 

course notebooks. 

5. Program Change Proposal. Dr. Peters talked about a proposed change to the Automotive 

Technology Management Program. The proposal would change the name of the program to 

Automotive Engineering Technology. He said that NAIT now accepts programs with the word 

engineering in the title. Motion (Clyburn/Cochrane) to approve the change. Vote: 9-0-2 

6. Announcements: 

Dr. Clyburn announced that the Personnel Committee needs to review the promotion/tenure 

documentation from Dr. Peters and Prof. Ashby at their earliest convenience. 

Dr. Clyburn also announced that if anyone has any old computers in TC 317 to please remove 

them immediately to allow the Robotics Lab move to begin. 

Dr. Zhou thanked Prof. Malooley for his recent presentation in support of the Information 

Technology Program and the ECMET Department' 


Figure B.3: Minutes of ECMET Faculty Discussions on CET Capstone Nov. 11 2009

APPENDIX B. ECET (ECMET) DEPARTMENT MEETING MINUTES 88 

Approved 1/19/2010 

ECMET Department Meeting 

Monday, November 23, 2009 

Present: T. Alberts, J. Ashby, D. Beach, P. Cochrane, W. Clyburn, G. Cockrell, W. Croft, X. Li, Y. Lin, 

D. Malooley, R. Peters, M. Shahhosseini, M. Zhou 

The meeting was called to order at 12:00 Noon by Dr. Zhou. 

1. A motion (Beach/Croft) was made to approve the minutes of the previous meetings (11/2/09 and 

11/4/09) as amended. Vote: 9-0-0. 

2. Announcements: 

• Dr. Ashby and Prof. Malooley plan to participate in the recruitment event at Terre Haute 

South Vigo High School on December 7. 

• The ECT Industrial Advisory Board will meet on November 24, 2009. 

• Dr. Zhou is working on articulations with Ivy Tech-Sellersburg. 

• Dr. Zhou announced that there are four Part-Time Temporary Faculty Evaluations which 

need to be completed very soon. 

• Dr. Zhou reported on the status of tenure track evaluations. 

3. Curriculum Proposals. 

a. Dr. Cochrane presented new course proposals: AET 201, AET 457, AET 477 

Motion to approve (Cockrell/Clyburn). 

After discussion, a friendly amendment (Beach/Clyburn) to add 500 level (457/557) and 

(477/577). Vote to add 500 level: 12-0-0. 

AET 201: Friendly amendment (Cockrell/Clyburn) to vote on separately as a non- 

Foundational Studies course. Vote: 12-0-0. 

b. ECT 301/ECT 306: Dr. Li explained the proposal to exchange course titles and 

descriptions of these two courses. Motion (Malooley/Croft) to exchange course titles and 

descriptions. Prerequisites as follows: ECT 306 (ECT 232, ECT 301), and ECT 301 

(ECT 232). Vote: 12-0-0. 

4. Dr. Peters announced that MET 215 is being approved as a Foundational Studies course with 

the provision that a Math course be added as a prerequisite or acceptable placement score. 

Motion (Croft/Lin) to add prerequisite with change to prerequisite statement. Vote: 12-0-0. 

5. Equipment Cost Information. Dr. Zhou said that Dean Sims may have a centralized pool of 

funds for large ticket equipment requests in COT prioritized by department. Dr. Zhou gave 

out copies of a request form and asked faculty to return the completed forms to him by 

Wednesday, December 2. He will then submit them to the Dean by December 4. 

6. TAC-ABET. Dr. Zhou gave an update on deficiencies found by the accreditation team for 

MET and CET programs and how those deficiencies are being corrected. 


Figure B.4: Minutes of ECMET Faculty Discussions on CET Capstone Nov. 13 2009

Appendix C 

Computer Engineering Technology 

Faculty Meeting Minutes 

89

2 DISCUSSIONS ITEMS 2 



Program Faculty Meeting 2009 – 2010 

Minutes taker Yuetong Lin 

Those present Bill Croft, Yuetong Lin, Xiaolong Li 

Date October 6, 2009 3:30 PM–4:20 PM 

Distribution Dr. Ming Zhou 

Overview of topics 

1 ABET accreditation preparation 1 

2 Discussions items 2 

The meeting was called to order at 3:30 PM by Yuetong Lin. 

1 ABET accreditation preparation 

The faculty examined the preparation for the ABET accreditation. 

• Dr. Lin introduced the meeting with the College and department administrators and 

staff the previous week on the ABET accreditation. 

• Dr. Lin shared with the faculty the program preparation for CET accreditation, and 

the temporary team visit agenda. 

The faculty believed the program has made solid progress in preparing for the accreditation. 

• The educational objectives and program learning outcomes were developed following 

ABET guidelines. 

• Correlations between CET curriculum and ABET criteria, CET program objectives 

and outcomes have been studied and established. 

Dr. Croft recounted the program transition from Computer Hardware Technology to 

Computer Engineering Technology. During the process: 

• Six new courses have either been offered, or are being developed according to the 

proposed new courses roll-out plan. Faculty choices to develop these new courses were 

made based on individual’s background, expertise, and workload; and after deliberation 

and consultation within the group. 

• All existing major required courses, from ECT 232 and up, have undergone rigorous 

review by the department. Appropriate changes in content and covered subjects have 

been proposed or implemented to comply with the ABET requirements on CET program. 

• Courses with low-enrollment have been consolidated. The new CET program keeps the 

total credit hours by balancing the major, elective, and general education courses. 

The faculty all supported to include the preliminary work on CET program in the ABET 

accreditation supporting documents as evidence of program/department’s commitment to 

continuous improvement. These evidences include faculty meeting minutes, Industrial Advisory 

Board meeting minutes/communication, historical ATMAE accreditation material, etc. 

2 Discussions items 

The faculty recognized that program still lacks a systematic approach to “closing the loop”, 

namely assessing the data and proper assessment rubric. The faculty reached the following 

conclusions during the meeting: 

• Assessment measures. The direct/indirect measures being considered were: course 

assignments, exams, course/senior exist surveys, semester student instructional reports, 

etc. 

• Developing performance criteria. The faculty agreed that given program’s current personnel 

and the start-up nature, it would be prudent and realistic to focus on limited 

number of outcomes. The faculty decided to hold future meetings to discuss the issue. 

• Developing assessment rubric. The faculty agreed to discuss the issue in depth in the 

coming meetings. 

Faculty also supported to start the work on revising course syllabi to align course learning 

outcomes with program outcomes and objectives. 

The meeting was adjourned at 4:20 PM. 

• CET faculty, ECMET department, and Industrial Advisory Board were all actively 

involved in the process. Inputs were vigorously sought from each group on new curriculum, 

program objectives and outcomes. 

• Faculty have started collecting raw data for assessment. 

1




CET Capstone Course Plan Meeting 



Location of the meeting TC 314 

Date February 8, 2010 11:00 AM–11:40 AM 

Distribution Dr. Ming Zhou 


1 Update of ABET Visit Team Report 1 

2 CET Capstone Course Discussions 1 

2.1 Format of capstone course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

2.2 Challenge for undergraduates to handle capstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

2.3 Cost sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

2.4 Capstone project evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

2.5 Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

3 Discussions items 2 

3.1 Course Subjects Overlapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

3.2 Capstone Project Evaluation Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

3.3 Accreditation Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

1 Update of ABET Visit Team Report 

Dr. Lin shared with the group the email from ABET visit team leader. The draft report has 

been submitted to the ABET final editor. The program could receive the revised copy any 

time soon, from which time it has 30 days to respond. The response will be incorporated 

in the final report presented to the ABET board meeting in July by the ABET visit team 

leader. 

2 CET CAPSTONE COURSE DISCUSSIONS 2 

2 CET Capstone Course Discussions 

The discussions on addressing program capstone course were based on the recommendations 

made by Dr. Lin (See attachment). 

The discussions ensued on the following subjects: 

2.1 Format of capstone course 

Croft: How the course should be structured? 

Li: From Moorehead State University’s experience, the course has a designated instructor 

every time it is offered. The instructor could be rotated among interested faculty 

members. 

2.2 Challenge for undergraduates to handle capstone 

Croft: How can students be advised the proper subject and scope of the project? 

Li: Students need to work with the instructor to set a realistic goal. The ultimate deliverable 

could be a full-scale demo, or a prototype whose foundation has been verified 

in the work. The instructor needs to meet with each team on a weekly basis to keep 

track progress and provide technical guidance, but the project remains primarily an 

independent group effort. 

Lin: Similar to other courses, while some students may struggle to find proper topic, or be 

challenged to complete the proposed work, it is believed there will be some seniors who 

are well-motivated and technically prepared for the course. And the final grade should 

reflect the quality of work. 

2.3 Cost sharing 

Croft: Does the department share the expense that might be incurred, e.g. hardware/software 

purchase? 

Lin: Given the budget situation, it might be reasonable to request students be responsible 

for the educational expense. However upon the funding availability, the program can 

provide partial support. 

2.4 Capstone project evaluation 

Croft: How do faculty assess students’ performance? 

Lin: Though the course is assigned under one instructor, all CET faculty will participate the 

final project demo/presentation. Each student will be judged by a set of pre-determined 

performance rubric. 

2.5 Decisions 

Motion (Croft/Li) to approve ECT 406 to become the Capstone course for Computer Engineering 

Technology major, titled: Senior Project. Vote: 3-0-0 

3 Discussions items 

The faculty also discussed other issues: 

3.1 Course Subjects Overlapping 

3 DISCUSSIONS ITEMS 3 

Dr. Croft suggested the faculty meet in the near future to address the subjects overlapping 

issue in some CET major courses. 

3.2 Capstone Project Evaluation Kit 

Dr. Croft suggested the faculty meet to discuss the standardized format of portfolio(or folder) 

that students need to keep for performance assessment of their senior project. It was agreed 

that Dr. Croft’s ECT 308 class project guidelines would be used as the basic template. 

3.3 Accreditation Documentation 

Dr. Croft emphasized the importance of maintaining documents including faculty meeting 

minutes, group discussion on curriculum changes etc. The program has kept the records 

of these meetings leading up to the name change and curriculum revision, but did not fully 

present the documents to the ABET team and thus left the impression that many key program 

decisions were made without fully consulting constituents. Faculty agreed such problems need 

to be avoided in the future. 

1

2 ABET PROGRAM ASSESSMENT DISCUSSIONS 2 




CET Faculty Meeting on Accreditation 

Issues 



Location of the meeting TC 301 J 

Date October 6, 2010 1:00 PM–2:00 PM 

Distribution Dr. Joe Ashby 


1 ATMAE Accreditation Follow-up 1 

2 ABET Program Assessment Discussions 2 

2.1 Direct Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

2.2 Indirect Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

1 ATMAE Accreditation Follow-up 

Dr. Croft informed the group that the program received partial compliance for accreditation 

from ATMAE. The associate dean is calling a meeting on October 7 to discuss actions to 

address the weaknesses. 

2 ABET Program Assessment Discussions 

The faculty discussed the viable approaches for program assessment. The discussion is centered 

on the method for both direct and indirect measures. 

2.1 Direct Measure 

• The Senior Project, as a culminating experience, when properly designed, should 

be a good source to evaluate student’s overall skills. 

• It will be an overwhelming task to collect data from multiple courses based on the 

limited program personnel and resources. 

• The assessment will be more consistent as the faculty members will be judging 

the same project and the same team, following the same performance criteria and 

rubric. 

The program will start data collection in Spring 2011 when the course is offered. The faculty 

will decide afterwards whether the data and sample size are sufficient, or additional 

courses are needed in Fall 2011. 

The faculty agreed on the following general requirements for the Senior Project: 

• Though individual project is acceptable, team project is the preferred format. 

• Each team decides its own subject under the guidance of the advisor. 

• Each team needs to meet separately with the instructor on a weekly basis for 

suggestions and guidance. 

• All teams will be present for monthly sessions, where each team reports project 

progress and answers faculty’s and peers’ comments and questions. 

• Each team must submit preliminary timeline at the beginning of the project; and 

progress report before monthly all-group sessions. 

• Each group must submit a final written report following designated format, and 

conduct an oral presentation before program faculty at the conclusion of the 

project. 

The faculty agreed in the long run and as the program becomes more established, more 

courses (primarily junior/senior-level) would be incorporated for performance evaluation. 

The faculty decided to have further discussions on the potential changes on program outcomes, 

performance criteria and rubric. 

Dr. Croft suggested some criteria may be developed into forms that can be filled in and 

returned by the students. 

The faculty agreed further discussion is needed on the type of evidence for assessment besides 

project report and presentation. 

2.2 Indirect Measure 

The faculty decided the senior exit survey to be the primary indirect measure. The faculty 

agreed to develop the survey based on the alum survey questions used in ATMAE 

accreditation. 

The faculty decided in the short run to use ECT 406 Senior Project as the sole direct 

measure for performance criteria assessment. The rationales being: 

1

2 CURRICULUM ISSUES 2 




CET Faculty Meeting on Accreditation 

Issues 



Location of the meeting TC 301 J 

Date November 2, 2011 1:00 PM–2:00 PM 

Distribution Dr. Joe Ashby 


2.1 Non-technical: Communication skills 

Some students showed the lack of proper communication skills, both in oral presentation 

and technical writing. 

The faculty agreed to take graduated steps in the lab courses to introduce to the students 

the elements and structure of technical writing. 

• The 100, 200-level lab manuals will stay with the current format, i.e., the manuals 

provide complete narrative of objectives, procedures, and Q&A. Students are 

required to strictly follow the steps. 

• In ECT 401, the manuals will only provide the outline of the lab, and the students 

are required to describe the process, and discuss the findings. 

• In ECT 430 Senior Seminar, the instructor will introduce the basic structure of 

technical report. Students are required to follow established format to complete 

the report for ECT 406 Senior Project. 

2.2 Technical: System-level knowledge 

The students showed their understanding and skills in using microprocessors in their projects, 

but lacked the knowledge of system integration especially the interfacing mechanism. 

The faculty agreed to put the discussion into broader context of how to balance the curriculum 

to cover component, device, board, and system-level materials. 

1 Accreditation Assessment Measures 1 

2 Curriculum Issues 1 

2.1 Non-technical: Communication skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

2.2 Technical: System-level knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

1 Accreditation Assessment Measures 

The faculty discussed the assessment methods and decided: 

• For direct measure: ECT 406 Senior Project will be used as the instrument. The 

program faculty will evaluate students’ performance based on accreditation criteria. 

Lin is charged to develop the evaluation form. 

• For indirect measure: Senior exit survey will be used as the instrument. All graduating 

seniors are required to complete the survey. Lin is charged to develop the questionnaires. 

2 Curriculum Issues 

The faculty discussed the curriculum issues reflected by the first offering of ECT 406. Lin 

pointed out two weaknesses that some students demonstrated: 

1

Proposers should consult with the dean's office prior to the development of the proposal. 

Not all proposals can be supported. 

CHECK ALL THAT APPLY 

Graduate 

Undergraduate 

New Course 

Existing Course 

Change of Description 

Change of Title 

Change of Credit Hours 

Change of Number 

Change in Pre- or Co-requisites 

F-1 COURSE PROPOSAL FORM 

Department: Electronics, Computer and Mechanical Engineering Technology Click here for flow diagram 

Click here for a sample timeline 

College: College of Technology 

Contact Person: Xiaolong Li 

Phone: 237-3451 Email: xiaolong.li@indstate.edu 

Required on Major(s), List Major(s) Computer Engineering Technology 

Required on Minor(s), List Minor(s) 

Required on Graduate Program(s), List Program(s) 

Educator Licensure Methods or Key Course (College of Education Licensure Review Required) 

Current Prefix: ECT Number: 406 

Title: Computer Integration System 

Proposed Prefix: ECT Number: 406 

Title (30 characters, including spaces, maximum): 

Senior Project 

Is this course meant to replace another course? Yes No 

If yes, list the course(s) to be eliminated or banked. 

Submit course(s) to be eliminated or banked on a separate form(s). 

If department categorizes courses, list category 

A-F Grading Credit hours 3 

S-U Grading 

May be repeated for credit, maximum number of hours 

Does this course have a course fee? Yes No 

Submit all applicable forms in this packet via electronic media in Microsoft Word format. 

Elimination 

Reactivation 

Banking 

Add to General Education Program (follow directions at GE 

Web site) (General Education Review Required) 

Remove from General Education Program (General 

Education Review Required) 

Currently Part of General Education Program (General 

Education Review Required) 

Basic or Liberal Studies: N/A 

List Area: N/A 

For new and substantially modified courses also submit Syllabus (See Appendix I and II for sample syllabi and 

information needed for courses that are required in an educator licensure program or are part of the general 

education program.) 

In the space provided please insert your summary (abstract), information on student 

learning, and current and proposed catalog copy. 

Brief Summary: The main purpose of this proposal is to modify the course titles, course 

description and course prerequisite of ECT 406 so that the curriculum of computer 

engineering technology program can meet the TAC-ABET requirement. ECT 406 has 

never been offered so that this change will have no effect on students. 

Student Learning. How have the results of student outcomes assessment and program or 

accreditation review been used in the proposed change? How will this change increase 

student learning and program effectiveness? 

N/A 

Old Catalog Copy 

ECT 406 – The factory floor to the business enterprise and the process-to-enterprise chain are 

parts of computer-based system integration. Students study the methodology for accomplishing 

the system integration process and apply concepts through case-study exercises. Prerequisites 

ECT 306 

Proposed Catalog Copy (limit to 50 words). 

ECT 406 – Study and research in specific area culminating in an integrating experience through 

group projects, technical reports, and oral presentations. Prerequisite: Senior standing and three 

300 or 400 level CET major courses 

Please insert any important and pertinent minutes/notes from committee meetings about 

this proposal. 

2

Instructor: 

E-mail: 

Phone: 

Office: 

Office hour: 

Prerequisite 

Senior Standing 

ECT 406 Senior Project 

Syllabus 




Course Description 

Students work in group on a design/research problem. The project could be developed through 

industry collaboration, faculty research, or at the students’ own initiative through literature 

search. The project requires computer engineering technology faculty approval, formal oral and 

written presentation. 

Course Objectives 

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to: 

1. Prototype an electronic and/or software system to meet given specifications. 

2. Integrate knowledge from across the core CET curriculum. 

3. Take a systems approach to problem solving. 

4. Work productively in a team environment. 

5. Effectively communicate technical ideas and concepts 

Remarks: 

1. Each student must sign up with a faculty member who would serve as the project advisor. 

2. Each student must maintain a logbook for the project activity which will be reviewed by 

the project advisor on periodic basis. 

3. One non-returnable bound copy of the project must be submitted up on project defense. 

4. For an industry based project, a letter from the supervisor indicating support for 

completion of the project and authentication of the performed work is required. 

5. Class attendance carries 10% of the grade. 

6. Each student must obtain the Project Advisor's signature on the Project Advisor's Review 

Form, periodically; no project presentation is allowed without Project Advisor’s consent. 

7. Final project presentation will be 12 minutes long which will lead into Q/A. 

The Report: 

The report should be a complete technical communication written in a professional style that 

represents the writer's work and findings. The style should be clear and concise with a logical 

flow of information to convey the project content and hold the reader's interest as well as answer 

any questions which logically arise. The format and style are left to the students and their project 

advisors; however, a good format to follow is that of typical technical journal articles. The 

format and style of textbook material are also good examples, but it is very important to 

recognize the audience for which the report is written. Technical report writing requirements as 

outlined in this class is the preferred style for the report; however, students may use the 

following for additional information: 

1. Turabian, K.L., "A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations," 

University of Chicago Press, 1994. 

2. Gibaldi, J. and Achtert, W.S., "MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, 

and Dissertations," Modern Language Association, 1994. 

Project Management: 

In order to facilitate team organization and communication each team will have one member 

who is designated at the project manager. Each advisor, after having solicited private input 

from each team member, will assign one team member to be the project manager. It is 

reasonable for those students with a specific interest in this role to make that known to the 

advisor. The advisor will inform the SDP course coordinators and team members of his or her 

choice during the week of 15 Sept 03. 

Responsibilities of the project manager include: 

1. function as liaison between the team and the advisor 

2. insuring that deadlines are met 

3. insuring that the team is prepared for the weekly advisor meetings 

4. responsible for assembling weekly team report 

5. responsible for logistics and confirmations associated with weekly team meetings, and 

weekly advisor meetings. It should be noted that other team members will have areas of 

responsibility defined as the project moves forward. The role of project manager is 

clearly defined early in the process due to the general logistical nature of the role. The 

project manager offers general support of the design effort while the other roles will be 

tailored to project-specific needs 

Evaluation Method 

Attendance 10% 

Presentation 15% 

Project Quality 50% 

Project Report 25% 

TOTAL: 100% 

2 

Course Grading 

100-97 = A+; 97-92 = A; 92-90 = A- 

89-87 = B+; 87-82 = B; 82-80 = B- 

79-77 = C+; 77-72 =C; 72-70 = C- 

69-67 = D+; 67-62 =D; 62-60 = D- 

59-0 = F. 

¢¡£ ¥¤§¦©¨ 

Indiana State University seeks to provide effective services and accommodation for qualified 

individuals with documented disabilities. If you need an accommodation because of a 

documented disability, you are required to register with Disability Support Services at the 

beginning of the semester. Contact the Director of Student Support Services. The telephone 

number is 237-2301 and the office is located in Gillum Hall, Room 202A. The Director will 

ensure that you receive all the additional help that Indiana State offers. If you will require 

assistance during an emergency evacuation, notify your instructor immediately. Look for 

evacuation procedures posted in your classrooms.

Appendix D 

Industrial Advisory Board Survey 

D.1 Survey Questionnaire 

96

Survey 

ualtrics Survey Software 

https://indstate.qualtrics.com/ControlPanel/PopUp.php?PopType=SurveyP... Qualtrics Survey Software 


https://indstate.qualtrics.com/ControlPanel/PopUp.php?PopType=SurveyP... 

Default Question Block 

Degree of Importance 

1 2 3 4 5 

Computer Engineering Technology Graduates are expected to demonstrate: 

Industry Advisory Board Survey 

Spring 2012 

Computer Engineering Technology Program 


Comment (since response to the objective is less than 4) 

The ability to function effectively, think independently and work collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team 

environment 

1 2 3 4 5 


Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology Department abides by the Federal guidelines of confidentiality. 

The survey is intended to seek input from an advisory board member on the “Degree of Importance” of Computer Engineering 

Technology Program Educational Objectives. 


Educational Objectives are broad statements describing graduates’ expected performance within the first few years after 

completing the program. 

Legends: 

Title 


Barely useful = 1, Unimportant = 2, Neutral or Can’t Decide = 3, Important = 4, Very important = 5 

Please select the response that most closely matches your opinion (Please be advised that if response to an objective is less 

than 4, we would like you to elaborate areas of improvements through textual comment). 

Legends: 

Company 




Organizational, and increasing levels of managerial skills in their chosen field 



Years served on the board 

1 2 3 4 5 



Legends: 


Individual desire and commitment to remain technically current by engaging in continuous self-improvement and 

lifelong learning 




1 2 3 4 5 





Legends: 

Technical proficiency by applying disciplinary reasoning and Critical thinking to identify, analyze and solve 

problems in computers, systems integration, Automation, digital systems, data communications, computer 

networks, and electronics 

1 2 3 4 5 







Any general comments on Computer Engineering Technology Program Educational Objectives? 


The awareness of professional, ethical and social responsibility and impact of engineering technology practices in 

Indiana and a diversified world 

1 2 3 4 5 



Legends: 






Effective communication skills in both oral and written form to articulate technical knowledge, ideas, and proposals 

to peers, management, and other potentially diverse audience 

Legends: 





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APPENDIX D. INDUSTRIAL ADVISORY BOARD SURVEY 98 

D.2 2012 Survey Results

1. Technical proficiency by applying disciplinary reasoning and Critical thinking to 

identify, analyze and solve problems in computers, systems integration, Automation, 

digital systems, data communications, computer networks, and electronics 

Statistic 


Min Value 5 

Max Value 5 

Mean 5.00 

Total Responses 5

2. Effective communication skills in both oral and written form to articulate technical 

knowledge, ideas, and proposals to peers, management, and other potentially diverse 

audience 

Statistic 


Min Value 4 

Max Value 5 

Mean 4.80 

Total Responses 5

3. Organizational, and increasing levels of managerial skills in their chosen field 

Statistic 


Min Value 4 

Max Value 5 

Mean 4.20 

Total Responses 5

4. The awareness of professional, ethical and social responsibility and impact of 

engineering technology practices in Indiana and a diversified world 

Statistic 


Min Value 2 

Max Value 5 

Mean 4.40 

Total Responses 5

5. Comment (since response to the objective is less than 4) 

Text Response 

This is not a technical skill. Especially as applied toward Indiana. I expect ECT students come from a variety of backgrounds, and will get hired in complete different areas. Need to focus 

on Technology. If a student has a desire to pursue ethical and social implementations of technology, they can do this as elective activities. 

Statistic 

Value 

Total Responses 1

6. The ability to function effectively, think independently and work collaboratively in a 

multi-disciplinary team environment 

Statistic 


Min Value 4 

Max Value 5 

Mean 4.80 

Total Responses 5

7. Individual desire and commitment to remain technically current by engaging in 

continuous self-improvement and lifelong learning 

Statistic 


Min Value 4 

Max Value 5 

Mean 4.60 

Total Responses 5


D.3 2009 Survey Results




Statistic 

Appropriateness 

Min Value 5 

Max Value 5 

Mean 5.00 

Total Responses 4



audience 

Statistic 


Min Value 4 

Max Value 5 

Mean 4.75 

Total Responses 4


Statistic 


Min Value 4 

Max Value 4 

Mean 4.00 

Total Responses 4



Statistic 


Min Value 4 

Max Value 5 

Mean 4.25 

Total Responses 4



Statistic 


Min Value 5 

Max Value 5 

Mean 5.00 

Total Responses 4



Statistic 


Min Value 4 

Max Value 5 

Mean 4.75 

Total Responses 4

7. Any general comments on Computer Engineering Technology Program 

Educational Objectives? 

Text Response 

Rating 4 should not be viewed with lesser importance. Specific work environments, as well as educational programs, impact these areas. 

None at this time. 

Statistic 

Value 

Total Responses 2


D.4 Sample Survey Returns


1. Name 

Text Response 

John Watler 

2. Company 

Text Response 

Process Development and Fabrication, Inc. 

3. Educational Objectives. CET graduates are expected to: 

# Question Approve Disapprove Responses Mean 

1 

2 

Technical competency. Demonstrate technical proficiency by applying general and disciplinary reasoning and critical 

thinking to identify, analyze, and solve problems. 

Communication skills. Demonstrate effective communication skills in both oral and written form to articulate technical 

knowledge, ideas, and proposals to peers, senior management, and other potentially diverse audience. 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

3 Managerial skills. Demonstrate organizational, and increasing levels of managerial skills in their chosen field. 1 0 1 1.00 

4 

5 

6 

Ethical, social and professional responsibility. Demonstrate awareness of the impact, and professional, ethical and 

social responsibility of the practice of engineering technology in the state of Indiana and in a diversified world 

Teamwork mentality. Demonstrate the ability to function effectively and think independently in a multidisciplinary team 

environment. 

Lifelong learning. Demonstrate individual desire and commitment to remain technically current by engaging in 


1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

4. Please provide extra comment on the CET Program Objectives: 

Text Response 

Figure D.4: Survey Return Sample: IAB Approval of Educational Objectives


1. Name 

Text Response 

John D. Brasker 

2. Company 

Text Response 

Eli Lilly and Company 



1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

Technical competency. Demonstrate technical proficiency 

by applying general and disciplinary reasoning and critical 


Communication skills. Demonstrate effective 

communication skills in both oral and written form to 

articulate technical knowledge, ideas, and proposals to 

peers, senior management, and other potentially diverse 

audience. 

Managerial skills. Demonstrate organizational, and 

increasing levels of managerial skills in their chosen field. 

Ethical, social and professional responsibility. Demonstrate 

awareness of the impact, and professional, ethical and 

social responsibility of the practice of engineering 

technology in the state of Indiana and in a diversified world 

Teamwork mentality. Demonstrate the ability to function 

effectively and think independently in a multidisciplinary 

team environment. 

Lifelong learning. Demonstrate individual desire and 

commitment to remain technically current by engaging in 


1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 


Text Response 

5. Signature 

Text Response 

John D. Brasker 

Report powered by Qualtrics 



1. Name 

Text Response 

Brian P. Bridgewater 

2. Company 

Text Response 

Eli Lilly and Company 



1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 








audience. 













1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 


Text Response 

These objectives should make ISU graduates extremely competitive in today's job marketplace. 

5. Signature 

Text Response 

Brian Bridgewater, MSc Automation Project Manager 




1. Name 

Text Response 

Dave Adler 

2. Company 

Text Response 

Brillig 



1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 








audience. 













1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 

1 0 1 1.00 


Text Response 

5. Signature 

Text Response 



Appendix E 


Alumni Survey 

E.1 Survey Questionnaire 

119

Survey 






Management 

Education 

Consulting 

Alumni Survey 

Spring 2012 




The survey is intended to seek input from alumni on the “Degree of Importance” and “Degree of Readiness” of Computer 

Engineering Technology Program Educational Objectives. 



You are hereby notified that the response/comments provided will be kept in a confidential file, never disclosed 

to other alumni, and will be grouped for statistical analysis only. 

Graduation Year 

Sales and marking 

Customer service and support 

Other 

Legends: 


Barely useful = 1, unimportant = 2, Neutral or Can’t Decide = 3, important = 4, Very important = 5 

Degree of Readiness 

Significantly under-prepared = 1, Under-prepared= 2, Neutral or Can’t Decide = 3, Well-prepared = 4, Very well-prepared = 

5 


than 4, we would like you to elaborate areas of improvements through textual comment) 

Legends: 


Barely useful = 1, Unimportant = 2, Neutral or Can’t Decide = 3, Important = 4, Very Important = 5 



5 




What is your most frequently used email address: 






1 2 3 4 5 



Since your graduation, indicate how you have continued your educational or professional development: 

Earned or working towards an advanced degree: indicate degree below 


1 2 3 4 5 



Completed additional undergraduate courses: Indicate below technical or non-technical courses 

Completed graduate courses: indicate technical or non-technical courses 


Completed workshops, seminars, or other short courses 

Completed professional development credits 

Attended professional conferences 

Received or in the process of pursuing special engineering licenses or certifications 

Became a member of a professional organization such as IEEE, ISA, ASME, etc. 

None of the above 

How soon did you land your first job? 

At or before graduation 

Within 3 months of graduation 

Within 6 months of graduation 

Other 

Current employment status: 

Employed full-time 

Employed part-time 

Pursuing an academic degree 

Seeking employment 

Legends: 


Barely useful = 1, unimportant = 2, Neutral or Can’t Decide = 3, Important = 4, Very Important = 5 



5 






1 2 3 4 5 



Legends: 


Barely useful = 1, Unimportant = 2, Neutral or Can’t Decide = 3, Important = 4, Very Important = 5 



5 






1 2 3 4 5 




Current Title 


How do you categorize your current employment? 

Technical 

Legends: 


of 5 


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5 




Can you specify any courses you took at ISU, either in CET curriculum or outside the major, that prepared you particularly 

well for your career? 


environment 

1 2 3 4 5 




Alternatively, can you specify any courses you took at ISU, either in CET or outside the major, that contributed little or nothing 

to your professional growth and development? 

What are the most significant factor for success in your career? 

Legends: 





5 



Were there any activities or courses that were not offered when you attended ISU that would have better prepared you for 

the workforce and your career? 






1 2 3 4 5 



Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. Your valued input will help the program better shape and implement 

a productive curriculum for current and future students. Should you have further questions, please fee 

free to contact us. 

My education in the Computer Engineering Technology (Computer Hardware Technology) program has prepared me to 

continue my educational and professional development. 

Strongly Disagree 

Disagree 

Neither Agree nor Disagree 

Agree 

Strongly Agree 

Comment (since response to the question is either "Strongly disagree" or "Disagree") 

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5/21/2012 11:23 PM5 of 5 5/21/2012 11:23 PM

APPENDIX E. COMPUTER ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY ALUMNI SURVEY 121 

E.2 2012 Survey Results

1. Since your graduation, indicate how you have continued your educational or 

professional development: 

# Answer Bar Response % 

1 Earned or working towards an advanced degree: indicate degree below 1 7% 

2 Completed additional undergraduate courses: Indicate below technical or non-technical courses 0 0% 

3 Completed graduate courses: indicate technical or non-technical courses 0 0% 

4 Completed workshops, seminars, or other short courses 2 14% 

5 Completed professional development credits 0 0% 

6 Attended professional conferences 2 14% 

7 Received or in the process of pursuing special engineering licenses or certifications 2 14% 

8 Became a member of a professional organization such as IEEE, ISA, ASME, etc. 0 0% 

9 None of the above 11 79%

2. How soon did you land your first job? 


1 At or before graduation 6 46% 

2 Within 3 months of graduation 5 38% 

3 Within 6 months of graduation 0 0% 

4 Other 2 15% 

Total 13

3. Current employment status: 


1 Employed full-time 11 79% 

2 Employed part-time 0 0% 

3 Pursuing an academic degree 0 0% 

4 Seeking employment 3 21% 

Total 14

4. Current Title 

Text Response 

Technician 

Control Specialist 

Digital Engineer 

QA/QC Manager 

Network Operations Engineer 

Controls Engineer 

Equipment Repair Service Manager 

Network Engineer 

Process Technology Engineer 

Network Operations Engineer 

Equipment Repair Service Manager 

Systems Administrator 

Math Teacher

5. How do you categorize your current employment? 


1 Technical 8 62% 

2 Management 3 23% 

3 Education 1 8% 

4 Consulting 0 0% 

5 Sales and marking 0 0% 

6 Customer service and support 0 0% 

7 Other 1 8% 

Total 13




Statistic Degree of Importance Degree of Readiness 

Min Value 4 3 

Max Value 5 4 

Mean 4.46 3.85 

Total Responses 13 13


Text Response 

Classes were not as hands on as they should have been. 

Statistic 

Value 

Total Responses 1



audience 


Min Value 4 4 

Max Value 5 5 

Mean 4.33 4.08 




Min Value 3 2 

Max Value 5 4 

Mean 4.17 3.67 



Text Response 

I personally am not in a management position so I can't confirm if the skills that I have learned would be beneficial. 

I woulnd't think management skills would be useful right away because you would be looking for an entry level job and you would have to get use to the enviroment and how things work. 

Alos get to know people and their positions and I think that is too much for someone just starting. 

There was not any technical managerial classes offered. 

Statistic 

Value 

Total Responses 3




Min Value 4 2 

Max Value 5 4 

Mean 4.08 3.75 

Total Responses 12 12 

# Question 1 2 3 4 5 Responses Mean 

1 Degree of Importance 0 0 0 11 1 12 4.08 

2 Degree of Readiness 0 1 1 10 0 12 3.75


Text Response 

I didn't really ever have a clear idea what I was qualified to do. Spend some time explaining potential jobs and highlighting jobs that former students went on to do. I do remember there 

was information in the brouchure on the program as to what companies former grads went on to work for but I think getting the students involved with what they would like to do after 

graduation is beneficial. 

When I received my first job after graduation as a "circuit board repair technician" I was not vary qualified. I had a theory of how the circuits worked but never learned anything about 

troubleshooting or designing advanced circuits. 

Statistic 

Value 

Total Responses 2

13. The ability to function effectively, think independently and work collaboratively in 

a multi-disciplinary team environment 


Min Value 4 4 

Max Value 5 5 

Mean 4.58 4.33 





Min Value 4 4 

Max Value 5 5 

Mean 4.50 4.33 


15. My education in the Computer Engineering Technology (Computer Hardware 

Technology) program has prepared me to continue my educational and professional 

development. 


1 Strongly Disagree 0 0% 

2 Disagree 0 0% 

3 Neither Agree nor Disagree 2 17% 

4 Agree 9 75% 

5 Strongly Agree 1 8% 

Total 12

16. Can you specify any courses you took at ISU, either in CET curriculum or 

outside the major, that prepared you particularly well for your career? 

Text Response 

I had a few robotics and networking classes in college that I am finding very useful. After I graduated I obtained a job working on robots so these classes helped greatly. 

I took a couple courses related to PLCs that helped me with my job. One course was ECT 281 and the other was ECT 679 (did a mini-project related to PLCs). 

Haven't found my career job yet. 

ECT Minor Program along with the CET classes. The course numbers have changed so I am unsure what the current names / numbers are. 

Production, Planning and Control has shown to be a valuable course. SIMCO is a great class, it makes you work in a team and develope processes that are practical for most jobs. I took a 

little bit from almost all my CET classes. I may not directly use all that information in my current job but as difficult as some of the courses were, for me, it was a great learning 

experience. It really made me focus much more because the curriculum was challenging. 

The two networking courses. 

Microprocessor courses, networking courses, digital logic courses, and general basic electrical knowledge. 

No 

PLC Courses 

No as I currently work in the IT field. Some of my favorite classes were ECT 335 and 435 (68HC11 programming).

17. Alternatively, can you specify any courses you took at ISU, either in CET or 

outside the major, that contributed little or nothing to your professional growth and 

development? 

Text Response 

All of my Science classes and most of my English classes, except for technical writing, I have never used outside of a classroom and never see being used. 

A course that should have been useful was IMT 329 (Fluid Power). The information should have been useful, but the course was presented in a way that didn't effectively teach any of the 

topics. 


I would say I took a little bit from all my courses, I was pleased with my schedule of classes. 

No 

SIMCO 

Elective courses.

18. What are the most significant factor for success in your career? 

Text Response 

My Degree, my work ethic, my knowledge that I have obtained from schooling, my willing to learn quickly. 

Ability to learn and adapt to a variety of technologies. 


I believe having a college degree is the most important thing for the success of my career. 

Hard work and having a drive to want to do something. The CET program was definitely a challenge for me and I'm proud that I was able to complete it. I think by graduating the program 

gave me the confidence of knowing if you set your sight on something and put in the work, your outcome for success is much higher. 

Constant willingness to learn. 

Being able to problem solve and troubleshoot. Being able to work as a small team, or more importantly work alone but be willing to bounce ideas off of your colleages. Also being able to 

explain how a control scheme, program, or electrical setup works to somebody with little to no programming knowledge. 

Self-motivated, well-organized 

Ability to learn 

Managerial tactics. Programming.

19. Were there any activities or courses that were not offered when you attended ISU 

that would have better prepared you for the workforce and your career? 

Text Response 

N/A 

Possibly some tours or visits to local businesses. I think requiring a relevant internship would have been useful for the degree. 

Haven't found my carrer job yet. 

I'm not sure at the moment 

I would have liked to had a few business courses. 

More network management courses, specifically server management. Perhaps as an elective here though. My company is smaller so I have expanded responsibilities and have to be a 

database/system/server administrator on top of the controls engineer. 

No 

None 

Classes that had a more hands on approach would have been nice. Updated equipment. For instance, the microprocessor used at the time was the 68HC11 processor that isn't used 

anymore. More programming classes should be enforced.



Text Response 

I think this program is very well put together. It prepares graduates for a wide range of jobs that pay well and are in high demand. Professors and advisers are fantastic. 

I think there should be a requirement to get work experience. Alot of jobs prefer work experience so having the opportunity to do that while in school will make it alot easier to find a job 

after graduation. 

Offer major prerequisite classes each semester so people that can't fit in a class one semester can take it the next semester rather than waiting an entire year. I personally ran into this 

problem. 

I'm not familiar with the departments objectives, I can say it was a great opportunity to challenge myself and grow as an individual. Time management, working with classmates and 

professors I was able to take alot more away from CET then just what I learned in the classroom. It was a great experiance. 

The mixture of electronics, management, programming and networking topics allows a career choice in many different directions. 

I feel that overall my education was good and prepared me well, but I feel there is a lack of emphasis on going into the field of automation. 

No 

Can't say anything bad it all worked out well for me. 

This program needs to be more hands on.

APPENDIX E. COMPUTER ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY ALUMNI SURVEY 142 

E.3 2009 Survey Results

1. Title 

Text Response 

Senior Hardware Technician 

Electronics Technician 

Service Technician

2. Professional Membership if Any and Years of Membership 

Text Response 

N/A 

N/A 

IEEE, 2 years 

NONE 

N/A

3. Advanced Degree and Year of Completion 

Text Response 

Currently working on my Master's in Electronics and Computer Technology 

N/A




Statistic Appropriateness Degree of Readiness 

Min Value 3 3 

Max Value 5 4 

Mean 4.00 3.60 

Total Responses 5 5


Text Response 

I started my Master's about 3 months after I finished by Bachelor's degree, so I don't know how well it translates into work experience. 

Date Communications, Computer Networks- Class offered in this area was very basic and provided little more than a foundation to work off of. I could not analyze and solve problems in 

this area. Computers- One class in C++. All other classes dealt with Assembly Language and techniques using that language. Visual Basic was briefly introduced. A more broad 

spectrum of languages would be helpful. Also there is no operating system curriculum. My current job does not require me to analyze computers, but some knowledge of operating 

systems would be helpful if I were ever to switch occupations. The other areas - systems integration, Automation, digital systems, and electronics provided me with adequate training.



audience 


Min Value 4 3 

Max Value 5 5 

Mean 4.40 4.20 

Total Responses 5 5


Text Response 

I started my Master's about 3 months after I finished by Bachelor's degree, so I don't know how well it translates into work experience.



Min Value 3 3 

Max Value 5 4 

Mean 4.00 3.80 

Total Responses 5 5


Text Response 

I started my Master's about 3 months after I finished by Bachelor's degree, so I don't know how well it translates into work experience. I had a few management and supervision courses, 

but I am not sure how well they would translate into a management position.




Min Value 3 3 

Max Value 4 4 

Mean 3.80 3.80 

Total Responses 5 5


Text Response 

Not a concern of mine / no real opinion.

12. The ability to function effectively, think independently and work collaboratively in 

a multi-disciplinary team environment 


Min Value 4 4 

Max Value 5 5 

Mean 4.80 4.60 

Total Responses 5 5




Min Value 4 4 

Max Value 5 5 

Mean 4.60 4.60 

Variance 0.30 0.30 

Standard Deviation 0.55 0.55 

Total Responses 5 5



Text Response 

I think that all of the objectives are appropriate, but it is a little hard to gauge their effectiveness since I started my Master's soon after I graduated. 

Replace a TMGT class or two with another micro-controller or other hardware electronics class (Elective?). I found working on the 68HC11 with DR. Croft to be very interesting though 

starting on it was a pain, but everything is hard at the beginning.

Appendix F 

Employer Survey 

F.1 Survey Questionnaire 

157

Survey 








1 2 3 4 5 

Employer Survey 

Spring 2012 




You are hereby notified that the response/comments provided will be kept in a confidential file, never be 

disclosed to your employees, and will be grouped for statistical analysis only. 

The survey is intended to seek input from employer on the “Appropriateness” and “Degree of Readiness” of Computer Engineering 

Technology Program Educational Objectives. 



Legends: 


Very Inappropriate = 1, Inappropriate = 2, Neutral or Can’t Decide = 3, Appropriate = 4, Very Appropriate = 5 



5 







Legends: 





5 





Legends: 





5 





environment 

1 2 3 4 5 







1 2 3 4 5 



1 2 3 4 5 




Legends: 





5 





Legends: 





5 






1 2 3 4 5 



Legends: 





5 






1 2 3 4 5 






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APPENDIX F. EMPLOYER SURVEY 159 

F.2 2010 Survey Results

Initial Report 

Last Modified: 05/16/2012 





Min Value 4 4 

Max Value 4 4 

Mean 4.00 4.00 

Total Responses 2 2



audience 


Min Value 4 4 

Max Value 5 4 

Mean 4.50 4.00 

Total Responses 2 2



Min Value 4 4 

Max Value 4 4 

Mean 4.00 4.00 

Total Responses 2 2




Min Value 4 4 

Max Value 4 4 

Mean 4.00 4.00 

Total Responses 2 2




Min Value 5 4 

Max Value 5 5 

Mean 5.00 4.50 

Total Responses 2 2




Min Value 4 3 

Max Value 5 4 

Mean 4.50 3.50 

Total Responses 2 2



Text Response 

Specifically, technical graduates need a mix of business, communication, and educational classes to compliment their technical abilities. The advantage that comes to an employer from 

an employee with a B.S. is the understanding of business fundamentals over employees from technical or community colleges. My recent hire of an ISU grad displays a higher level 

business operation than other candidates. 

Statistic 

Value 

Total Responses 1

Appendix G 

Senior Exit Survey 

167

1. Do you have a job offer? 


1 Yes 3 100% 

2 No 0 0% 

Total 3

2. Are you a student member of any professional organization, such as IEEE, ISA, 

ASME, etc, at Indiana State University? 


1 Yes. Please provide the name of the organization: 2 67% 

2 No 1 33% 

Total 3

3. How would you rate the advising you received from the department faculty (both 

formal and informal) 


1 Excellent 2 67% 

2 Very Good 1 33% 

3 Good 0 0% 

4 Fair 0 0% 

5 Poor 0 0% 

Total 3

4. Do you feel there is unnecessary "material overlap" (duplication of subject matter) 

in the curriculum? 


1 No 3 100% 

2 Yes. If so please elaborate: 0 0% 

Total 3

5. Do you have any comments regarding university Foundational Studies courses? 

Text Response 

I think they have helped me grow as a person.

6. Student outcomes are succinct statements that describe what students are 

expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation. These outcomes relate to 

skills, knowledge and behaviors that students acquire as they progress through the 

program.Please tell us how well we have met the following program 

outcomes.Computer Engineering Technology students should demonstrate: 

# Question 

Strongly 

agree 

Agree Neutral Disagree 

Strongly 

disagree 

Responses 

Mean 

1 the ability to analyze electrical circuits 1 2 0 0 0 3 1.67 

2 the ability to use simulation software 3 0 0 0 0 3 1.00 

3 the ability to analyze and design digital logic circuits 1 2 0 0 0 3 1.67 

4 the understanding of automation in industrial applications 2 1 0 0 0 3 1.33 

5 the ability to configure and troubleshoot computer networks 0 3 0 0 0 3 2.00 

6 the understanding of fundamental data communication architecture and protocols 0 2 1 0 0 3 2.33 

7 

the understanding of microprocessors/microcontrollers architecture, organization and 

peripheral control mechanisms 

1 2 0 0 0 3 1.67 

8 the ability to design and develop a microprocessor/micro-controller-based system 1 2 0 0 0 3 1.67 

9 the understanding of programmable logic circuits 1 2 0 0 0 3 1.67 

10 

the ability to design and develop digital logic circuits using hardware description language 

(VHDL or Verilog) 

1 1 1 0 0 3 2.00 

11 the understanding of database applications related to technical data management 2 1 0 0 0 3 1.33 

12 the understanding of computer-based systems integration 2 1 0 0 0 3 1.33 

13 

the knowledge of project management, and managerial and organizational principles of 

industry 

2 1 0 0 0 3 1.33 

14 the ability to function well in a team 2 1 0 0 0 3 1.33 

15 the understanding of professional and ethical responsibility 2 1 0 0 0 3 1.33 

16 the ability to communicate effectively in both written and oral form 2 1 0 0 0 3 1.33 

17 the awareness of the need for life-long learning 2 1 0 0 0 3 1.33

7. Can you specify any courses you took at ISU, either in CET curriculum or outside 

the major, that prepared you particularly well for your career? 

Text Response 

Microcontroller classes and Project Management class 

TMGT 471,TMGT 478, ECT 303, ECT 281 

TMGT 492, ECT 406, ECT 165, ECT 306, ECT 168

8. Alternatively, can you specify any courses you took at ISU, either in CET or 

outside the major, that contributed little or nothing to your professional growth and 

development? 

Text Response 

N/a 

Statistic 

Value 

Total Responses 1

9. Do you plan to continue, or become a member in IEEE, ISA, ASME after 

graduation? 


1 Yes 1 33% 

2 No 2 67% 

Total 3

10. Do you plan to pursue an advanced degree? 


1 Yes 2 67% 

2 No 1 33% 

Total 3

11. Do you plan to pursue professional engineering licenses or certifications? 


1 Yes 1 33% 

2 No 2 67% 

Total 3

12. Any general comments on Computer Engineering Technology Program? 

Text Response 

I think the faculty has served me well.

Appendix H 

Faculty Resume 

180


School of Technology 

PERSONAL DATA SHEET 

1983 – 2009 

NAME AND ADDRESS: 

William E. Croft, 3855 N. Dogwood St. 

Terre Haute, IN 47803 

(812) 877-1483 Home Phone 

(812) 237-3457 Work Phone 

DEPARTMENT AFFILIATION: Electronics,Computer and Mechanical 

Engineering Technology 

RANK AND/OR TITLE: 

Jan. 2003 – Aug. 2007 

Aug. 2003 – May 2004 

Aug. 2003 – May 2004 

Aug. 1983 – Pres. 

Professor and Chairperson ECT Department 

Interim Asst.Dean, School of Technology 

Acting Assistant Dean School of Technology 

Faculty member ECT Department 

ACADEMIC PREPARATION: 

AREA OF 

YEAR 

INSTITUTION SPECIALIZATION DEGREE EARNED 

Indiana University 


Mathematics Education 

Mathematics 

Ph.D 

M.S. 

1997 

1990 

Indiana University Vocational Education M.S. 1983 

Indiana State University Electronics Technology B.S. 1975 

Indiana State University Criminology B.S. 1973 

PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL AND/OR INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE: 

FIRM/INSTITUTION POSITION/TITLE DATES 

American Monitor Corp. Sr. Design Engineer 1979-1983 

Wang Laboratories, Inc. 

Raytheon Service Corp. 

Sr. Customer Engineer 

Sr. Customer Engineer 

1979-1979 

1978-1979 

Indiana State University Instructor 1976-1978 

Wang Laboratories, Inc. Tech. Specialist 1975-1976 

PUBLICATIONS: 

Croft, William E. "Development System Technology." National 

Association of Industrial Technology Journal. Vol. 5 No. 3, 

Summer Issue, 1989. 

Croft, William E. "CD-ROMS: Their Technology and Applications." 

National Association of Industrial Technology Journal. Winter 

Issue, 1987. 

REVIEWED PUBLICATION: 

Croft, William E. “Attitude of Electronics Technology Majors at 

Indiana State University Toward Electronics”. Journal of 

1

Industrial Technology. Volume 16, Number 2, February, 2000. 

UNPUBLISHED: 

Croft, William E. ECT 335&435 Technical Reference Manual. Jan. 

1999. Updated above manual to Rev. 4 in July 2002. 

RESEARCH PROJECTS & GRANTS: 

Texas Instruments Corporation literature donation, approximate 

value $300. December 1997. 

Motorola Corporation literature donation, approximate value $250. 

October 1997. 

Project member. Secured research equipment donation, Intel 

Corporation of California. $300,000 donation. Awarded 

Summer-Fall, 1988. 

COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE EXPERTISE: 

Professional software experience includes programming in: 

C, Assembler, Fortran, BASIC, Visual BASIC, Hypercard, 

Supercard and numerous other languages. I also have expertise 

with operating systems such as DOS, Windows, UNIX (Linux and 

Solaris 2.6, 2.7), Macintosh, etc. Recently, I have 

programmed in SaS and Perl. In the past, I have programmed in 

numerous other languages and have worked in database systems 

such as SQL and Oracle. I have used ProE extensively. 

Professional hardware experience includes: 

8048, 8049, 8051, 8085, 8086 and above Intel microprocessors. 

6800, 6809, 68000 and 68HC11 Motorola microprocessors and 

others such as the 6502, etc. 

Professional Certifications: 

March 2001 - Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA). 

May 2001 - I have completed two-thirds of the training taken and 

passed 3 of the 5 exams required for CCNP certification. 

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION ACTIVITIES: 

Memberships: 

Member, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 

Member, National Association of Industrial Technology. 

Senior Member, Mathematical Association of America. 

2

Yuetong Lin, Ph. D 

Electronics and Computer 

Technology Department 




(812) 237339 (O) 

liny@indstate.edu 

Education Ph. D, Systems and Industrial Engineering with EE minor, University of Arizona. 

05/2005 

M. S., Industrial Engineering, University of Arizona. 05/2003 

M. Eng., Computer Engineering, Northeastern University, China. 04/1998 

Bachelor of Engineering, Telecommunication Engineering, Northeastern University, 

China. 07/1995 

Appointments Assistant Professor, Electronics and Computer Technology Department, Indiana 

State University, 08/2005 ~ Present 

Visiting Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, 

University of Louisiana, Spring 2003 – Spring 2004 

Software Engineer, Beijing Huakong Technology Co. Ltd, China, 1997 – 1998 

Software Engineer (Part-Time), Wuxi Xixing Iron and Steel Co. Ltd, China, 1995 

– 1996 

Selected 

Publications 

Book Chapter: 

Y. Lin and F.-Y. Wang, “Modular Wavelet Networks”, Advances in Computational 

Intelligence, Series in Intelligent Control and Intelligent Automation, Vol. 5, World 

Scientific, 2006 

Fei-Yue Wang, Yuetong Lin, and James B. Pu, “Linguistic Dynamic Systems and 

Computing with Words for Modeling and Simulation of Complex Systems”, Advances 

in the Theory of Modeling and Simulations, Spring-Verlag, 2000 

Journal Articles: 

Y. T. Lin, F-Y. Wang, P. B. Mirchandani, L. Wu, Z. X. Wang, C. Yeo, M. Do, 

“Implementing Adaptive Driving Systems for Intelligent Vehicles using Neuro-Fuzzy 

Networks,” Transportation Research Record, pp. 98-105, September 2001. 

Y. T. Lin, F.-Y. Wang, J. Xiao, and Z. X. Wang, “An Intelligent Control System for 

Intelligent Vehicle: Algorithms and Experiments”, Automatica, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 556- 

567, 2001. 

P. Chen, T. Toyota, Y. Lin, and Fei-Yue Wang, “Failure Diagnosis of Machinery by 

Self-Reorganization of Symptom Parameters in Time Domain Using Genetic 

Algorithms,” International Journal of Intelligent Control Systems, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 

571-586, December, 1999 

Conference Papers: 

Y. Lin, F.-Y. Wang, and Y. Gao, “A Modular Hybrid Networks for Fuzzy Logic 

Control Systems”, Proceedings of 2005 IEEE International Conference on Networking, 

Sensing, and Control, Tucson, Arizona, Mar. 2005, pp. 671-676. 

Y. Lin and F.-Y. Wang, “Predicting Chaotic Time series Using Adaptive Wavelet- 

Fuzzy Inference Systems”, Proceedings of 2005 IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium,

Synergistic 

Activities 

Professional 

Activities 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Las Vegas, Nevada, June 2005, pp. 888-893. 

Fei-Yue Wang, Yuetong Lin, and James B. Pu, “Linguistic Dynamic Systems and 

Computing with Words for Complex Systems”, Proceedings of 2000 IEEE 

International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Nashville, Tennessee, 

USA 

Fei-Yue Wang, Yuetong Lin, Qinglong Wu, Peter M. Fu, and Chris Yeo, “Architecture 

and Implementation of Intelligent Control Systems for Smart Consumer Appliances via 

Internet,” Proceedings of 2000 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and 

Cybernetics, Nashville, Tennessee, USA 

F.Y. Wang, Y.T. Lin, X.C. Huang, Z.X. Wang, S. Jian and Q.L. Wu, “Smart Control 

for Smart Consumer Appliances: A Neuro-Fuzzy-Based Approach,” Proceedings of 

International Appliance Technical Conference, Columbus, Ohio, USA, March 25-28, 

2001 

“The Study of Distributed Wavelet Fuzzy Networks Using Java Objected-Oriented 

Neural Engine”, Promising Scholar Award, Indiana State University, 2006. 

“Incorporating Multisim Simulation into Introductory Circuit Courses”, Information 

Technology Innovation Mini-grant, Indiana State University, 2006. 

“Implementing Neural Networks with FPGA”, Information Technology Research 

Mini-grant, Indiana State Univeristy, 2007. 

“OSGi-based Integrated Home Server and Intelligent Home Control Systems”, Kelon 

Group, 2001. 

“Global Telematics Systems for Automotive Positioning, Communication and 

Services”, Business Plan for NorStar Information Technology, Inc., 2001. 

Student Activities Chair, 2007 IEEE International Conference on Vehicular Electronics 

and Safety, Beijing, China 

Publication Chair, 2007 IEEE/INFORMS International Conference on Service 

Operation and Logistics, and Informatics, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Finance Chair, 2005 IEEE International Conference on Networking, Sensing and 

Control, Tucson, Arizona 

Publication Chair, 2005 IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium, Las Vegas, Nevada 

Publication Co-Chair, 2003 IEEE 6 th International Conference on Intelligent 

Transportation Systems, Shanghai, China. 

“Vehicle with Intelligent Systems for Transportation Automation”, sponsored by 

Arizona Department of Transportation. 

“Web-based Audio Video Educational System: An Open and Integrated Platform for 

Online Laboratory Experiments, Computer Simulation, and Course Instruction using 

Internet”, sponsored by NSF.

Xiaolong Li,Ph.D. 

Electronics, Computer & Mechanical Engineering Technology 



(812)-237-3451 

Email: xli3@isugw.indstate.edu 

Education 

Ph D, University of Cincinnati, 2006. 

Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering 

Dissertation Title: Performance Analysis of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks 

MS, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, 2002. 

Major: Electrical Engineering 

Dissertation Title: Study and Implementation of Streaming Media Transmision Technology 

over the Internet 

BS, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, 1999. 

Major: Electrical Engineering 

Dissertation Title: Weak Target Detection based on Correlation Analysis 

Professional Experience 

• August, 08 – present, Assistant Professor, Department of Electronics, Computer & Mechanical 

Engineering Technology, Indiana State University, IN 

• August, 06 – May, 08, Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial and Engineering Technology, 

Morehead State University, KY 

• September, 03 – June, 06, Research Assistant, Department of Electrical and Computer 

Engineering, University of Cincinnati, OH 

• September, 00 – June, 02, Research Assistant, Department of Electronics and Information 

Engineering, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, China 

Publications 

Journal Articles 

Li, Xiaolong and Qing-An Zeng, “Performance Analysis of the IEEE 802.11e with TCP ACK 

Prioritization,” To appear in the Special Issue on Performance Modelling and Evaluation of 

Telecommunication Systems, Telecommunication Systems, Springer, 2009. 

Li, Xiaolong and Ranga, Uma Kanth, “Developing a Preferable Monitoring System for Vehicle 

Parking”, Journal of Technology Interface, 2009. 

Li, Xiaolong and Zeng, Qing-An, “Modeling and Analysis of Link Stability in Mobile Ad hoc 

Networks,” International Journal of Ad Hoc & Sensor Networks, Vol. 3, No. 2-3, pp. 237-254, 

2007. 

Li, Xiaolong, Panja, Biswajit, and Zargari, Ahmad, “Modeling and Performance Analysis of Mobile 

Ad hoc Networks,” Journal of the Technology Interface, Fall Issue, 2007 

Page 1 of 2

Li, Xiaolong and Zeng, Qing-An, “Performance Analysis of IEEE 802.11 MAC Protocol over 

WLANs with Capture Effect,” Information Processing Society of Japan, pp. 545 – 551, 

November, 2005. 

Conference Proceedings 

Li, Xiaolong and Mohammed, Jaby, "A New Approach to Teaching Wireless Communications 

with MATLAB and OPNET," National Association of Industrial Technology, Nashville, TN, 

November, 2008. 

Thangaraj, Aruna, Zeng, Qing-An and Li, Xiaolong, “Performance Analysis of the IEEE 802.11e 

with TCP ACK Prioritization”, Proceedings of 17 th International Conference on Computer, 

Communications and Networks (ICCCN 08), St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, August 3-7, 

2008. 

Li, Xiaolong, "Simulink Based Simulation of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) System," 

IAJC – IJME International Conference on Engineering and Technology, Nashville, TN, 

November 17 - 19, 2008. 

Mohammed, Jaby and Li, Xiaolong, “Departmental Survival through Collaborative Industrial 

Partnership”, Proceedings of the 2008 ASEE Annual Conference, Pittsburg, PA, June 22-25, 

2008. 

Li, Xiaolong and Zeng, Qing-An, "Influence of Bit Error Rate on the Performance of IEEE 802.11 

MAC Protocol", the proceedings of the IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking 

Conference 2007 (WCNC’07), Hong Kong, China, March 11-15, 2007. 

Li, Xiaolong and Zeng, Qing-An, "Influence of Time-varying Channel on the Performance of IEEE 

802.11 MAC Protocols,” IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications and 

Networks (ICCCN), Arlington, Virginia, October 9-11, 2006. 

Li, Xiaolong and Zeng, Qing-An, "Capture Effect in the IEEE 802.11 WLANs with Rayleigh Fading, 

Shadowing, and Path Loss," Proceedings of the Second IEEE International Conference on 

Wireless and Mobile Computing, Networking and Communications (WiMob06), Montreal, 

Canada, June 19-21, 2006. 

Li, Xiaolong and Zeng, Qing-An, "Performance Analysis of IEEE 802.11 MAC Protocols over 

WLANs with Capture Effect," Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Mobile 

Computing and Ubiquitous Networking (ICMU 2005), April 13-15, 2005. 

Li, Xiaolong and Zeng, Qing-An, " Modeling and Analysis of Multi-hop Wireless and Mobile Ad 

Hoc Networks using the IEEE 802.11 DCF Protocols,” Proceedings of the 2004 International 

Conference on Wireless Networks (ICWN’04), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, June 21-24, 2004. 

Li, Xiaolong and Zeng, Qing-An, “Modeling and Analysis of Link Stability in Wireless Mobile Ad 

Hoc Networks,” Proceedings of the 2004 International Workshop on Mobile Ad Hoc Networks 

and Interoperability Issues (MANETII'04), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, June 21-24, 2004. 

Li, Xiaolong, Agrawal, Darma, and Zeng, Qing-An, “Impact of Mobility on the Performance of 

Wireless Mobile Ad Hoc Networks,” Proceedings of the 3rd IEEE Annual Wireless 

Telecommunications Symposium (WTS 2004), California State Polytechnic University, 

Pomona, California, USA, May 14-15, 2004. 

Book Chapter 

Li, Xiaolong and Zeng, Qing-An, "Impact of Mobility on the Performance of Mobile Ad Hoc 

Networks," Performance Analysis of Mobile and Ad Hoc Networks, published by NOVA 

Publishers, Editors: Chansu Yu, Chita R. Das, and Yi Pan, ISBN: 1-60021-277-8, 2006 

Page 2 of 2

Appendix I 

Curriculum 

187

APPENDIX I. CURRICULUM 188 

08 E931 BS Fall 2011 — Summer II 2012 

COMPUTER ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY MAJOR 

(BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE) 

INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY 

COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY 

TERRE HAUTE, IN 47809 

Student's Name ______________________ 

Advisor's Name ______________________ 

TECHNOLOGY REQUIRED COURSES Sem. Grade 

Required: 39 Semester Hours 

ECT 165 (3) D. C. Circuits and Design _____ _____ 

ECT 167 (3) A. C. Circuits and Design _____ _____ 

ECT 168 (3) Comp. Design Technology _____ _____ 

ECT 231 (3) Digital Computer Logic _____ _____ 

ECT 232 (3) Digital Computer Circuits _____ _____ 

ECT 281 (3) Robotics Controls _____ _____ 

ECT 301 (3) Tech. Data Mgt. and App.. _____ _____ 

ECT 303 (3) Microcontroller Hdw. & Soft. _____ _____ 

ECT 306 (3) Comp. Network Mgt. Tech. _____ _____ 

ECT 308 (3) Micro. App. & Interfacing _____ _____ 

ECT 401 (3) Data Comm. & Internet Tech. _____ _____ 

ECT 403 (3) Prac. Digtal Logic Design _____ _____ 

ECT 406 (3) Senior Project _____ _____ 

FOUNDATIONAL STUDIES COURSES 

. Sem. Grade 

ENG 101 (3) Funds of Writing I AND* * _____ _____ 

ENG 105 (3) Funds of Writing II _____ _____ 

OR 

ENG 107 (3) Rhetoric & Writing _____ _____ 

(3) Junior Composition _____ _____ 

COMM 101 (3) Intro to Speech _____ _____ 

MATH 115 (3) College Algebra 

_____ _____ 

PE 101 (3) Fitness for Life OR _____ _____ 

HLTH 111 (3) Per Hlth Sci & Wellness _____ _____ 

Required: 12 Semester Hours 

ECT 130 (2) Intro. To Elec. & Comp. Tech. _____ _____ 

ECT 430 (1) Senior Seminar 

_____ _____ 

ECT 437 (3) Indust Comp Systs Management _____ _____ 

Select 6 sem. Hrs. of Management from courses such as: 

TMGT 471 (3) Prod Plan & Control I 

_____ _____ 

TMGT 478 (3) Industrial Organization. & Func. _____ _____ 

TMGT 492 (3) Industrial Supervision 

_____ _____ 

MET 404 (3) Engineering Design & Mgt. _____ ____ 

MET 405 (3) Economic Analysis for Tech. _____ ____ 

Math and Physical Science Requirements: 14 Semester 

Hours 

CS 256 (3) C++ (or higher level 

structured language course) _____ _____ 

MATH 301 (3) Fund & Appl of Calculus or _____ _____ 

Calculus Proficiency 

Physical Science course (8 hrs) 

_____ _____ 

Foreign Language 1 st semester (3) 

Foreign Language 2 nd semester (3) 

Laboratory Science (LS) (4) 

Social or Behavioral Studies (SBS) (3): 

LiteraryStudies (LS) (3) 

Fine & Performing Arts (FPA) (3) 

Historical Studies (HS) (3) 

Global Persp & Cultural Diver. (GPCD) (3): 

Ethics & Soc. Resp. (ESR) (3) 

Upper-Division Integrative Electives (9) 

_____ _____ 

_____ _____ 

_____ _____ 

_____ _____ 

_____ _____ 

_____ _____ 

_____ _____ 

_____ _____ 

_____ _____ 

(3) _____ _____ 

(3)* _____ _____ 

(3)* _____ _____ 

*Not required if ISU Minor or Certificate is completed 

Semester Hours Required in Major (includes Math 115) 68 

Semester Hours Required to meet FS Requirements (minus Math 115) 43 - 52 

Minimum Number of Semester Hours Required to Graduate 124 

Figure I.1: CET Program Curriculum


Feb-12 

Computer Engineering Technology Bachelor of Science Degree 

Typical Four Year Plan 

Spring 2012 

Fall Year 1 Spring Year 1 

ECT 130 2 Credit Hour ECT 167 3 Credit Hours 

ECT 165 3 Credit Hours ECT 168 3 Credit Hours 

English 101** 3 Credit Hours ENG 105** 3 Credit Hours 

**OR ENG 107 (3 Credit Hours) **OR ENG 107 (3 Credit Hours) 

SBS: F,E 3 Credit Hours Math 115 3 Credit Hours 

COMM 101 3 Credit Hours †Foreign Language (3 Credit Hours) 

†Foreign Language (3 Credit Hours) SBS:E 3 Credit Hours 

14-17 Credit Hours 

12-18 Credit Hours 

Fall Year 2 Spring Year 2 


ECT 281 3 Credit Hours MCS: IC 3 Credit Hours 

HS: R 3 Credit Hours Phy. Sci. (Lab) SMS: F 4 Credit Hours 

CS 256 3 Credit Hours Management 3 Credit Hours 

MCS: USD 3 Credit Hours PE 101 & 101L 2 Credit Hours 

15 Credit Hours 15 Credit Hours 

Fall Year 3 

Spring Year 3 



Tech. Elective 3 Credit Hours Math 301 3 Credit Hours 

Management 3 Credit Hours Tech. Elective 3 Credit Hours 

LAPS: LL 3 Credit Hours Phy.Sci (Lab) SMS: E 4 Credit Hours 

†† Elective (3 Credit Hours) 

15-18 Credit Hours 16 Credit Hours 

Fall Year 4 

Spring Year 4 


ECT 403 3 Credit Hours ECT 430 1 Credit Hour 

ECT 437 3 Credit Hours Elective 3 Credit Hours 

Elective 3 Credit Hours Elective 3 Credit Hours 

ENG 305T 3 Credit Hours LAPS: E 3 Credit Hours 

†† Elective (3 Credit Hours) 

15-18 Credit Hours 13 Credit Hours 

† See University Undergraduate Catalog requirements. 

†† May be required to meet min. 124 sem. Hrs. for graduation. 

Figure I.2: CET Program Four Year Plan


Graduation Checklist 

____ 

____ 

____ 

____ 

____ 

____ 

Maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 (2.5 in an Education program) 

Satisfy all requirements of your major – listed on the Curriculum Guidesheet for your major 

and also in the ISU Undergraduate Catalog for the year you entered ISU. 

Satisfy all General Education (Basic Studies and Liberal Studies) requirements. An outline of 

these requirements begins on approximately page 32 in the ISU Undergraduate Catalog. 

Complete a minimum of 124 hours (excluding Math 010 or 011). If you meet all General 

Education and Major requirements but still have not completed 124 hours, your must take 

additional coursework. 

At least 50 hours must come from 300-400 level courses. 

As you approach completion, apply for graduation on MyISU. Click on the ‘Student’ tab, 

select ‘Apply for Graduation’ under My ISU Quicklinks, and follow the prompts. If you are 

receiving more than one degree (AS and BS), contact the Registrar’s Office at 812-237-2489 in 

order to apply. If possible, apply for graduation at least one semester prior to graduating. You 

cannot graduate without applying. 

ISU students can graduate in May, August, or December. Commencement ceremonies are held 

in May and December. August graduates participate in the May ceremony. 

Additional For Transfer Students: 

____ A maximum of 94 transfer hours can be used toward a Bachelor degree. A maximum of 64 

transfer hours can be used toward an Associate degree. Courses taken at other institutions must 

have a grade of C or higher in order to transfer. 

____ 

____ 

Of the last 15 hours preceding graduation, no more than 5 can be transfer hours. 

To receive a Bachelor degree, you must complete at least 30 hours of Residence Credit. 

Residence Credit is earned from courses taken at the ISU campus, ISU Distance courses, or 

ICN courses. Hours granted through Credit By Exam, Credit for Prior Learning, or credit for 

Professional Occupational Experience do not count toward the Residence Credit requirement. 

Figure I.3: Graduation Checklist

Appendix J 

Institutional Support 

191

APPENDIX J. INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT 192 

Award#0966219 - STARS: Sycamore Technology Academics & Recruitm... 

http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0966219 

Award Abstract #0966219 

STARS: Sycamore Technology Academics & Recruitment Scholarships 

NSF Org: 

DUE 

Division of Undergraduate Education 

Initial Amendment Date: May 27, 2010 

Latest Amendment Date: June 2, 2011 

Award Number: 0966219 

Award Instrument: 

Continuing grant 

Program Manager: 

Zhanjing Yu 

DUE Division of Undergraduate Education 

EHR Directorate for Education & Human Resources 

Start Date: June 1, 2010 

Expires: 

May 31, 2015 (Estimated) 

Awarded Amount to Date: $487269 

Investigator(s): 

M. Affan Badar M.Affan.Badar@indstate.edu (Principal Investigator) 

Yuetong Lin (Co-Principal Investigator) 

Jeffrey McNabb (Co-Principal Investigator) 

Xiaolong Li (Co-Principal Investigator) 

A. Mehran Shahhosseini (Co-Principal Investigator) 

Sponsor: 


200 N 7TH STREET 

TERRE HAUTE, IN 47809 812/237-3088 

NSF Program(s): 

S-STEM:SCHLR SCI TECH ENG&MATH 

Field Application(s): 

Program Reference Code(s): SMET, 9178 

Program Element Code(s): 1536 

ABSTRACT 

This project is providing 20 scholarships to academically talented and financially needy students at in two 

baccalaureate degree engineering technology programs (Computer Engineering Technology and Mechanical Engineering 

Technology) at Indiana State University (ISU). The project develops new support mechanisms including multidisciplinary 

seminars, industry forum, and online academic/social networking to compliment mature student support 

services, such as learning community and co-ops/interns. Interactions among students and industry professionals help 

increase the focus and interest of students, enhance the educational experience of students, and build a relationship of 

feedback and exchange for students' ongoing success. Women and underrepresented minorities are also being recruited 

as participants of the project. An independent evaluator is involved in project evaluation. 

1 of 2 5/31/2012 2:45 PM 

Figure J.1: NSF STARS Grant


Figure J.2: Dean’s Support Letter for CET NSF CCLI Proposal


Figure J.3: Dean’s Support Letter for CET NSF TUES Proposal


Figure J.4: Dean’s Support Letter for CET NSF S-STEM Proposal


Figure J.5: Dean’s Support Letter for CET NSF STEM Proposal


Administrative Offered, Not 

Unit or Units Submitted for Submitted for 

(e.g. Dept) Evaluation a Evaluation b 

Modes Offered c Nominal Exercising 

Off Alternate Years to Administrative Budgetary Now Not Now Now Not Now 

Program Title d Day Co-op Campus Mode Complete Head Control Accredited Accredited Accredited Accredited 

BS in Computer ET x 4 Lin ECET x 

BS in Automation & x 4 Ashby ECET x 

Control ET 

BS in Electronics ET x 4 Malooley ECET x 

AS in Electronics ET x 2 Malooley ECET x 

BS in Info Tech x 4 Ashby ECET x 

MS in Elect/Comp T x online 2 Clyburn ECET x 

a Only those programs being submitted at this time for reaccredidation (now accredited) or initial accreditation (not now 

accredited) 

should be checked in this column. 

b Programs not submitted for evaluation at this time should be checked in this column. 

c Indicate all modes in which the program is offered. If separate accreditation is requested for an alternative mode, list on a 

separate line. Describe ”Other” by footnote. 

d Give program title as shown on a graduate’s transcript. 

Table J.1: Programs Offered by the Educational Unit



Fiscal Year previous year current year year of visit 

Expenditure Category 2009-10 a 2010-11 20011-12 

Operations (not including staff) 

Travel 7625 1949.94 1887 

Equipment 15000 9312.01 6312.01 

(a) Institutional Funds 

(b) Grants and Gifts 

Graduate Teaching Assistants 41125 2099.89 25024.86 

Part-time Assistance 

(other than teaching) 

Faculty Salaries b 599,068 535,416 568,935 

a This column of budget was under the previous ECMET Department 

b includes chair stipend 

Table J.2: Support Expenditures


Figure J.6: Equipment Order: FPGA Development Board


Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering Technology a 

Academic Year 2011-12 b 

Professor Associate Professor Assistant Professor Instructor 

Number 1 3 2 1 

High 78,789 63,654 

Mean 89,680 76,653 63,610 30,000 c 

Low 74,518 63,567 

a If the program considers that this information to be confidential, it can be provided 

only to the Team Chair 

b two phased retirements not represented 

c 60,000 for full-time; 1/2 ECET/ 1/2 HRD 

Table J.3: Faculty Salary Data



Year a 2011-2012 

Head Count 

FT 

PT 

FTE b 

Administrative c 0.5 0 0.5 

Faculty (tenure-track) 5.5 0 5.5 

Other Faculty (excluding student Assistants) 1 1 

Student Teaching Assistants 3 0 3 

Student Research Assistants 0 0 0 

Technicians/Specialists 0 0 0 

Office/Clerical Employees 1 0 1 

Others d 0 0 0 

a Data on this table should be for the fall term immediately preceding the visit. Updated 

tables for the fall term when the ABET team is visiting are to be prepared and presented 

to the team when they arrive 

b For student teaching assistants, 1 FTE equals 20 hours per week of work (or service). 

For undergraduate and graduate students, 1 FTE equals 15 semester credit-hours (or 24 

quarter credit-hours) per term of institutional course work, meaning all courses - science, 

humanities and social sciences, etc. For faculty members, 1 FTE equals what your institution 

defines as a full-time load 

c Persons holding joint administrative/faculty positions or other combined assignments 

should be allocated to each category according to the fraction of the appointment assigned 

to that category 

d Specify any other category considered appropriate, or leave 

blank 

Table J.4: Personnel

Appendix K 

Facilities 

203

APPENDIX K. FACILITIES 204 

Yuetong Lin 

From: 

Sent: 

To: 

Subject: 

Rolland Mcgiverin 

Friday, September 16, 2011 3:33 PM 

Joe Ashby; Harry Minniear; Richard Coble; Carroll Graham; Yuetong Lin 

Library Budget 

Hello, 

I am Rolland McGiverin and I am the Library Liaison to the College of Technology. I would like to request a time to meet 

with the Library Representatives from the College of Technology. The Library has established a new procedure of 

allocating resources. The Library allocation for 2011‐2012 is $52,000.00. The projected cost of databases for the College 

of Technology is $14,774.03. Periodicals are expected to cost $9,063.58. Book funds will be $6,692.54. I will need to 

have the Library Representatives help me plan how best to spend the funds to support instruction and research in the 

College of Technology. 

I am looking forward to meeting with the Representatives. 

Rolland 

Rolland H. McGiverin MSLS MS 

Reference/Instruction Department 

Cunningham Memorial Library 



1 

Figure K.1: Library Budget

Yuetong Lin 

From: 

Sent: 

To: 

Cc: 

Subject: 

Attachments: 

Rolland Mcgiverin 

Thursday, October 13, 2011 10:41 AM 

Carroll Graham; Yuetong Lin; Ali Shahhosseini 

M. Affan Badar; Harry Minniear; Rolland Mcgiverin 

Library Representatives 

Library Allocation Summary_2012_Revised.xlsx; Master Holdings List - College of 

Technology.xlsx; Accreditation Materials FY2012.xlsx 

I would like to share some information with the COT library representative committee. The Library has established a 

new allocation model. If you look on the “library Allocation Summary” document you will notice that COT was allocated 

$52,000. The projected cost of continuations ($23,837.60) was subtracted leaving $28,162.40 for book purchases this 

year. This is a substantial increase over last year’s allocation. 

The “Master Holdings List” is an itemized list of continuations (databases and Periodicals) that are assigned to COT. You 

may wish to review the list of titles to determine if they are still relevant to COT programs. 

The third document list two items that where identified as necessary for accreditation. These items are assigned to COT 

but are not subtracted from the college’s allocation. 

I would like to recommend the COT consider adding to their holdings the ProQuest Engineering Collection. The 

ProQuest Engineering Collection costs $8,415. 

The database indexes 3947 titles and has full-text for 1,751 titles. 3,190 titles are scholarly publications with 731 trade 

and news publications. Listed below you will notice the variety of subjects covered. Not so obvious are the over 6,000 

hits for Human Relations Management, 168 items relating to fashion retailing, 22,000+ items on interior design, 

motorsports and marketing produces ov1,400 items, or nearly 4,000 items on teacher education. 

We have a trial of the database through Nov. 2, 2011 at 

http://ezproxy.indstate.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/engineeringcollection/index?accountid=11592 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hazardous materials 

High speed trains, rapid transit railways and monorails 

Highways and roads 

Industrial robots and automation 

Industrial waste and sewage 

Internal combustion engines 

Land development, irrigation and drainage 

Magnetic levitation railways 

Military technology 

Nuclear power plants 

Pollution, waste and water engineering 

Railroad rails and structures 

Road, rail and sea transport 

Seismic engineering 

Seismic phenomena 

Shipbuilding 

Site remediation and reclamation 

Sporting and recreational vehicles 

Storm water management 

Tanks and armored vehicles 

Theoretical mechanics and dynamics 

Thermoelectric energy 

Tidal and wind power 

Waste management 

Rolland H. McGiverin MSLS MS 

Reference/Instruction Department 

Cunningham Memorial Library 



I believe you will find this to be a great resource for technology research, particularly for the distance students. 

Subject coverage 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aircraft design and engineering 

Arctic and tropical engineering 

Automotive design and engineering 

Bridges and tunnels 

Buildings, towers and tanks 

Civil engineering for air and space transportation 

Coastal and offshore structures 

Construction materials 

Design and properties of substructures 

Earthmoving and construction machinery 

Electric and hybrid vehicles 

Engineering for electric power generation 

Engineering for industrial and manufacturing processes 

Flood analysis 

Fuels and propellants 

Geotechnical engineering 

1 

2

Appendix L 

Articulation Agreements 

206


Transfer Central 

www.indstate.edu/transfer 

1-888-237-8080 




1-888-237-8080 



BS Completion Program Articulation Curriculum Agreement 

July 2010 

College of Technology Degree Program: BS Computer Engineering Technology 

Ivy Tech Community College Degree Program: AAS Electronics and Computer Technology 

ISU Degree 

Transfer Courses 

Courses to take at 

Requirements 

ISU 

Major Degree Programs 

ECT 130 

2 EECT 101 

3 

ECT 165 

3 EECT 111 

4 

ECT 167 3 EECT 211 

4 

ECT 168 3 EECT 128 

3 

ECT 231 

3 EECT 112 

3 

ECT 232 3 EECT 122 

4 

ECT 281 

3 EECT 214 

3 

ECT 301 

3 ECT 301 

3 

ECT 303 

3 ECT 303 

3 

ECT 306 

3 ECT 306 

3 

ECT 308 

3 ECT 308 

3 

ECT 401 

3 ECT 401 

3 

ECT 403 

3 ECT 403 

3 

ECT 406 

3 ECT 406 

3 

ECT 430 

1 ECT 430 

1 

ECT 437 

3 ECT 437 

3 

6 credits in Management: MET 

6 credits in Management: MET 404, 

404, 405, TMGT 471, 478, 492 6 405, TMGT 471, 478, 492 

6 

Courses in Physics, Chemistry, 


Biology or Geology 

8 PHYS 101 

4 Biology or Geology 

4 

CS 256 or higher level structured 


language 

3 language 

3 

MATH 301 

3 MATH 301 

3 

Technical Electives 

6 EECT 121 and 222 

8 

Total 

71 36 Total 

41 

Electives toward graduation: 

3 courses of regionally 

determined electives 

EECT 279 

Total 

9 

3 

12 

No Credit: 

IVYT xxx 

Freshmen Composition 6 ENGL 111 3 Remaining English course 

3 

Junior Composition 

3 Junior Composition 

3 

Communication Q 

3 COMM 101 

3 

Literacy/Mathematics - MATH MATH 132 and 133 or 136 and 

115 

3 137 

6 

Non-native Language 

6 Non-native Language 

6 

Health and Wellness 

2 Health and Wellness 

2 

Science with lab 

Social or Behavior Science 

4 completed in major 

3 PSYC 101 

3 

Literary Studies 

3 Literary Studies 

3 

Fine and Performing Arts 

3 Fine and Performing Arts 

3 

Historical Studies 

3 Historical Studies 

3 

Global Perspectives and Cultural 


Diversity 

3 Diversity 

3 

Ethics and Social Responsibility 3 Ethics and Social Responsibility 3 

Integrative Upper-Division 

Electives 

9 Integrative Upper-Division Electives 9 

TOTAL 

54 15 38 

FINAL July 2010 

Foundational Studies - General Education 

Overall University Graduation Requirements 

Total earned hours (minimum) 

Hours @ 300-400 level (minimum) 

Transfer Hours 63 

To be completed at ISU 79 50 

142 

5/10/2012 

5/10/2012




1-888-237-8080 




1-888-237-8080 




August 2010 


Lake Land College Degree Program: AAS Electronic Control Technology 

ISU Degree 



Requirements 

ISU 


ECT 130 

2 EET 063 

3 

ECT 165 

3 EET 040 

2.5 

ECT 167 3 EET 050 

2.5 

ECT 168 

3 EET 057 

3 

ECT 231 

3 EET 076 

3 

ECT 232 3 EET 048 

3 

ECT 281 

3 EET 086 

2 

ECT 301 

3 ECT 301 

3 

ECT 303 

3 ECT 303 

3 

ECT 306 

3 ECT 306 

3 

ECT 308 

3 ECT 308 

3 

ECT 401 

3 ECT 401 

3 

ECT 403 

3 ECT 403 

3 

ECT 406 

3 ECT 406 

3 

ECT 430 

1 ECT 430 

1 

ECT 437 

3 ECT 437 

3 

Six hours of Management from 

courses such as: 

6 

Six hours of Management from 

courses such as: 

6 

TMGT 471 

TMGT 478 

TMGT 471 

TMGT 478 

TMGT 492 

TMGT 492 

MET 404 

MET 404 

MET 405 

MET 405 

CS 256 (or higher) 

3 CIS 164 technical elective 

3 

MATH 115 

3 TEC 050, 052, 054 

6 

MATH 301 

3 MATH 301 

3 

Physical science courses 

PHY 110 (PHYS 101/L) technical 

8 elective 

4 Remaining physical science courses 4 

Total 

68 Total 

38 

Electives: 

EET 056 

TEC 053 

EET 052 

EET 057 

EET 081 

EET 071 

EET 075 

CIS 068 

Total 

3 

3 

4 

3 

4.5 

3 

2 

2 

56.5 


Freshmen Composition 6 ENG 120 3 Remaining Composition 

3 



3 

Communication 3 SPE 111 

3 

Quantitative 

Literacy/Mathematics 




6 


3 PED 285 (instead of HED 178) 3 


Social or Behavior Science 


3 PSY 271 or ECO 130 

3 



3 


3 Fine and Performing Arts 

3 


3 Historical Studies 

3 



Diversity 

3 Diversity 

3 

Ethics and Social Responsibility 3 Ethics and Social Responsibility 3 


Electives 

9 Integrative Upper-Division Electives 9 

Total 

55 12 Total 

36 

Transfer Hours 68.5 


Final August 2010 



142.5 

Hours @ 300-400 level (minimum)




1-888-237-8080 




1-888-237-8080 




February 2011 


Vincennes University Degree Program: AS Electronics Technology - Computer Repair 

Technician Technology Concentration 

ISU Degree 

Requirements 




ISU 

ECT 130 

ECT 165 

ECT 167 

ECT 168 

2 

3 

3 CPNS 150, ELEC 110, ELEC 

3 151, CPNS 170, ELEC 130, 28 

ELEC 180, ELEC 230 

ECT 231 

ECT 232 

ECT 281 

3 

3 

3 

ECT 301 

3 ECT 301 

3 

ECT 303 

3 ECT 303 

3 

ECT 306 

3 ECT 306 

3 

ECT 308 

3 ECT 308 

3 

ECT 401 

3 ECT 401 

3 

ECT 403 

3 ECT 403 

3 

ECT 406 

3 ECT 406 

3 

ECT 430 

1 ECT 430 

1 

ECT 437 

3 ECT 437 

3 


404, 405, TMGT 471, 478, 492 6 


405, TMGT 471, 478, 492 

6 

BIOL 100 or CHEM 104 (PHYS 

100 or PSCI 103 may also be 

taken, but these choices would 

result in 5 credits remaining in the 



physical science category in the 

8 major requirements 

Remaining courses in Physics, 

4 Chemistry, Biology or Geology 4 


language 

3 


language 

3 

MATH 301 

3 MATH 301 

3 

MATH 115 3 MATH 102 

3 

Total 

68 35 Total 

41 


All remaining courses in the 

major program requirements 18 

0 0 

All other courses in which a passing grade of C was earned count toward graduation hours. 


Students who have earned an associate of science or an associate of arts have met all of Foundational 

Studies requirements except the following. Courses in which a passing grade below a C was earned 

will be used to meet Foundational Studies requirements, but will NOT be given credit/hours toward 

completion of a degree at Indiana State University. 

Junior Level Composition 

Ethics and Social Responsibility 


Elective (3 courses maximum or 

other permitted substitutions: 

study abroad, second major, 

minor, certificate or secondary 

education degree) 

Total 

Final xxxx 

3 Junior Level Composition 

3 

3 Ethics and Social Responsibility 3 

Integrative Upper-Division Elective 

(3 courses maximum or other 

permitted substitutions: study 

abroad, second major, minor, 

certificate or secondary education 

9 degree) 

9 

15 Total 

15 



Hours @ 300-400 level (minimum) 

Transfer Hours 75-76 

To be completed at ISU at least 56 50 

131-132




1-888-237-8080 




1-888-237-8080 




February 2011 


Vincennes University Degree Program: AAS Electronics Technology - Computer Repair 

Technician Technology Concentration 

ISU Degree 



Requirements 

ISU 


ECT 130 

ECT 165 

ECT 167 

ECT 168 

2 

3 

3 CPNS 150, ELEC 110, ELEC 

3 151, CPNS 170, ELEC 130, 28 

ELEC 180, ELEC 230 

ECT 231 

ECT 232 

ECT 281 

3 

3 

3 

ECT 301 

3 ECT 301 

3 

ECT 303 

3 ECT 303 

3 

ECT 306 

3 ECT 306 

3 

ECT 308 

3 ECT 308 

3 

ECT 401 

3 ECT 401 

3 

ECT 403 

3 ECT 403 

3 

ECT 406 

3 ECT 406 

3 

ECT 430 

1 ECT 430 

1 

ECT 437 

3 ECT 437 

3 


404, 405, TMGT 471, 478, 492 6 


405, TMGT 471, 478, 492 

6 

BIOL 100 or CHEM 104 (PHYS 

100 or PSCI 103 may also be 

taken, but these choices would 

result in 5 credits remaining in the 



physical science category in the 

8 major requirements 

Remaining courses in Physics, 

4 Chemistry, Biology or Geology 4 


language 

3 


language 

3 

MATH 301 

3 MATH 301 

3 

MATH 115 3 MATH 102 

3 

Total 

68 Total 

35 41 


0 

All remaining courses in the 

major program requirements 18 

0 


Freshmen Composition 

6 ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 

6 



3 

Communication Q 

3 SPCH 143 

3 

Literacy/Mathematics - MATH 

115 




6 


2 PFWL 100 

2 


4 completed in the major 

ECON 100, POLS 201, PSYC 

108 3 142 or SOCL 151 

3 



3 


3 HIST 236. 139 or 140 

3 

ARTT 110, ENGL 202, MUSM 

150, MUSM 208, MUSM 118, 


3 THEA 100 or THEA 146 


Diversity 

Ethics and Social Responsibility 


Electives 

3 Remaining course 

3 

3 Ethics and Social Responsibility 3 

Integrative Upper-Division Electives - 

9 waive 1 course for AAS 

6 

Total 54 Total 20 Total 

24 

FINAL xxxxxx 

OR 

HIST 164, ERTH 207, HIST 235, 

3 HUMN 164 or SOCL 245 


Transfer Hours 73 



138 

Hours @ 300-400 level (minimum)

Appendix M 

Computer Engineering Program 

Brochure 

211

APPENDIX M. COMPUTER ENGINEERING PROGRAM BROCHURE 212 

Computer Engineering 

Technology 


Be prepared for the future 

The bachelor’s degree in computer engineering 

technology at ISU prepares you for 

employment opportunities in a variety of 

positions. 

Typical positions: 

• Instrumentation and controls 

• Computer applications in industrial 

process 

• Computerized manufacturing 

• Computer control systems 

• Process improvement 

• Technical sales and field service 

• Computer system management 

• Project design 

Typical Employers: 

• Hewlett-Packard 

• Texas Instruments 

• Delco 

• TRW 

• Eli Lilly 

• Allen-Bradley 

• Siemens 

• Rockwell International 

• Merck Pharmaceuticals 

• Cinergy 

• IBM 

Indiana State’s $18.7 million 

John T. Myers Technology 

Center has more than 20 

state-of-the-art laboratories 

filled with the most up-to-date 

equipment and supplies. 

Investigate financial assistance 

Indiana State offers many types of financial assistance including scholarships, 

grants, work study/employment, and student loans. A variety of scholarship funds 

are available, many awarded by individual academic departments. Eligibility varies 

among scholarships. For more information, contact your major department or the 

Office of Student Financial Aid, Tirey Hall, room 150, Terre Haute, IN 47809, toll free 

800-841-4744. 

To find out more 

To learn more about the computer engineering 

technology major, at Indiana State, or to 

arrange a tour of our facilities, contact: 

Department of Electronics, Computer, and 

Mechanical Engineering Technology 




Phone: 812-237-3456 

Web site: www.indstate.edu/tech 

www.indstate.edu 

Figure M.1: CET Brochure Page 1 

www.indstate.edu

APPENDIX M. COMPUTER ENGINEERING PROGRAM BROCHURE 213 

Computers have revolutionized 

society over the past 50 years and all 

indications are that their importance and 

influence on society will continue into 

the future. As a result of this trend, it is 

clear the future lies with those who can 

invent, develop, and operate computers. 

Indiana State University’s Computer 

Engineering Technology Program prepares 

you with the knowledge, skills, and 

experiences to be a leader in this ever 

expanding career field. Course work in 

the program is presented in a logical 

sequence of study beginning with the 

basics of computers and progressing to 

highly technical principles and includes 

development of managerial skills. 

The program is part of Indiana State’s 

College of Technology, a national leader 

in providing a quality education in 

a broad range of technologies. The 

college offers specialized and wellequipped 

laboratories for study, and 

its faculty are current on trends in the 

various technology areas, making 

these programs some of the most 

advanced and informative in the 

country. 

Programs in computer 

engineering technology 

Combining classroom, laboratory, and 

hands-on learning experiences, the 71 

credit hour major on computer engineering 

technology prepares you as a competent 

specialist who also has the social and 

leadership skills needed for professional 

careers in a variety of fields. The major 

emphasizes study in computer interfacing 

circuits, microprocessor architecture, data 

communications, and computer networking. 

Among your specific course work are 

a selected 51 credits of study in the major 

area including: 

• Digital logic and digital circuits 

• Microprocessor architecture and 

organization 

• Peripheral control structures 

• Data communications technology 

• Robotics controls 

• Production planning 

• Industrial organization 

• Industrial supervision 

Degrees 

• Bachelor of science in computer engineering 

technology 

• Computer engineering technology 

minor 

What makes us different? 

Your classroom and laboratory study 

is enhanced by your opportunities to gain 

hands-on experiences through internships 

with businesses and industries outside the 

University. Approximately 85 percent of 

students who complete internships find 

full-time jobs with these companies after 

graduation. 

ISU’s computer engineering technology 

major is taught by full-time faculty 

with practical knowledge of the field and 

a strong interest in continued research. 

Students frequently have opportunities 

to work with faculty on research projects 

conducted on the program’s modern 

equipment. 

Figure M.2: CET Brochure Page 2 

Enrich your experience 

through student 

involvement 

Professional organizations such as 

the Association of Technology, Management, 

and Applied Engineering; the 

International Society of Automation; and 

the Society of Manufacturing Engineers 

sponsor active student chapters on campus. 

You are encouraged to also explore 

other associations and societies such as 

the Institute of Electronics and Electrical 

Engineers and the Association for 

Computing Machinery for career advice 

pertinent to your major and career 

objectives. Epsilon Pi Tau, a national 

honorary organization, recognizes 

scholarship and leadership among 

students in the computer engineering 

technology field. 

The College of 

Technology’s 

involvement with 

industry, government, 

and business, together 

with faculty and student 

participation in “real 

world” projects, provides 

students with educational 

experiences designed 

to expand their career 

opportunities.

Appendix N 

Syllabi 

214

ECT 165 – DC Circuits and Design 

Department of Electronics & Computer Technology 

Indiana State University School of Technology 

Course Purpose: 

To provide the student with a basic understanding of DC Circuits and their design. 

Description: 

Elementary empirical design and practical laboratory experiences involving D.C., digital 

multimeters, and time measurements. The course involves the study of measuring and monitoring 

devices used in electronics and computers. Intense study of the performance of discrete electronic 

components within a variety of application circuits. 

Prerequisite: ECT 160 and proficiency in algebra. 

Objectives: 

Students will develop and understanding of the fundamental concepts, mathematics and 

design of DC circuits using basic electronic components. 

Students will develop the ability to identify and use electronic components in building 

DC circuits safely in a laboratory environment and write clear lab reports. 

Students will become more experiences in using electronic measuring and monitoring 

devices safely in a laboratory environment. 

Required Instructional Materials 

Text: 

Basic Electronics 8 th Edition, Benard Grob 

Lab Book for ECT165 

Lab Hardware: Parts kit for ECT 165 

Calculator: 

Engineering quality 

Recommended Helpful Instructional Materials 

Text : 

Electronics Pocket Handbook, Daniel Metsger 

Software: 

Electronic Workbench (EWB) 

Microsoft Word 

Reference: 

Circuit Analysis, Boylestad 

Other 

Electronic documents available at the ISU ECT165 Class Portal 

Computer Labs: 

Students will be expected to use the computer labs on campus or have access to a personal 

computer to complete some assignments, access email and participate in discussion groups. 

Computers for student use are located in the Central Computing building, the library, student 

dorms, and many of the other buildings on campus. Please take time to locate the most convenient 

labs for your schedule. The ECT web pages they are located at: http://web.indstate.edu/ect/

Grading Schedule: 

Each student will be evaluated on his or her work, contribution to class discussion and ability to 

complete the lesson assignments. The 1000 point total will be obtained from: 

Homework Assignments 

70 points 

Quizes 

30 points 

5 Lab Reports (at 20 points each) 100 points 

7 Unit Exams (at 100 points each) 700 points 

Final Exam 

100 points 

Final Grading Distribution: Letter Point Percentages Grade Values 

91% - 100% ... A 

86% - 90% .... B+ 

81% - 85% .... B 

76% - 80% .... C+ 

71% - 75% .... C 

66% - 70% .... D+ 

60% - 65% .... D 

00% - 59% .... F

Course Outline 

UNIT 1 Review Chapters 2, 3, 4, & 5 in Grob 

Week 1 Assignments: ch.4 Problems 13, 15, 21, 25, 27 

Week 2 Assignments: ch.5 Problems 7, 17, 19, 21, 25, 29, 31 

UNIT 2 Combination Circuits – Chapters 6 & 7 



UNIT 3 DC Measuring Instruments – Chapter 8 

Week 5 Assignments: ch.8 Questions 1 - 14 

Week 6 Assignments: ch.8 Problems 1, 5, 7, 11, 13, 15 

UNIT 4 Chapters 9 & 10 


Week 8 Assignments: ch.10 Problems 1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 19, 25 

UNIT 5 DC Capacitors – Chapter 17 & Chapter 23 


Week 10 Assignments: ch.23 Problems 1, 3, 7, 9, 13, 19, 21 

UNIT 6 Magnetic Circuits – Chapters 13 & 14 

Week 11 Assignments: ch.13 Problems 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 


UNIT 7 DC Inductors – Chapter 15 & 20 (sections: 2-5, 9-15) 


Week 14 Assignments: ch.20 Problems 3, 11, 15, 17, 19, 23 

Week 15 Review 

FINAL 

Covering all topics during the semester. 

Attendance: 

Class attendance is always helpful to student learning. Class activities will include lectures on 

chapter topics, review of assignments, time for questions and responses, class discussion and 

group work, lab experiences, and other learning experiences. Students will be expected to sign the 

attendance sheet for each class attended.

Lab Reports: 

Lab Reports will be comprised of a cover page (Course name, Instructors name, type of report, 

title of report, your name, date) and two pages of content (11 or 12 point type, Times New Roman 

font). 

The content of lab reports will include data tables and illustrations and have sections covering: 

Objectives of the Experiment, The Theory Premise, Supportive Data & Drawings, Analysis of the 

Experiment, Conclusions. 

Homework Assignments: 

Because the answers to most of the assignments are in the back of the book, it will be expected 

that you show all formulas, equations, and other necessary work needed to obtain the solutions. 

Students are encouraged to use calculators to aid in solving equations, but it is still expected that 

all algebraic work will be shown on your submitted assignment to obtain full credit. Study 

partners are encouraged, however it is expected that each student submit their own work.

ECT 167 A. C. Circuits and Design 

Fall 2012 

Instructor: Dr. Yuetong Lin 

Office: TC 301 H 

Phone: 812-237-3399 


Office Hours: MWF 1:00–1:50, and by appointment 

Teaching Assistant: Harold Seifers 

Office: 

Email: 

TC 301 O 

hseifers@sycamores.indstate.edu 

Time and Location: TTH 9:30 AM - 11:20 AM, Room TC 315 

Course Description: A study of the fundamentals of alternating current including series 

and parallel AC circuits, phasors, capacitive and inductive networks, transformers, and 

resonance. 

Course Learning Outcomes: Students should be able to 

• identify various components found in AC circuits 

• read simple schematic diagrams 

• understand AC waveform parameters 

• express sinusoidal AC voltage/current in phasor and vice versa 

• calculate AC power 

• analyze circuits using appropriate formulas, solving for voltage, resistance, capacitance, 

inductance, current, and power values using phasor 

• understand filter circuits and Bode plots 

1

• use measuring instruments to measure voltage, resistance, current, inductance, and 

capacitance 

• analyze series and parallel AC circuits using Multisim 

Course Outline: 

• Sinusoidal alternating waveforms 

• Basic elements and phasors 

• Series and parallel AC circuits 

• Series-Parallel AC circuits 

• Resonance 

• Decibels, filters, and Bode plots 

Prerequisites: ECT 165 D. C. Circuits and Design 

Text: Introductory Circuit Analysis by Robert Boylestad, 12th edition, Prentice Hall 

Class Website: All class materials, including syllabus, assignments, grades, and handouts 

will be posted on Blackboard TM . You may access the course link through http: 

//blackboard.indstate.edu. 

Homework: Homework will be assigned on a regular schedule, and will be due one week 

after it is assigned. Late homework will not be accepted (unless it is the result of an officially 

excused absence). 

Lab: Student will be working in a group of two or three people in the lab sessions. Every 

group has one week to complete the lab and turn in one report. Late report will not be 

accepted. 

Exams: There will be two mid-terms and a comprehensive final. The dates for the midterms 

will be announced one week before the exams. 

Grading Policy: Semester grades will be based on the following components, 

2

Homework 20% 

Lab 15% 

Mid-term 1 15% 

Mid-term 2 15% 

Final exam 35% 

Final Grade: 

A+ 95 - 100 A 90 - 94 

A- 87 - 89 B+ 84 - 86 

B 80 - 83 B- 77 - 79 

C+ 74 - 76 C 70 - 73 

C- 67 - 69 D+ 64 - 66 

D 60 - 63 D- 57 - 59 

F 0 - 58 

3

ECT 168 Computer Design Technology 

Department of Electronics, Computer & Mechanical Engineering Technology 



Class Schedule: MWF 9:00 am – 10:50 am, John T Myers Technology Center 308 

Text book: 

P. J. Deitel and H. M. Deitel, C How to Program, Prentice-Hall, Fifth Edition. ISBN 0-13- 

240416-8 

Prerequisite 

Consent of instructor 


This course introduces critical thinking, problem-solving concepts using computer programming, 

and computer aided design tools. Students gain the knowledge to develop technical skills 

necessary to solve problems in computer engineering technology. 



1. Understand the basic structure of a computer system 

2. Know the function of operating system and other supporting software for programming 

purposes. 

3. Understand the principle of procedural programming 

4. Have a good knowledge of C programming techniques. 

5. Be efficient in C programming 

Course Schedule (subject to change) 

Week Topic TEXT REF. Homework 

1 Syllabus and introduction to Hardware Ch 1.1 – 1.3 

Introduction to Software Ch 1.4 – 1.13 

Introduction to C Programming Ch 2.1 – 2.3 In-class Ex #1 

2 Martin Luther King, Jr Day; no class 

Introduction to C Programming (data type) Ch 2.4 In-class Ex #2 

Introduction to C Programming (arithmetic) Ch 2.5 In-class Ex #3 

3 Input/Output and Formatting (printf) Ch 9 

HW#1 (ch 1&2) 

Input/Output and Formatting II (scanf) Ch 9 In-class Ex #4

Conditional Statements if Ch 3.5 – 3.6 In-class Ex #5 

4 Pseudocode and Flowchart Ch 3.1 – 3.4 HW#2 

Conditional Statements - while Ch 3.7 -3.12 In-class Ex #6 

Conditional Statements – for Ch 4.1 – 4.5 In-class Ex #7 

5 Conditional Statements - switch Ch 4.7, 4.9 HW#3 

Conditional Statement - do…while Ch 4.8 – 4.11 In-class Ex #8 

Exercise #1 

6 Exam I 

Integers 

Negative Integers 

Appendix D 

Appendix D 

7 Floating Point Number Appendix D 

Function Prototypes Definitions Ch 5.1-5.5 In-class Ex #9 

Calling Functions and Examples Ch 5.6 In-class Ex #10 

8 Scope, Parameter passing, storage specifiers Ch 5.8 – 5.10 In-class Ex #11 

Recursion vs. Iteration Ch 5. 14 -5.16 In-class Ex #12 

HW#4 

Array Declarations Ch 6.1-6.4 In-class Ex #13 

10 Strings and Parameter Passing Ch 6.5 In-class Ex #14 

Multidimensional Arrays Ch 6.9 HW#5 

Pointers Introduction Ch 7.1 – 7.3 In-class Ex #15 

11 Pointers – Call by Reference Ch 7.4 – 7.6 In-class #16 

Pointers arithmetic Ch 7.8 HW#6 

Exercise #2 

12 Exam II 

C Strings and Input/Output Ch 8.1 – 8.5 

C String Functions Ch 8.6 – 8.10 

13 

Structures Ch 10.1 – 10.4 

In-class Ex #17 

HW#7 

In-class Ex #18 

More Structures and Enumerations Ch 10.5-10.8, 

10.11 

2

Exam III 

14 File Input/Output Ch 11.1 – 11.5 In-class Ex #19 

Random File Input/Output Ch 11.6 – HW#8 

11.10 

C Data Structure Ch 12 In-class Ex #20 

15 C Data Structure More Ch 12 

C Preprocessor Directives Ch 13 

Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming Ch 18.1 -18.5 

16 Exercise #3 

Review 

17 Final Exam 


Homework Assignments 10% 

In-class Exercises 20% 

Exam I 15% 

Exam II 15% 

Exam III 15% 

Final Exam 25% 

There will be three exams during the semester. Exams can only be made up if you have a valid 

medical excuse or if prior arrangements have been made with the instructor. 

In-class work will be used to assess students’ grasp of current material presented in class. I 

will collect and grade these in-class assignments; this should provide quicker feedback on your 

understanding of the material. 


100-90 = A 

89-85 = B+; 84-80 = B 

79-75 = C+; 74-70 = C 

69-65 = D+; 64-60 = D 

59-0 = F.

Homework and Lab Report Policy: 

- Homework is suggested to be typed. Lab report must be typed. 

- Homework submitted after it is due but within 24 hours will be accepted and all problems 

will be graded with a 10% penalty. Homework submitted between 24 and 48 hours late 

will be accepted and all problems graded with a 30% penalty. Homework over 48 hours 

late will not be accepted or graded. 

- Collaboration in the form of discussion of formulation of solutions or results is encouraged; 

however, each individual must work independently to create the final homework solution. 

Attendance Policy: 

Perfect and punctual attendance is expected. A role is taken at the beginning of each class. 

Consistent tardiness is unacceptable; three occurrences of a student arriving late for class 

equals to one absence. The following attendance bonus/penalty plan will apply to all 

students: 

• NO absence – 5 percentage bonus added to final semester score. 

• One unexcused absence– 3 percentage bonus added to final semester score. 

• Two unexcused absences – final semester score is unchanged. 

• Three unexcused absences – 1 percentage subtracted from final semester score. 

• For each subsequent unexcused absence greater than three, an additional 1 percentage 

will be subtracted from the student’s final semester score. 

In order for an absence to count as an excused absence, appropriate documentation must be 

provided. This means that a phone-call or email before the class does not by itself make an 

absence excused. 

Tardiness: Chronic tardiness is not allowed. Chronic tardiness will count as an absence. 

Classroom Civility: Students should not leave and return during the classroom session. 

Students who leave the classroom in the middle of the session will not be allowed to return and 

that session will be counted as an absence. 

Cell Phones and Laptops: 

The use of cellular phones and pagers is common. However, the operation of a cell phone 

and papers during a university class is likely to disrupt the class. Therefore, all cell phones 

and pagers must either be turned off or set to a silent mode of operation (e.g., vibrating rather 

than beeping) during class and laboratory. If you must answer a call, please quietly leave the 

classroom. Student whose phones disrupt the course will be asked to verbally apologize to 

the entire class and will be required to leave the class for the remainder of that session. The 

class instructor may approve an exception for special circumstances, based on a student 

request prior to class session. Laptops are not allowed in class during lecture. 

4

ADA Policy 








evacuation procedures posted in your classrooms. 

Student Expectations 

My goal is for you to do well in this class and to develop the skills necessary to succeed in 

the workplace. However, you have the major responsibility for doing well. Achievement of 

course standards requires you to know what you need to do to improve your performance. 

You are expected to study carefully all reading material and the papers returned to you, to 

note evaluation comments made to the entire class regarding assignments returned, and to 

participate in group activities. As the semester progresses, you should be able to implement 

several ideas to improve your performance on written or oral work for future assignments. 

Also, you are expected to ask questions and /or schedule individual appointments to clarify 

evaluations or other aspects of the course that is not clear to you. 

Professor Expectations 

You can expect me to be fair. I will return papers in a timely fashion so you can learn from 

your mistakes. I will be in class on time and prepared. I will be available for during office 

hours to help you. 

Success Tips 

In addition to good attendance and completion of all assignments, planning and selfmanagement 

skills, good study habits, good time management and a good attitude will 

greatly increase the likelihood of success in this course. Students needing assistance with 

any of these success tips need only ask. Indiana State University, along with your instructor, 

is committed to doing whatever is necessary to help you achieve your academic, and 

ultimately your career goals.

ECT 231 

Digital Computer Logic Course Syllabus 

COURSE DESCRIPTION 

ECT 231 provides an introductory look at digital logic systems focusing on logic element 

design and operation, as well as mathematical analysis and design of logic circuits. 

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS 

1. Course text - Digital Fundamentals (latest edition) by Floyd. Prentice-Hall 

2. Scientific calculator (True calculators are required of each student when taking tests, 

storage devices are not allowed to be used.) 

Each student is responsible for bringing their own texts, calculators, and note taking 

materials to every class meeting. Failure to bring required materials to class is not an 

excuse for not completing an assignment. 

Please turn off pagers, cell phones and other devices that may disrupt the class at the 

beginning of the class period. 

NO FOOD or eating is allowed in class. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES 

Upon successful completion of this course the student should know or be able to do the 

following: 

1. Know the various number systems and instructional codes used in the design and 

operation of logic circuits including: binary, octal, hexadecimal, BCD, and ASCII. 

2. Be familiar with the design and operation of combinational logic elements including: 

AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR, & XNOR logic gates, flip-flops, & buffers. 

3. Know the fundamental rules of logic that guide the development of digital circuits 

including Boolean Algebra, and DeMorgan's theorem 

4. Understand the analysis and simplification of logic circuits using SOP and POS truth 

tables, and Karnaugh mapping circuits of up to six digital variables. 

5. Know how to perform basic waveform analysis in combinational logic circuits. 

GRADING POLICY 

• Letter grades will be calculated on the following scale: 100-90 = A; 89-85 = B+; 

84-80 = B; 79-75 = C+; 74-70 = C; 69-65 = D+; 64-60 = D; 59-0 = F 

• Components of the Final Course Grade & Weights: 

First Examination----------------------------------------- 25% 

Second Examination-------------------------------------- 25% 

Daily Grade ----------------------------------------------- 25% 

Final Comprehensive Examination -------------------- 25% 

TOTAL 100%

• Semester exams: Two regular semester examinations will be scheduled during the 

course. 

• Daily grade: The daily grade is the average of all assignments, and pop quizzes given 

during the semester. 

• Comprehensive final exam: Administered at the end of the term, at the assigned time 

by the university exam schedule. The final exam will cover all materials presented in 

class. 

ATTENDANCE POLICY 

All students are expected to attend every class meeting. Attendance is an important 

part of successfully completing any university course, it is especially important in this 

course as the new materials covered build on the preceding materials. High absenteeism 

will almost invariably lead to a lower grade than the student could have achieved with 

regular attendance, or failure of the course. 

The class roll will be called at the beginning of the class period. If a quiz is assigned at 

the beginning of the class the quiz may serve as the calling of the roll. Students who 

arrive after the roll has been called are responsible for contacting the instructor after that 

day's class and insuring that the recorded absence is adjusted to a tardy. 

Students who have a valid excuse for missing a class (all or part) may be allowed to 

makeup missed work (except quizzes). Excused absences are commonly defined as: (1) 

an absence authorized by the instructor prior to the class meeting, (2) an absence 

authorized by an appropriate university official with documentation, (3) a medical 

emergency of the student or the death of an immediate family member for which 

documentation is provided. Unavoidable emergencies may also be considered excusable 

at the instructor's discretion when properly documented. 

Any work missed during an unexcused absence may not be made up. A grade of 

zero will be immediately assigned for the missed work the date of the absence. Students 

with an excused absence are responsible for contacting the instructor within three (3) 

school days of the return date of the absence and arrange for making up any missed work. 

Students with an excused absence who wait more than 3 school days after returning to 

classes to contact the instructor will not be allowed to make up missed work. 

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS 

There are many resources available on the World Wide Web which provide study 

materials on digital logic circuits. If any student desires additional study material is 

recommended that a search of the web may prove very useful. Feel free to contact your 

instructor if you need additional information or help in doing this. 

Also, Prentice-Hall, the publisher of the text, maintains a support site on the web for 

the text that covers the important points of each chapter and provides sample questions 

that can be used as a study guide.

ECT 231: Digital Computer Logic 

SUBJECT 

TEXT REF. 

Intro to course: Digital vs Analog electronics Ch. 1 

The Binary number system Ch. 2 

Binary number operations Ch. 2 

The Hexadecimal & Octal number systems Ch. 2 

Binary & Alphanumeric codes Ch. 2 

Exercise #1 Ch. 2 

Logic Gates & Truth Tables: AND, OR, NOT Ch. 3 

Logic Gates & Truth Tables: NAND, NOR, XOR, XNOR Ch. 3 

Theory of Integrated Circuit design & construction Ch. 3 



Converting Digital circuits to Boolean Expressions Ch. 3 


The Universal Property of NAND & NOR gates Ch. 3 


------------------Exam #1--------------------------- 

Simplification of Boolean Algebra expressions Ch. 4 

The Laws and Rules of Boolean Algebra Ch. 4 

DeMorgan's Theorems 

Simplification of Boolean Expressions 


Sum of Products (SOP) Expressions Ch. 4 

Product of Sums (POS) Expressions & Conversions Ch. 4 

Intro. to Karnaugh Mapping, 3 & 4 variable K-maps Ch. 4 

Karnaugh Mapping, 5 & 6 variable K-maps Ch. 4 


------------------Exam #2--------------------------- Ch. 4 

Combinational Logic Ch. 4 

Pulsed Waveforms & Waveform Diagrams Ch. 4 


-----------------Comprehensive Final Examination--------------------

ECT 232 

Digital Computer Circuits Course Syllabus 


ECT 232 builds upon the basic knowledge of digital logic developed in ECT 231 and 

provides an advanced look at digital logic circuitry including design and operation of 

pulse circuits, memory devices, and sequential logic circuitry. 

PREREQUISITE 

Successful completion of ECT 231 is required before taking ECT 232. It is expected that 

all students are familiar with computer number systems, logic gate operation, truth table 

development, Boolean Algebra expressions, and basic digital circuit design & 

simplification. 


1. Course text - Digital Fundamentals (latest edition) by Floyd. Prentice-Hall 

2. Scientific calculator (True calculators are required of each student when taking tests, 

storage devices are not allowed to be used.) 

3. ECT 232 Lab Kit & ECT 160 Lab Kit 

Each student is responsible for bringing their own texts, calculators, laboratory 

components, and note taking materials to every class meeting. Failure to bring your own 

required materials to class, or failure of others to bring them for you, is not an excuse for 

not completing an assignment. 

Please turn off pagers, cell phones and other devices that may disrupt the class at the 

beginning of the class period. 

NO FOOD or eating is allowed in class. 


Upon successful completion of this course the student should know or be able to do the 

following: 

1. Understand the operation and design of basic pulse circuitry used in digital 

electronics, such as clock circuit design. 

2. Understand the operation and design of advanced combinational digital circuits, such 

as comparators, adder/subtractors, multiplexers/demultiplexers. 

3. Know the different types of memory gates (flip-flops) used in digital circuitry and be 

able to analyze their operation using waveform diagrams. 

4. Understand the operation and design of sequential digital circuits, such as counters 

and registers. 

5. Have a basic understanding of how digital circuits are combined in the operation of 

microprocessors.



84-80 = B; 79-75 = C+; 74-70 = C; 69-65 = D+; 64-60 = D; 59-0 = F. 

• Components of the Final Course Grade & Weights: 



Daily Grade ----------------------------------------------- 25% 


TOTAL 100% 


course. 

• Daily grade: The daily grade is the average of all assignments, and pop quizzes given 

during the semester. 

• Comprehensive final exam: Administered at the end of the term, at the assigned time 

by the 

university exam schedule. The final exam will cover all materials presented in class. 


All students are expected to attend every class meeting. Attendance is an important 


course as the new materials covered build on the preceding materials. High absenteeism 

will almost invariably lead to a lower grade than the student could have achieved with 

regular attendance, or failure of the course. 













zero will be immediately assigned for the missed work the date of the absence. Students 

with an excused absence are responsible for contacting the instructor within three (3) 

school days of the return date of the absence and arrange for making up any missed work. 

Students with an excused absence who wait more than 3 school days after returning to 

classes to contact the instructor will not be allowed to make up missed work.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS 

There are many resources available on the World Wide Web which provide study 

materials on digital logic circuits. If any student desires additional study material is 

recommended that a search of the web may prove very useful. Feel free to contact your 

instructor if you need additional information or help in doing this. 

Also, Prentice-Hall, the publisher of the text, maintains a support site on the web for 

the text that covers the important points of each chapter and provides sample questions 

that can be used as a study guide.

ECT 232: Digital Computer Circuits 

SUBJECT 

Lecture #1: Introduction to course & combinational circuits 

Lecture #2: Decoder & Encoder Circuits 

Lab #1: Decoder Circuit Design 

Lecture #3: Operation of Arithmetic Circuits 

Lecture #4: Multiplexing & Comparators 

Lab #2: Adder & Subtractor Circuits 

Lab #3: Operation of Multiplexing & Comparators 

Lecture #5: Pulse Circuits & Busses 

Lab #4: Clock Circuit Design 

Lab #5: Operation of Bus Control Circuits 

---TEST #1--- 

Lecture #6: Introduction to sequential circuits & RS flip-flops 

Lab #6: Design & Circuit Analysis of the RS flip-flop 

Lecture #7: The D flip-flop 

Lab #7: Design & Circuit Analysis of the D flip-flop 

Lecture #8: The JK & T flip-flop 

Lab #8: Design & Circuit Analysis of the JK & T flip-flop 

Lecture #9: Counter circuit operation & design (1) 

Lecture #10: Counter circuit operation & design (2) 

Lab #9: Ripple counters 

Lab #10: Parallel counters 

Lab #11: Up/Down counters 

Lecture #11: Shift register circuit operation & design (1) 

Lecture #12: Shift register circuit operation & design (2) 

Lab #12: Serial registers 

Lab #13: Parallel registers 

---TEST #2--- 

Lecture #13: Analog/digital conversion & input/output circuits 

Lecture #14: Computer Memory systems 

Lecture #15: Introduction to Microprocessor Architecture 

-----------------Comprehensive Final Examination-----------------

ECT 281 

Robotic Controls Course Syllabus 


ECT 281 provides an introduction to the principles of robotics. Subject areas covered are 

the design, control, operation, and programming of robots with an emphasis in industrial 

situations and applications. 

PREREQUISITE COURSES: Math 115 or higher 


1. Course text - Robotics Technology by Masterson, Towers, & Fardo. 

2. Scientific calculator 


Upon successful completion of this course the student should: 

1. Understand the design, operation, and utilization of robots in industry. 

2. Understanding of terminology associated with industrial robotic systems. 

3. Have a basic knowledge of robotic system components, end of arm tooling, and 

sensors. 

4. Have a basic familiarity with the programming of robots using teach pendants and 

personal computers. 

5. Have a basic understanding of how robots are interfaced with automated 

manufacturing systems. 



84-80 = B; 79-75 = C+; 74-70 = C; 69-60 = D; 59-0 = F. 

• Components of the Final Course Grade & weights: 



Laboratory assignments---------------------------------- 20% 

Individual Project: 

Paper ------------------------------------------------- 5% 

Presentation ----------------------------------------- 5% 

Group Project #1------------------------------------------- 5% 

Group Project #2------------------------------------------- 5% 


TOTAL 100% 


course. Exam questions may be taken from the assigned text chapters, quizzes, lecture 

notes, laboratory experiments, supplementary materials (handouts), and from 

instructor demonstrations.

• Laboratory assignments: The grade is the average of all laboratory assignments using 

the Microbot trainers in the classroom. 

• Individual project: Each student will select an appropriate research topic in the area 

of robotics. The area chosen must be specific and deal with robot usage or robotic 

advancement Each student must submit a proposal for instructor approval outlining 

the topic they wish to do their project on. 

• Group Projects (2): Students will be divided into groups and given a hands-on project 

using robots in the CIM lab. Students will have approximately 4 weeks to prepare 

their assignment and submit it for a grade that will be shared by all students in that 

group. 

• Comprehensive final exam: Administered at the end of the term, at the assigned 

time by the university exam schedule. The final exam will cover all materials 

presented in class. 


All students are encouraged to attend every class meeting. Attendance is an important 


course as the new materials covered build on the preceding materials. 













zero will be immediately assigned for the missed work the date of the absence. 

Students with an excused absence are responsible for contacting the instructor within 

three (3) school days of the return date of the absence and arrange for making up any 

missed work. Students with an excused absence who wait more than 3 school days after 

returning to classes to contact the instructor will not be allowed to make up missed work.

ECT 281: Robotic Controls 

SUBJECT 

Lecture 1: Introduction to Course & Robotics 

Lecture 2: Fundamentals of Robots 

Lecture 3: Programming of Robots 

Lab 1 

⇒ Project paper proposal DUE 

Lecture 4: Industrial Applications & Safety Systems 

Group Assignment 1 

Lecture 5: The Role of Robots in Modern Manufacturing 

Lab 2 

Lab 3 

EXAM #1 

Lecture 6: Electromechanical Systems for Robots 

Lecture 7: Fluid Power Systems for Robots 

Lab 4 

Lecture 8: Maintenance of Robotic Systems ⇒ Group Assignment #1 DUE 

Group Assignment 2 

Lecture 9: Robotic Sensor Systems 

Lecture 10: End of Arm Tooling 

Lab 5 

Lab 6 

Lab 7 

Lecture 11: Electrical Power Control Systems 

Lecture 12: Digital Electronics & Programmable Logic Controllers 

Lecture 13: Robot Interfacing & Vision Systems ⇒ Group Assignment #1 DUE 

Lecture 14: The Future of Robotics 

Lab 8 

Lab 9 

EXAM #2 ⇒ Project papers DUE 

Class Presentations 

Class Presentations 

Comprehensive Final Examination


SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY 

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY 

ECT 303 MICROCONTROLLER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE 

This course will deal with the Intel 8085 and 8086 microprocessor family and its 

associated peripheral components including memory, input/output, and control devices. 

An intense study of this system will include hardware and software topics such as; CPU 

data flow, timing and control, and assembler language programming. ECT 303 will 

provide a sound basis for successful completion of subsequent courses including ECT 

335 Peripheral Control Structures, and ECT 435 Advanced Microcomputer Architecture 

and Organization. 

It is expected that the student will expend a fair amount of effort to the mastery of the 

topics and theories presented in this course. It is assumed that the student possesses a 

basic understanding of digital logic including number systems and 

combinational/sequential logic circuit design. The following is a list of topics that should 

be reviewed by the student for successful entry into this course: 

Binary Number Systems 

HEX Number System 

Number System Conversion 

Logic Gate Design 

Register Design 

TOPICS TO BE COVERED IN ECT 303 

Topic 1 

Topic 2 

Topic 3 

Topic 4 

Topic 5 

Topic 6 

Topic 7 

Topic 8 

Topic 9 

Topic 10 

Topic 11 

Microprocessor Fundamentals 

The CPU 

The Instruction Set 

Assembler Programming 

Input/Output 

Memory 

Interrupts 

System Design 

Control Systems 

Advanced Processors 

The PC System

TESTS 

There will be 5 tests and 1 comprehensive final examination during this semester. 

Periodic quizzes will be administered at the discretion of the instructor. 

LAB REPORTS 

Lab reports will be completed using accepted technical report procedures. Evaluation of 

these reports will be included in the student’s grade record and used in the compilation of 

the final grade. 

MAJOR PROJECT 

All students will complete one major design project. The project will include the design 

of a complete microcomputer system. 

GRADES 

The breakdown of grades is as follows: 

Tests 50% 

Final 20% 

Labs 15% 

System Design 15% 

Grades for this course will be based on the following: 

1. Quizzes 4 

2. Mid-Term Exam 1 

3. Final Exam 1 

4. Semester Project 1 

5. Lab Reports 3 

The grading scale for the course will be based on the chart shown below: 

A 94% - 100% 

B+ 91% - 93% 

B 85% - 90% 

C+ 83% - 84% 

C 75% - 82% 

D+ 72% - 74% 

D 68% - 71% 

F 67% and Below

TEXT 

Rafiquzzaman, MICROCOMPUTER THEORY AND APPLICATIONS WITH THE 

INTEL SDK-85, Wiley Publishing Company 

Attendance 

It is very important that all students attend class sessions for ECT303. It is equally 

important that you are ready for lectures on time. Please show up for class on time. 

Final evaluations may reflect any abuse of this policy.

ECT301 – Technical Data Management and Applications 

Fall 2011 Rev 8/24/11 

Instructor: Edie L. Wittenmyer Office: TC 301E 

Email: Edie.Wittenmyer@indstate.edu Phone: 812-237-3387 

Blackboard site: blackboard.indstate.edu Cell: 217-251-3116 

Course 

Time & Date: MWF 9:00 – 9:50 a.m. 

Course 

Location: TC 304 


This course introduces database architectures, capabilities, data structures, and typical 

applications at the factory and enterprise levels. Factory information systems, data filtering, data 

for quality analysis, and summary report generation are studied. 

Text books 

Used books are fine. The CD in the database book is not needed. The bookstore might not be the 

best source. Let me know if you have trouble finding a book. 

1) Database Design for Mere Mortals 2 nd ed; Hernandez, M.J.; Addison Wesley; 

ISBN 0-201-75284-0. 

2) User Interface for Mere Mortals 1 st ed; Butow, E.; Addison Wesley; 

ISBN 0-321-44773-5. 

Blackboard web site 

All course materials, exams and the latest rev. syllabus will be posted on the course Blackboard 

web site. 

Grading 

Four component deliverables: 

Attendance – 25 points 

Tests (take home) – 3 @ 25 points each 

Final (open book) – 1 @ 100 points 

Design project – 1 at 100 points 

Final letter grades will be distributed in the following arrangement: 

A 91%-100% B 81%-85% C 71%-75% D 60%-65% 

B+ 86%-90% C+ 76%-80% D+ 66%-70% F 0%-59%

Attendance 

The class meets 9:00-9:50am, MWF. Follow the schedule on the syllabus closely to know when 

class meets. You will have some time or deferred classes in order to work on your exams and 

design project. When class meets, you are expected to be present. Attendance will be taken. 

Classroom 

Etiquette: 

4Turn cell phones off. 

4No use of cell phones and/or text messaging during class time. 

4No food allowed in the classroom. Only bottled water is allowed. 

4Classroom sessions are not for studying for other classes, doing homework, or 

conducting other business. Sleeping should be done before, or after, but never 

during the classroom session. Students who engage in such behavior will be 

asked to leave class and considered absent.

ECT306 Computer Network Management Technology 

Syllabus – Spring 2012 




Class Schedule: MW 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm, John T Myers Technology Center 304 

Instructor: Dr. Xiaolong Li 

E-mail: xiaolong.li@instate.edu 

Phone: (812) 237- 3451 

Office: John T Myers Technology Center 301J 

Office hour: MW 1:00 pm -2:00pm, TR 3:15pm – 4:15pm or by appointment 

Required Text 

Michael Graves, The Complete Guide to Networking and Network+, Thomson Delmar Learning, 

2nd Edition. ISBN 978-1-41801-944-0 


This course introduces both Information majors and Electronics major to the fundamentals of 

telecommunications, data communications and networking for an IT perspective. Topics covered 

include: data, voice and video transmission; local and wide area networks; network topology 

models, communication protocols; and related topics. 


Upon completion of this course, the student will: 

have an overview of essential data communications concepts 

better understand data and telecommunication equipment and media 

be able to delineate the various communication protocols 

better understand fundamental Internet concepts and services 

be familiar with basic local, wide area and distributed network concepts 

be introduced to network software 

have a basic understanding of network management issues 

Course Schedule (subject to change) 

Week Date Topic Text Ref. 

1 1/9 Syllabus and Introduction to Networking Ch 1a 

1/11 Some raw basics of networking Ch 1b 

2 1/16 Martin Luther King, Jr Day; No class 

1/18 Clients and Servers Ch 2 

1/21 Web Assignment #2 

Network+ certification requires a passing score on the CompTIA Network+ (N10-003) core exam. Note: successful 

completion of this course does not assure, explicitly or implied the passing of the actual CompTIA Network+ 

certification test.

3 1/23 The Highways and Byways of the Network Ch 3 

1/25 Welcome to OSI Ch 4 

4 1/30 Understanding the Physical Layer Ch 5 

2/1 Data Link Layer Ch 6a 

5 2/6 Exam #1 Ch. 1-5 

2/8 Error control and flow control Ch 6b 

6 2/13 Review Exam #1 

2/15 The IP address in Network Layer Ch7a 

7 2/20 Routing protocol in Network layer Ch7b 

2/22 The Transport Layer Ch 8 

8 2/27 The Session Layer Ch 9 

2/29 The Application Layer Ch 10 

9 3/5-9 Spring Break – No Class 

10 3/12 An Introduction to TCP/IP Ch 11 

3/14 Exam #2 Ch. 6 -- 10 

11 3/19 Using TCP/IP Ch 12a 

3/21 Review Exam #2 

12 3/26 Ch 12 cont’d Ch 12b 

3/28 Working with Network Security Ch 15a 

13 4/2 Networking with network security Ch 15b 

4/4 

The Other Protocols (Online) Ch 13 

14 4/9 Working with Remote Access (online) Ch 14 

4/11 Data Recovery and Fault Tolerance Ch 16 

15 4/16 Exam #3 Ch. 11 -15 

4/18 Planning a Network Installation Ch 17 

16 4/23 Troubleshooting the Network Ch 19 

4/25 Q/A 

17 4/30-5/4 Final Comprehensive Exam 

2

Homework Assignments 

Homework assignments (multiple choice questions) will be posted in blackboard every Thursday 

morning. Students will need Internet access in order to navigate to blackboard.indstate.edu and 

then enter your userid and password, which should be the same as your ISU Portal userid and 

password. Students must complete the assignment during Thursday morning 8:00am to Friday 

4:00pm. 



Exam I 15% 

Exam II 15% 

Exam III 15% 



100-97 = A+; 97-92 = A; 92-90 = A- 

89-87 = B+; 87-82 = B; 82-80 = B- 

79-77 = C+; 77-72 =C; 72-70 = C- 

69-67 = D+; 67-62 =D; 62-60 = D- 

59-0 = F. 

If you are very close to the next higher grade, the instructor may take into consideration 

attendance, class participation, timeliness of assignments, and/or other factors. 

Network+ Certification: 

- Student will get A in this class if he/she passes the Network+ certification during the 

semester. 





students: 

NO absence – 5 percentage bonus added to final semester score. 

One unexcused absence– 3 percentage bonus added to final semester score. 

Two unexcused absences – final semester score is unchanged. 

 

 

Three unexcused absences – 1 percentage subtracted from final semester score. 

For each subsequent unexcused absence greater than three, an additional 1 percentage 

will be subtracted from the student’s final semester score. 

In order for an absence to count as an excused absence, appropriate documentation must be 

provided. This means that a phone-call or email before the class does not by itself make an 

absence excused. 

American Disabilities Act Policy 


individuals with documented disabilities. If you need an accommodation because of a







Student Expectations 

My goal is for you to do well in this class and to develop the skills necessary to succeed in 

the workplace. However, you have the major responsibility for doing well. Achievement of 

course standards requires you to know what you need to do to improve your performance. 

You are expected to study carefully all reading material and the papers returned to you, to 

note evaluation comments made to the entire class regarding assignments returned, and to 

participate in group activities. As the semester progresses, you should be able to implement 

several ideas to improve your performance on written or oral work for future assignments. 

Also, you are expected to ask questions and /or schedule individual appointments to clarify 

evaluations or other aspects of the course that is not clear to you. 

Professor Expectations 

You can expect me to be fair. I will return papers in a timely fashion so you can learn from 

your mistakes. I will be in class on time and prepared. I will be available for during office 

hours to help you. 

4



DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY 

ECT 308- MICROPROCESSOR APPLICATION AND INTERFACING 

PREREQUISITES: ECT 335 

TEXT: 

None 

Texts on the 8085 and SDK-8085 are recommended 

A text on Visual Basic is recommended 

This course is designed to increase the student’s understanding of computer systems 

which assist in the development of microprocessor-based products. The student will use 

the development system hardware and software. Concepts introduced will include 

editing, assembling, linking, locating, subroutines, and interrupts. Other items covered 

will be the use of debuggers, operating systems, monitors, hardware components, lowlevel 

and high-level programming. 

The student will typically complete either a major project or presentation during the 

semester. 

Student evaluation (all numbers are approximations): 

A. Midterm exam 50 - 60 pts. 

B. Final exam 50 - 60 pts. 

C. Lab. experiments 40 - 60 pts 

D. Project/presentation 40 - 60 pts 

Each student will be assigned a grade based upon the following percentage of total points 

for the semester: 

A - 90% 

B+ - 85% 

B - 80% 

C+ - 75% 

C - 70% 

D+ - 65% 

D - 60% 

F - Below 60%

ECT 401 Data Communications and Internet Technology 

Syllabus – Fall 2011 




Class Schedule: MWF 10:00am -11:50am TC308 

Instructor: Dr. Xiaolong Li 

E-mail: xiaolong.li@indstate.edu 

Phone: (812) 237-3451 

Office: TC301J 

Office Hours: M-F 1:00pm – 2:00pm or by appointment 

Prerequisite 

ECT 306 

Text book: 

James F. Kurose, Keith W. Ross, Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach, 5 th edition, 

ISBN-13: 978-0-13-607967-5 


This three credit hour course designed to introduce the fundamentals for delivering information 

from a source through a medium to a destination. Students will gain knowledge of various data 

communications hardware and methodologies employed in networking and the Internet, the 

concepts of packet switching for transporting data through a telecommunication network, 

protocols, and they will examine the basic hardware and software components that make up the 

Internet in particular and computer networks in general. 



1. Identify the Hardware and Software components of a Computer Network System. 

2. Describe the purpose of each hardware component in a communication system and how 

they relate to every other component in the system. 

3. Discuss the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model and TCP/IP model. 

4. Describe the format of data transmission and explain the operation (algorithms) for each 

layer in the OSI and TCP/IP Protocol Suite. 

5. Simulate a variety of network. 

Course Outline (subject to change) 

Week Date Topic HW & LAB 

1 8/24 Syllabus and Introduction 1.1-1.3 

8/26 Lab #1: Network Cable Making 

1

2 8/29 Introduction of Computer Networking 1.4-1.7 HW#1 Due 9/7 

8/31 Application Layer 2.1-2.3 

9/2 Lab#2 Wireshark Lab: Getting started 

3 9/5 Labor day break, no class 

9/7 Application Layer 2.4-2.6 HW#2 Due 9/23 

9/9 Transport Layer 3.1-3.4 

4 9/12 Transport Layer 3.5-3.7 HW#3 Due 9/23 

9/14 Lab #3 Wireshark: HTTP LR #3 Due 9/23 

9/16 Lab #4 Wireshark: DNS LR #4 Due 9/23 

5 9/19 Lab #5 Wireshark: UDP LR #5 Due 9/28 

9/21 Lab #6 Wireshark: TCP LR#6 Due 9/28 

9/23 The Network Layer 4.1-4.3 

6 9/26 Exam #1 Ch 1-3 

9/28 Lab #7: Connection a Router 

and Lab #8: Configuring a Router 

LR#7&8 Due 10/5 

9/30 The Network Layer 4.4 HW#4 Due 10/7 

7 10/3 Lab #9: LAN configuration LR#9 Due 10/10 

10/5 The Network Layer 4.5 

10/7 Lab #10: Routing and Routing 

Protocol 

8 10/10 Lab #10: Routing and Routing 

Protocol 

LR#10 Due 10/17 

10/12 The Network Layer 4.6-4.7 HW#5 Due 10/19 

10/14 Fall break, no class 

9 10/17 Lab #11: Routing using RIP LR#11 Due 10/24 

10/19 The Link Layer and LAN 

5.1-5.3 

10/21 Lab #12: basic switch configuration LR#12 Due 10/28 

10 10/24 The Link Layer and LAN 5.4-5.6 HW#6 Due 10/31 

10/26 Lab #13: Basic VLAN Configuration 

10/28 Lab #13: Basic VLAN Configuration LR#13 Due 11/4 

2

11 10/31 Wireless and Mobile Networks 6.1-6.3 

11/2 Exam #2 Ch 4-5 

11/4 Lab #14: OPNET_Introduction LR#14 Due 11/11 

12 11/7 Wireless and Mobile Networks 6.4-6.8 HW#7 Due 11/16 

11/9 Lab #15: OPNET_Network Design LR#15 Due 11/16 

11/11 Multimedia Networking 7.1-7.2 

13 11/14 Multimedia Networking 7.3-7.4 

11/16 Multimedia Networking 7.5-7.6 HW#8 Due 11/28 

11/18 Lab #16: OPNET_Queing 

14 11/21 Security in Computer Networks 8.1-8.2 

11/23 Thanksgiving break, no class 

11/25 Thanksgiving break, no class 

15 11/28 Security in Computer Networks 8.6-8.8 

11/30 Security in Computer Networks 8.6-8.8 

12/2 Lab #17 OPNET_Firewall 

16 12/5 QA 

17 12/12-16 Final Exam Ch 1- 9 



Laboratory Assignments 30% 

Exam 1 18% 

Exam 2 18% 


Homework and Laboratory assignments are very important for this course. We will handout 

homework and laboratory assignment. Laboratory assignment grade is based on written 

laboratory report that you must submit a week after the lab was assigned. The written lab report 

consists of five components and they are the lab topics, lab description, lab procedure, lab 

findings and conclusion. There will be two exams during the semester and one final exam. 

Exams can only be made up if you have a valid medical excuse or if prior arrangements have 

been made with the instructor. 

3


100-97 = A+; 97-92 = A; 92-90 = A- 

89-87 = B+; 87-82 = B; 82-80 = B- 

79-77 = C+; 77-72 =C; 72-70 = C- 

69-67 = D+; 67-62 =D; 62-60 = D- 

59-0 = F. 

Homework Policy: 

- Homework and lab report are suggested to be typed instead of handwriting. 

- Homework submitted after it is due but within 12 hours will be accepted and all problems 

will be graded with a 20% penalty. Homework submitted between 12 and 24 hours late 

will be accepted and all problems graded with a 50% penalty. Homework over 24 hours 

late will not be accepted or graded. 

- Collaboration in the form of discussion of formulation of solutions or results is encouraged; 

however, each individual must work independently to create the final homework solution. 





students: 

NO absences (excused or unexcused) – 5 bonus percentage added to final score. 

One absence (excused or unexcused) – 3 bonus percentage added to final score. 

Two absences (excused or unexcused) – final score is unchanged. 

Three absences (excused or unexcused) – 1 percentage deducted from final score. 

For each subsequent absence greater than three (excused or unexcused), an additional 1 

percentage will be deducted from the student’s final score. 

Tardiness: Chronic tardiness is not allowed. Chronic tardiness will count as an absence. 

Classroom Civility: Students should not leave and return during the classroom session. 

Students who leave the classroom in the middle of the session will not be allowed to return and 

that session will be counted as an absence. 

ADA Policy 









4

ECT 403 Practical Digital Logic Design 

Fall 2012 

Instructor: Dr. Yuetong Lin 

Office: TC 301 H 

Phone: 812-237-3399 


Office Hours: MWF 1:00–1:50, and by appointment 

Time and Location: TTH 12:30 PM - 3:15 PM, Room TC 306 

Course Catalog Information: Introduces the Hardware Description Language (HDL) for 

developing, verifying, and synthesizing designs of digital circuits. CAD tools are used to 

design circuits for Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) implementation 

Course Learning Outcomes: Students should be able to demonstrate 

• the ability to design, synthesize, and test combinational and sequential logic circuits 

using Verilog and FPGA 

• the ability to use CAD tools that includes schematic capture, simulation, and modeling 

with Verilog and FPGA 

Course Outline: 

• Digital logic circuits review 

• Introduction to CAD tools and Verilog 

• Implementation Technology 

• Xilinx FPGA development board and ISE 

• Verilog for combinational-circuit building blocks 

– Multiplexers 

– Decoders 

1

– Encoders 

• Verilog for sequential-circuit building blocks 

– Latches 

– Flip-flops 

– Registers 

– Counters 

• Synchronous and asynchronous sequential logic circuits 

Prerequisites: ECT 231 Digital Computer Logic/ECT 232 Digital Computer Circuits 

Text: Fundamentals of Digital Logic with Verilog Design by Stephan Brown and Zvonko 

Vranesic, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill 

References: 

• Digital Design: Principles and Practices by J. F. Wakerly, 4th edition, Prentice Hall 

• Digital Design by M. M. Mano and M. D. Ciletti, 4th edition, Prentice Hall 

• Verilog for Digital Design by Frank Vahid and Roman Lysecky, John Wiley and Sons 

Class Website: All class materials, including syllabus, assignments, and handouts will be 

posted on Blackboard TM . You may access the course link through http://blackboard. 

indstate.edu. 

Homework: Homework will be assigned on a regular schedule. Late homework will not be 

accepted (unless it is the result of an officially excused absence). 

Final Project: The project will be announced two weeks before the finals week. The final 

report is due Monday December 10, 2012. The report needs to follow certain format that 

will be specified at a later time. The project needs to be an independent effort. 

Grading Policy: Semester grades will be based on two components, 

2

Homework and Labs 40% 

Final Project 60% 

Final Grades: 

A+ 95 - 100 A 90 - 94 

A- 87 - 89 B+ 84 - 86 

B 80 - 83 B- 77 - 79 

C+ 74 - 76 C 70 - 73 

C- 67 - 69 D+ 64 - 66 

D 60 - 63 D- 57 - 59 

F 0 - 58 

3

ECT 130- Introduction to Electronics and Computer Technology 




First Year Professional Development Seminar: Joining the Professional Culture at the 

University. An Introduction to Electronics and Computer Technology & Competencies in 

Computer Skills Necessary for College Life. 

Course Purpose 

This course aims to provide students who are considering a profession in Electronics and 

Computer technology with an introduction to the university and to the technology. It will 

highlight those aspects of university life that are particularly relevant to the interests of 

professionals in this diverse area of technology. It will assist them in making the transition into 

one of the many cultures of scholarship found within academic environment. Students in this 

course will develop a sound understanding of how they can succeed as a professional in the 

culture of a higher education learning community. Therefore, this course will be based on 

personal and social developmental skills for the student as well as career exploration, diagnosis, 

reflection, and participation in the learning community -- all of which are important to the 

development of a professional in the cultural environment of this university. 

Course Description (Departmental Specifics) 

Orientation to the major field of ‘Electronics and Computer Technology.’ Provides preliminary and 

technical information for persons beginning their undergraduate program; and supplementary 

knowledge about fields related to electronics. 

Orientation in the use of computer programs necessary for the student to understand and use the 

current state of Information Technology and how such programs can be used to assist learning.

Course Goals 

To guide the student on the path of professional developmental in these major areas: 

1. Discovering the professional within 

a. personal development in the learning community 

b. social development in the learning community 

c. cultural development in the learning community 

d. skill development in Information Technology 

i. effective use of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, 

Outlook) 

ii. effective use of computer related personal finance tools 

iii. effective use of computer browsers and their uses in searches & data 

mining 

iv. effective use of campus library resources 

e. skill development in Quantitative Literacy 

i. solving problems using arithmetic, algebra, statistics, and financial 

computations 

ii. estimating and checking answers to math problems 

iii. Interpreting and using formulas in applied electronic settings 

iv. Interpreting graphs, tables, and schematics 

v. Representing mathematical information symbolically, visually, 

numerically, and verbally 

vi. Recognize the limits of mathematical and statistical methods 

2. Discerning the professional career path 

a. exploring personal career goals 

i. working inside or outside 

ii. working with data, people, or things 

b. exploring how developing skills relate to a changing society 

i. use of general IT skills 

ii. use of Microsoft Office 

iii. use of financial computer programs 

iv. use of web browsers and portals 

c. surveying a broad overview of electronic and computer fundamentals 

3. Developing a professional plan 

a. exploring the possibilities within the university curriculum 

b. planning for a BS degree 

c. drafting a personal curriculum outline

Course Organization 

This course will provide students with a series of experiences that will allow them to better 

understand their approach to learning and the cultures of professional development. The course 

will help students explore the nature of learning cultures and their influence on student success. 

Each week will be designed to explore the fundamentals of: 

A: Discovering the Learner in Me. 

This aspect of the course will involve you in reflecting upon learning styles, habits, and 

attitudes that you bring to the culture of the college learning community and how well 

these experiences have prepared you for success in a college learning community. 

B: Encountering a Different Kind of Learning 

This aspect of the course will reflect upon the different cognitive demands that a learning 

community places on you. We will explore the developmental changes students must go 

through in order to fit in and meet the demands of the new learning culture. A variety of 

areas will be examined -- including social and personal concerns, technical literacy 

requirements, finances, and life in a bureaucracy — to see how you can adapt to the new 

learning expectations. 

C: Becoming a Self-Directed Learner 

This aspect of the course will introduce strategies by which you can become the kind of 

self-directed learner that succeeds in the university culture. It will introduce you to 

resources and strategies that you can use — like study groups, study skills, etc. — and 

ways to monitor your progress. Methods for working with teachers, lab assistants, tutors, 

and others will be explored, as appropriate. You will be formulating an initial plan for 

your own success because, in the university environment you are the one ultimately 

responsible for your educational growth by the choices that you make. 

D: Discovering the information needed to make career decisions. 

This aspect of the course will attempt to cover, in a general way, most major areas in the 

field of Electronics and Computer Technology. It will introduce you to a variety of 

career paths and to the wide variety of choices available for the graduate with a degree 

from this department. 

E: Reflections on Teaching and Learning 

As you have learned how to adapt to the culture of a new learning community, what 

general principles have you learned about the educational challenge facing all students? 

What expectations does that place on teachers? As we discuss the expectations that 

teachers create good learning communities for their students, we will determine how your 

learning career at the university can best prepare you to meet these obligations.

Course Methods 

The course will use a variety of diagnostic instruments and activities that require student 

response, leading to a reflective portfolio. Class sessions will involve individual and group tasks 

that highlight the personal and social dimensions of learning. Students will undertake a number 

of learning projects that will enhance their understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and 

improve their learning skills. 

Course Materials 

Required: ELECTRONICS Fundamentals & Everyday Applications 

• Book by David P Beach & William Foraker 

• the ISU BULLETIN Undergraduate Catalog 

• Worksheets applying arithmetic, algebra, statistics, and financial computations 

• Assignments posted on the ECT130 web site: http://www.indstate.edu/ect/ECT130 

Recommended: Personal Computer Fundamentals For Technology Students, by Marc 

Herniter 

Specific Developmental Objectives 

1. Making the transition to and surviving in college. 

1. knowing yourself 

2. knowledge of the university, offices, procedures, rules 

3. study and test taking skills 

4. financial matters 

5. time management 

6. self-directed learning 

7. critical thinking 

8. group learning 

9. decision making 

2. Personal growth in the professional culture. 

1. intro to the major 

2. professional organizations 

3. work place basics (team work, flexibility, adaptability, creativity, problem 

solving) 

4. technical literacy, computer awareness, and computer applications 

5. academic basics in math, science, reading, writing, and communicating 

6. developing a professional portfolio, resume, professional development plan, 

career vision, philosophy, and goals

3. Developing skills in the use of Information Technology 

1. intro to Microsoft Office 

2. intro to financial software 

3. intro to basic web and database research 

4. Reaching the graduation goal. 

1. ISU graduation requirements 

2. Requirements for the major, sequencing 

3. Developmental advising process 

4. Acquiring a broad overview of electronic and computer fundamentals 

5. Identify career goals and opportunities available to ECT graduates 

6. Describe each of the following 14 areas or concepts--- 

a) professional organizations 

b) technicians, technologists, engineers 

c) career development 

d) the ‘college career’ 

e) electronic manufacturing 

f) quality control 

g) electromagnetics 

h) computer-hardware programming 

i) mathematics in electronics 

j) video and audio distribution systems 

k) medical electronics 

l) robotics 

m) telecommunications 

n) micro computer architecture 

Computer Labs: Students will be expected to use the computer labs on campus or have access 

to a personal computer to complete some assignments, access email and participate in discussion 

groups. Computers for student use are located in the Central Computing building, the library, 

student dorms, and many of the other buildings on campus. Please take time to locate the most 

convenient labs for your schedule. The ECT web pages they are located at: 

http://web.indstate.edu/ect/ect.html 

Email: Students will be expected to set up an ISU student email account. This account can be 

accessed on and off campus with your unique user name and password. You can find out how to 

obtain a student email account by asking at one of the computer labs. In addition, your campus 

account will give you server storage space that can be accessed from any campus computer. 

Please report your email address to the instructor via email and sign up for the class listserv 

(discussion group list) as instructed in class. 

If you have questions or trouble with an assignment I can be easily reached through email, or by 

phone. I try to respond to email within 24 hours, often it is within 15 to 30 minutes [if I happen 

to be sitting near my computer].

Always put ECT130 section and assignment subject in the Subject header box of each 

email. Such as "ECT130 MW - help with lesson 5." This will get my attention much faster. I 

get lots of mail every day and I often ignore or delete what I consider junk mail without reading 

it. So clearly identify your important mail in the subject line!!! 

Also, always sign your mail. To look professional email needs to look like regular mail with an 

opening greeting, the body, and a closing. Sometimes a person's name is not clearly identified in 

an email address and if the letter is not signed, the reader [me] may not be able to identify the 

sender. Please do not disguise your email with an address using a nickname. This makes it very 

hard to figure out who you are at a glance and may delay my response to your important need. 

Here is a helpful hint. I always make two email folders in my email program for storing class 

emails. I use one for saving the listserv discussion postings, the other I use to store individual 

emails related to the class. Then, after reading the mail in my Inbox, I just drag it to one of my 

storage folders. That way I can refer to them later if needed without having all that mail clutter 

my Inbox. You can also use the built in filters in your email program to automate this process. 

If you find some likely study partners, get their email addresses. Your fellow classmates and 

learning partners are one of the best resources in helping you adapt to your new college 

environment. We encourage you to work together in discussing the issues that are important to 

you, not only in the field of Electronics and Computer Technology, but also in the every day 

trauma of adapting to this learning culture called Indiana State University. 

I will be putting together a class list of email addresses after a few weeks. This will enable you 

to better communicate with class members. If you do not wish for your address to be published 

to the class, please let me know via email with the subject line labeled as "ECT130 unlisted". 

Please remember to be considerate when corresponding with one another. Everyone in the class 

is a potential study partner that you do not want to offend. If you feel that you are receiving 

offensive email, ask the sender to stop. If this does not stop the offending behavior, then report 

the offender to Information Services or call the Help Desk and ask what can be done. 

Class Listserv Discussion Group: 

I will add you to list using the email account you use to correspond with me. Just make sure to 

use an account that you are committed to reading regularly, so you do not miss out on class 

discussions and late breaking instructions. To get on the listserv make sure you have sent an 

email to: etgettin@ruby.indstate.edu 

There are some important things to remember when posting a question or comment to the listserv 

discussion group. Everyone in class will see what you have written! Make sure that what you 

have written is appropriate for everyone in the class to read, be concise and not too long winded, 

and spell check your mail before sending. If someone asks a question and you think you have a 

possible answer, please respond. If we all try to keep the tone of our comments positive, 

constructive and professional the discussion should be a great help to all those in the class. 

Please do not send attachments to the listserv or materials unrelated to the class assignments. 

Send these directly to your instructor.

Class preparation: It is a general policy that each student will contribute a minimum of two 

hours of preparation time for each hour of class time. Time usually would be spent reading and 

researching the assignment, preparation of writing requirements, and other projects expected to 

achieve the stated outcomes for the course. 

Activities: Each lesson assigned for the course will be completed in accordance with the format 

and expertise expected and demanded by the professional standards normally found acceptable 

in Business or Industry. For evaluation, assignments are expected to be submitted by the date 

that they are due. If you feel you have a reasonable excuse to ask for an exemption, then submit 

your request by email before the assignment is due and you will not loose points. All quizzes 

can be made up if arrangements have be made in advance with the Instructor. 

Documents will either be submitted in electronic format as e-mail attachments or typed and 

submitted in class. Remember you are trying to demonstrate that you know how to use a 

computer to complete college assignments. Required: Any referenced work found or taken 

from the internet shall also be fully cited in any paper submitted or linked from your email, 

including the full URL. 

Assessment Rubric for Course 

Outcome Assessment Statement: The course will be reviewed against the current accreditation 

criteria, program objectives, and the continuous process improvement model. The course content 

and delivery modes will be refined and modified based upon instructor's recommendations, and 

Department Head review. 

Grading Schedule: Each student will be evaluated on his or her work, contribution to class 

discussion and ability to complete the lesson assignments. Note: the Evaluation will be based on 

the following criteria: 

Lesson Assignments & Worksheets 50% 

Class Discussion & Attendance (in class and via listserv) 20% 

Quizzes over the lectures & assigned research 10% 

Midterm Exam 10% 


Final Grading Distribution: 

Letter A B+ B C+ C D+ D F 

Grade 

% Values 91- 

100% 

86% - 

90% 

81% - 

85% 

76% - 

80% 

71% - 

75% 

66% - 

70% 

60% - 

65% 

00% - 

59%

ECT 130... Schedule 

{This is a general guide to our semester schedule. From time to time it will be updated as 

needed.} 

Week 1 Introductions Computer Labs & important applications 

History of ISU’s School of Technology 

Career categories: Scientists, Engineers, Technologists, and Technicians 

Types of jobs available, salary ranges, benefits, etc. 

Assignments: 

No. 1 - E-mail 

No. 2 - Time management worksheet 

No. 3 – Internet Browsers - Locating and sending information 

No. 4 – Job Information 

Read: Herniter “Personal Computer Fundamentals” Chapters 1, 7, & 21 

Week 2 University organization (and types of degrees) 

General Education ECT majors/ECT minors 4-year Program of Study 

Cooperative Programs... Honorary Societies, Scholarships 

Available Resources Cunningham Library, etc. 

Assignment: No. 5 – Finding Materials in the Library Scavenger Hunt 

Read: Herniter chapters 22, 23, 24 

Read: Beach chapter1 

Week 3 Current Technology and where it is headed (Future) 

An Abridged History of Electronics, Mind-Mapping (circular outlines), Cost 

Benefit Analysis 

Extracurricular Activities (Benefits, Professional Associations, Fraternities, 

SGA) 

Assignment No. 6 Finding & using Internet Email Newsletters for technology 

learning 

Assignment No. 7 Word Processing “The Future of Technology” essay 

Worksheet # 1 Applied Math & Algebra 

Read: Herniter chapter 11 on using WORD 2000 

Read: Beach chapters 2 & 3 

Week 4 Basic Theories, Concepts, ... DC & AC Circuits 

Worksheet # 2 Applied Math & Algebra 

Assignment No. 8 Mind Maping a book in your major 

Read: Herniter chapter 13 on using Power Point 2000 

Read: Beach 4 & 5

Week 5 

technology 

Week 6 

Basic Applications of electricity: motors, generators, power supply 

Worksheet # 3 

Basic Electronics 

Worksheet # 4 

Applied Math & Algebra 

Assignment No. 9 Power Point briefing on a new computer or electronic 

Read Beach chapters 6 & 7 

Read Herniter chapter 8 on using the Windows environment & Desktop 

Diodes, Transistors and their Circuits 

Worksheet # 5 

DC & AC Electronics 

Assignment No. 10 Career Center 

Read Beach chapters 7 & 8 

Read Herniter chapter 9 on using Windows Explorer 

Week 7 Digital Logic Read: Beach chapter 9 

Worksheet # 6 

Applied Math & Algebra 

Assignment # 11 Careers & Choosing a Major 

Week 8 

Week 9 

Week 10 

Week 11 

Week 12 

An Introduction to Computers 

Worksheet # 7 

Excel Worksheet & Financial Planning 

Assignment No. 12 Using Web Simulations Magnetism & Electronics 

Read Beach chapter 10 

Read Herniter chapters 2 - 6 

Putting Computers to Work 

Assignment # 13 -- Excel Planning a Monthly Budget 

Worksheet # 8 Excel & Planning 


Read Herniter chapter 12 on using Excel 2000 

Industrial Applications & CIM Laboratory tour 

Assignment No. 14 Configure a purchase of a Dream Computer 

Worksheet # 9 Applied Statistics Graphs & Charts 


Read Information posted on the Class Web Page 

Business Applications, Medical Applications 

Worksheet # 10 – Applied Math & Statistics with Excel 

Read Beach chapter 13 & 14 


Data Base programs -- Learning Access 

Assignment # 15 -- Design you own web page 


Read Herniter chapter 17 

Read Information posted on the Class Web Page

Week 13 

Week 14 

Week 15 

Communications, Military Applications, Optics 

Browser/searches 

Email Programs 

Assignment No. 16 Presenting information using Excel 

Worksheet No. 11 PC Skills Test 




Home and Personal Uses, Applications in Education and Training 

Browser/searches 

Assignment 17 Create an Access Data Base for Expenses. 

Assignment 18 Innovation Essay 




Review for Final Examination 

Dead Week – No Quizzes 

Final Examination

ECT 430 – Senior Seminar 

Department of Electronics & Computer Technology 


Course Purpose: 

To aid the student in the pursuit of becoming more professional and to developing skills that will 

enhance career advancement. 

Description: 

1 hour. Special problems of technologists. Career planning and personnel roles in industry, 

Insights in finding and keeping a job. Resume preparation. 

Prerequisite: Enrollment in final year. 

Objectives: 

Students will develop an understanding of the fundamental concepts of being a 

professional in their chosen field. 

Students will develop the ability to identify and use resources on the ISU campus and on 

the Internet can aid in professional development and career advancement. 

Students will become more experienced in using career advancement tools such as email, 

web searching, resumes, cover letters, interviews, and presentations. 

Required Instructional Materials 

Text: 

ECT430 Senior Seminar CD, David Beach, Glenn Gettinger 

(available at the textbook desk in the ISU bookstore) 

Computer with CD ROM & printer 

Internet connection 

Computer Labs: 

Students will be expected to use the computer labs on campus or have access to a personal 

computer to complete all assignments, access email and participate in discussion groups. 

Computers for student use are located in the Central Computing building, the library, student 

dorms, and many of the other buildings on campus. Please take time to locate the most convenient 

labs for your schedule. The ECT web pages they are located at: http://web.indstate.edu/ect/ 

Final Grading Distribution: Letter Point Percentages Grade Values 

91% - 100% ... A 

86% - 90% .... B+ 

81% - 85% .... B 

76% - 80% .... C+ 

71% - 75% .... C 

66% - 70% .... D+ 

60% - 65% .... D 

00% - 59% .... F

Course Outline 

Week 1 

Week 2 

Week 3 

Week 4 

Week 5 

Week 6 

Week 7 

Week 8 

Week 9 

Week 10 

Week 11 

Week 12 

Week 13 

Week 14 

Week 15 

Introduction & Class Email Procedures 

Module 1. Getting Started 

Module 2. Career Explorations 

Module 3. Dinner Etiquette 

Module 4. The Job Search 

Module 5. ISU Search Resources 

Module 6. Working in a Group & Group Presentations 

Module 7. Job Experience/Internships 

Module 8. Your Resume 

Module 9. Writing a Cover Letter 

Module 10. The Job Interview 

Module 11. Individual Presentations on Professionalism Topics 

Module 12. Preparing for the Real World 

Module 13. Dealing with Conflict & Stress 

Etiquette Dinner (FINAL) 

Attendance: 

Class attendance is always helpful to student learning. Class activities will include discussions on 

the module topics, review of assignments, time for questions and responses, group presentations, 

and other learning experiences. Students will be expected to sign the attendance sheet for each 

class attended. All students will be expected to have reviewed the weekly learning materials 

and/or experiences and be prepared for class discussion. Distance students will be expected to 

contribute to class discussions through the ISU ECT430 Portal Message Board. 

Class preparation: 

It is a general policy that each student will contribute a minimum of two hours of preparation time 

for each hour of class time. Time usually would be spent reading and researching the assignment, 

preparation of writing requirements, and other projects expected to achieve the stated outcomes for 

the course. Since the course materials are designed to assist the student in securing a professional 

job placement. Extra preparation time should increase the student’s ability to find a good position. 

Homework Assignments: 

Each lesson assigned for the course will be completed in accordance with the format and expertise 

expected and demanded by the professional standards normally found acceptable in Business or 

Industry. Assignments are to be submitted by the date that they are due. Late assignment will 

loose one letter grade for every week that they are late. 

Documents (such as resumes and cover letters) will be submitted in electronic format as e-mail 

attachments. It is anticipated that much of the class discussion will begin with comments that you 

will submit electronically. In addition to the selected style and format, links should be established 

from your text to the cited URL's on the Internet. Required: Any referenced work found or taken 

from the internet shall also be fully cited and linked from your email, including the full URL.



DEPT. OF ELECTRONICS AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY 

ECT437/537 INDUSTRIAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT 

COURSE OUTLINE 


This course will deal with the evaluation of control computers in an industrial environment, the 

direct and indirect cost trade-off of implementing a hardwired vs. a programmable controller. 

The effect of management decisions on industrial computer applications. Economics of open 

and closed systems, software vs. hardware, in-house vs. contract maintenance, and multi-vendor 

vs. single vendor systems. The course will concentrate on the concepts that underlie project 

management and the leadership skills required to manage professional project team members. 

CLASS MEETING TIME AND PLACE 

Monday 1:00 – 3:50 PM 

Room TC-304 

Students enrolled in this class are expected to attend all class meetings. Please contact the 

professor of any expected absences prior to the class session. Excessive absences WILL affect 

your grade. 

TEXTBOOK 

Cockrell, Gerald W., Practical Project Management Learning to Manage the Professional, 

ISA 2001. 

Note: All students must purchase a textbook for this course. No copies or sharing will be 

allowed. 

GRADES 

Grades will be assigned on the basis of performance on tests and special assignments. There will 

be two exams given during the semester including a mid-term and final. 

Each student will be required to complete two written assignments. Details will be provided. 

Each student will be responsible for one maintenance function. 

Graduate students will be required to develop and lead two special assignments in addition to the 

ones given above. Details will be provided.

Grades for this course will be based on the following: 

1. Mid-Term Exam 1 

2. Final Exam 1 

3. Semester Project 1 

4. Maintenance Function 1 

5. Reports 2 

The grading scale for the course will be based on the chart shown below: 

A 94% - 100% 

B+ 91% - 93% 

B 85% - 90% 

C+ 83% - 84% 

C 75% - 82% 

D+ 72% - 74% 

D 68% - 71% 

F 67% and Below

COURSE OUTLINE 

Topic 1 

Topic 2 

Topic 3 

Topic 4 

Topic 5 

Topic 6 

Introduction to the course 

Project Management Defined 

Classical Management 

Systems Approach to Management 

Organizational Charts 

Management Schools of Thought 

Professional Needs 

Managing the Professional 

Project Team Characteristics 

Team Leadership 

Time Management 

Team Meetings 

PERT and CPM 

Topic 7 

Topic 8 

Topic 9 

Topic 10 

Project Scheduling 

Project Monitoring 

Cost Analysis 

Engineering and Design 

Analysis of Contracts 

Startup 

Computer Analysis 

Project Continuation

Appendix O 

Institutional Summary 

The Institution 

Indiana State University is located in Terre Haute, Indiana, serving approximately 10,500 

graduate and undergraduate students. The university is a doctoral research university, 

combining a tradition of strong undergraduate and graduate education with a focus on 

community and public service. We integrate teaching, research, and creative activity in an 

engaging, challenging, and supportive learning environment to prepare productive citizens 

for Indiana and the world. 

Address: Indiana State University 200 North 7th Street Terre Haute, IN 47809 

President: Dr. Daniel J. Bradley 

Type of Control 

Indiana State University (ISU) is a state university. 

History of Institution 

Taken from http://www1.indstate.edu/archives/history/essay/essay.html 

From Normal School to University 

The Beginning: Indiana State University was created by House Bill 119 (December 20, 

1865), in which the General Assembly of the State of Indiana established “a State Normal 

School, the object of which shall be the preparation of teachers for teaching in the common 

schools of Indiana.” Tuition was to be free to residents of Indiana and admission to 

“the privileges of instruction in the Normal School” were conditioned upon requirements 

273

APPENDIX O. INSTITUTIONAL SUMMARY 274 

which included sixteen years of age for females, and eighteen for males; good health; and, 

satisfactory evidence of undoubted moral character. 

The Board of the Normal School was authorized to advertise throughout the State of 

Indiana for donations of land, money, and buildings as a site for the new school. Terre 

Haute was the only community in the state to make such an offer of money and land. The 

State Normal School was constructed on donated ground, which is now the present day 

site of the Quadrangle. On January 6, 1870 the partially constructed and poorly equipped 

Indiana State Normal School building was opened to students. On this day, President 

William Jones greeted 23 students and a faculty comprised of three assistants. Later in the 

year the student body increased to 40 and three additional faculty were hired. 

During the early years of operation, the majority of the students attending the Indiana 

State Normal School had only completed elementary school with perhaps a couple of years 

of high school. Very few were high school graduates. The Normal School and its course 

of instruction were characterized by strict discipline and classroom recitations requiring 

analysis of principles and an abundance of mental exercise. While this level of instruction 

would characterize the curriculum of the Normal School for decades, the institution met 

the requirements of its mission to the state of Indiana with remarkable success. By 1880, 

the State Superintendent of Public Instruction would note that wherever he went in the 

state, ”I find that Normal graduates are doing the very best kind of work and I think that 

to their efforts is due in a large measure the rapid advancement which our schools have 

made during the past few years”. Graduates of the Normal School would be teaching in 

public schools and sister normal institutions throughout the United States, and as far away 

as Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and the Philippine Islands by the end of the century. 

On April 8, 1888, the Indiana State Normal School was completely destroyed by fire. 

The event was described as “the most unfortunate single catastrophe that could happen to 

Terre Haute”. Thanks to the resolve of President William Wood Parsons, students of the 

school missed only one day of classes. The City of Terre Haute rallied to support the school 

by providing temporary quarters in the community and appropriating money for the immediate 

rebuilding of the school. Instruction resumed in a new Normal School building 

built on the same site in the fall of 1888. In addition to this catastrophe, the Normal School 

weathered several crises and controversies during these formative years; facing such challenges 

as the resignation of one-half the faculty in a dispute with the Board of trustees in 

1881, and the cancellation of the 1893 Commencement as the result of a student led protest 

by the Senior Class. 

The late nineteenth century also witnessed the emergence to several student-oriented 

activities that survive to this day. In November of 1895 students produced the first issue 

of the Normal School Advance. Over the years this publication developed into a yearbook 

and newspaper format. In the 1920’s the yearbook was named “The Sycamore” and the 

newspaper was named the “Indiana Statesman.” During the winter term of 1893-1894 

the students promoted intramural and intercollegiate athletic competitions for men and 

women by forming an Athletic Association. In 1896 the women of the Normal School 

formed the Women’s League in order to enhance social and cultural functions. This league 

provided the foundation upon which the Greek sorority system developed.


Master Plan I: In 1893, and later in 1903, the state authorized the first expansions of 

the Normal School. An addition (North Hall) was placed on the north side of the main 

building to house science laboratories, the school’s first library, and two gymnasiums for 

men and women. A Training School was later built to the south and east. All structures 

were architecturally compatible and similar in appearance. They were all located on the 

site of the present day Quadrangle. 

Indiana State developed a curriculum, that enabled it to emerge into the twentieth century, 

and was recognized as one of the premier normal schools involved in teacher training 

in the United States. In several areas this level of excellence was apparent and readily supported 

by the State of Indiana. Indiana State was a pioneer in the training of teachers in 

the field of Industrial Arts, and in 1915 constructed a large building to house this and the 

Home Economics programs. The State Normal Library was constantly rated as the second 

largest teachers college library in the United States (behind Columbia University) and was 

housed in a magnificent structure which was described as one of the most magnificent library 

buildings in the mid-west. In the decade prior to and immediately following World 

War I the Indiana State Normal School prospered. The successful development of the institution 

led to calls from around the state of Indiana for the creation of another institution to 

train teachers. Rather than create a new school, the Indiana State Normal School was authorized 

to open a branch campus in Muncie, Indiana. The Indiana State Normal School- 

Eastern Division opened in the 1918 

It was not until the year 1907 that the State of Indiana required a high school diploma 

of all teachers licensed to teach in Indiana. In response to this initiative, high school graduation 

was made a requirement for admission to the Normal School, and a four-year College 

Course was established. The first bachelors degrees were awarded in June 1908. The 

first North Central Association accreditation of the Normal School was awarded in 1915. 

During the period from 1907-1924, a large part of the curriculum in the elementary teacher 

training program was of sub-collegiate quality, and often not accepted for transfer by other 

colleges and universities as college level work. The academic structure of Normal School 

was reorganized to form 13 departments in 1923. In the following year 1924, all course 

offered were elevated on a college level. In 1927, a Graduate School was created at the 

Normal School to administer the programs of students pursuing graduate study in education. 

The first master’s degrees were awarded in 1928 

Through the decade of the 1920’s, the task of elevating the academic curriculum of the 

institution, as well as the scholarly credentials of the faculty, was undertaken in order to 

meet the requirements of accreditation. In 1929, the name of the institution was changed 

to Indiana State Teachers College. In 1930, the institution was admitted to the American 

Association of Teachers Colleges and was accredited by the North Central Association of 

Colleges and Secondary Schools. The decades of the 1930s was a difficult time for academic 

institutions. The depression of that decade coupled with the threat of global war had a 

limiting effect on enrollments. The academic reputation of the institution as a teachers 

college was secure but the physical plant had suffered years of neglect. The college was 

located in the heart of a thriving commercial district, but lacked a cohesiveness which 

identified it as a college community. It is fortunate that federal funding from PWA and 

WPA programs were available to colleges and universities who were in desperate need of


assistance. 

Master Plan II: By the end of the 1930’s, a building program had resulted in the construction 

of a Laboratory School. A state of the art model in teacher training facilities 

which was one of the largest and best equipped such facilities in the nation. A new Student 

Union Building, and the Fine Arts and Commerce building were nearing completion, 

and students enjoyed the benefits of campus residence in two dormitories (Women’s Residence 

Hall and Parsons Hall for men) which provided room and board for a cost of $ 90.00 

per quarter. Eagle and Mulberry Streets, through the heart of the campus, were closed and 

a pedestrian Quadrangle was developed to form an open green space around which the 

campus could grow. 

The years during World War II were difficult for the university as men and women left 

school to join the military service or work in war-industry related occupations. The V-5 

and V-12 Naval training units located at Indiana State helped maintain enrollment levels 

and the financial security of the institution. 

In 1940, a bachelors degree was made a requirement of all teachers licenses issued in 

Indiana. As this requirement took effect, the students of Indiana State Teachers College 

were graduated with a bachelors degree and the final lingering vestiges of the Old Normal 

School course of study were eliminated from the curriculum. As Indiana State celebrated 

its 75th anniversary in 1945, President Ralph Tirey could note with pride that throughout 

it’s history as a Normal School and Teachers College, Indiana State had been recognized as 

one of the outstanding teacher training institutions in the United States. Many graduates of 

the institution have taught in Indiana public schools and assumed positions of leadership 

in Indiana education. Practically every school district in the state of Indiana has felt the 

influence of Indiana State teachers. 

Within a decade, President Raleigh Holmstedt was able to note that while the preparation 

of teachers remained the principal function of the Teachers College, the graduate curriculum 

at Indiana State was designed primarily for teachers and school administrators, 

“strong undergraduate program permitted an increasing proportion of its graduates to 

prepare for other professions and vacation.” By 1958, nearly one-third of the graduates of 

Indiana State entered professions and vocations other than teaching. The post-war period 

witnessed a profound trauma in American education. Returning veterans took advantage 

of educational opportunities offered to them under the G.I. Bill of Rights and returned to 

pursue complete college degrees. Enrollment in 1945 was 788 and in 1947, this number increased 

to 2555. In subsequent years their children, the “baby-boomers”, flooded primary 

and secondary schools throughout the country and finally entered colleges and universities 

in the late 1950s and 1960s. This staggering increase in the number of students effected 

Indiana State in two ways; first, teachers had to be trained to fill the elementary and secondary 

school classrooms being built all over the state; and second, college enrollments 

soared as the ”baby-boomers,” entered higher education. At Indiana State, enrollment in 

1959 was 5,189 and by 1968 was 12,892 at the Terre Haute campus with a total of 16,532 in 

all programs of both the Terre Haute and Evansville campuses. 

The growth of the academic curriculum doubled with the tremendous increases in enrollment 

produced a period of explosion unparalleled in institutional history. In the decade


from 1959 to 1969 a total of 15 residence halls would also be constructed on the campus. 

The Married Student Housing Complex would be completed and plans were made for 

the construction of Lincoln Quad. During the decade, the academic curriculum and administration 

were reorganized to form the College of Arts and Sciences (1962), the School 

of Education (1960), the School of Graduate Studies (1961), the School of Nursing (1962), 

the School of Business (1964), the School of Health Education and Recreation (1965), and 

the School of Technology (1968). In 1965 Indiana State University started its own doctoral 

study program with a Ph.D. degree in elementary education and guidance-psychological 

services. In the same year, Indiana State established an Evansville campus (ISUE) and 

enrolled its first class in September of that year. In 1985 this Evansville branch campus became 

the University of Southern Indiana and joined Ball State University as an outstanding 

institution of higher education originally founded by Indiana State University. 

The peak of campus growth and enrollments occurred in the early 1970s. By September 

1971, there were 806 members of the faculty at Indiana State University and an enrollment 

of 18,898 students served on the Terre Haute campus, the Evansville campus, and by offcampus 

extension programs. Faced with the explosion in the number of students and 

faculty required to teach them, facilities were developed in every available structure in or 

near the campus, plans were made for new construction, and the boundaries of the campus 

were pushed outward into the surrounding communities in all directions. 

Indiana State University now offers students more than 175 undergraduate programs 

of study and selected study to the doctoral level. National accreditation for professional 

programs has been attained in all academic units of the University. 

Master Plan III: Indiana State University developed a plan in 1985 that was designed 

to realize a long held dream of creating a cohesive pedestrian campus by closing several 

streets through the center of the campus and building pedestrian plazas and walkways 

to connect various areas of the campus. A new Hulman Memorial Student Union, Dede 

Plaza, and the Sycamore Walkway highlight the transformation. 

Student Body 

Indiana State is a diverse campus, with a total of 69 countries represented. However the 

main population is the domestic students coming from Indiana and surrounding states. 

Our students are active participants in learning, inside and outside the classroom. 

Regional or Institutional Accreditation 

ISU is accredited by the North Central Association (NCA). The next accreditation evaluations 

are due in 2010.


Personnel and Policies 

The promotion and tenure system 

The ISU policies, guided by AAUP Policy Documents and Reports, for Faculty appointment, 

promotion, and tenure are outlined in the university Handbook and posted at http: 

//www.indstate.edu/adminaff/handbook/SectionIII.pdf. Following these policies each 

academic unit (department or college) has a specific set of criteria for promotion and 

tenure. In the College of Technology, there exists a promotion and tenure document approved 

by the college faculty, Dean, and university senate. This document is used in 

reviewing the promotion and tenure within the College of Technology. The document 

states:“The purpose of promotion is to recognize the achievement in the broad areas of 

teaching, scholarly activity, service, and academic credentials. At the heart of promotion 

is the demonstration of increased leadership, ability, and value to the department, College, 

university, and profession. Tenure confers permanent faculty membership. Tenure is 

recognition that the faculty member has sustained and will continue a high level of teaching, 

scholarly activity, and service. Evaluation of faculty provides information to make 

the following types of decisions: promotion, tenure, faculty self-assessment and continual 

enhancement, recognition and reward, and salary adjustments. Faculty at the upper ranks 

(Associate Professor and Professor) should serve as mentors for junior faculty through 

their accomplishments and example.” 

For the promotion or promotion and tenure, a faculty member submits his/her dossier 

to the department along with the university specific form. The document goes through the 

following stages in sequence: department personnel committee, department chair, college 

committee, college dean, university vice president for academic affairs, university president, 

and board of trustees. There exists a promotion and tenure oversight committee at 

the university level where a faculty member can appeal the decision. 

The process used to determine faculty salaries 

A faculty position request is initiated by an academic department based on the staffing 

plan and need. The request is reviewed and approved by the Dean, Provost, and President. 

This request contains salary information as well trying to adjust the salary of the previous 

search in the department with the current market. For example in the ECMET department, 

the starting salary of a new assistant professor is in the range of $60,000. When an offer is 

made, the candidate can negotiate with the Dean around this figure. Note that those who 

were hired before, their salaries may be lower than this. Once a faculty member has joined 

the university, the salary is increased generally by 2 to 5%. At the time of promotion, the 

university gives a flat- dollar increment of $2100 from assistant to associate professor rank. 

Sometime at the time of promotion, the Dean (specially, professional college Dean) may 

recommend an additional increment for market adjustment, which may or may not be approved 

by the Provost office depending on the university budget. The ECMET department 

faculty salary data is presented in Table J.3.


Faculty benefits 

The ISU faculty benefits are posted at http://www.indstate.edu/humres/benefits.htm. 

The benefits include retirement and health (medical, prescription drug, and dental) plans. 

Vision plan is optional. Flexible Spending Account, tuition fee waiver, life insurance, disability, 

and express health benefits are also provided. 

Education Unit 

There are five colleges: Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Health and Human Services, 

and Technology, and a school of Graduate Studies at the Indiana State University. 

The College of Technology (COT) offers accredited programs at the associate, baccalaureate, 

master, and doctoral levels. Programs are accredited by the Association of Technology, 

Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE, formerly NAIT), American Council on 

Construction Education (ACCE) and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education 

(NCATE/CTTE). This year COT has applied for TAC-ABET accreditation for the 

BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology and BS in Computer Engineering Technology 

programs. COT has 47 faculty members, 14 staff members, 890 undergraduate students, 

and 280 graduate students. COT has three departments: Aviation Technology; Electronics, 

Computer, and Mechanical Engineering Technology (ECMET), and Technology Management. 

COT also houses the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and the Technology 

Services Center that sponsors projects with businesses and industries throughout the region. 

The programs offered by the COTs ECMET department have been listed in Table D-1 

including the BS in MET program. Organization Structure in the Background Information 

describes the administrative chain of responsibility from the individual responsible for the 

program to the chief executive officer of the institution including names and titles. 

Credit Unit 

One semester credit normally represents one class hour or three laboratory hours per week. 

One academic year (Fall and Spring semesters) normally represents at least 28 weeks of 

classes, exclusive of final examinations. 

Academic Supporting Units 

• ECT courses like ECT 160, ECT 280, etc. are offered by the ECMET department. 

• Department of Technology Management (Chair: Dr. James Smallwood, Professor): 

MFG 370, MFG 371, TMGT 471, TMGT 473, and TMGT 478. 

• Organizational Department (Chair: Dr. Herschel Chait, Associate Professor): MGT 

301


• Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (Interim Chair: Dr. Steven Pontius, 

Professor): CS 151, MATH 115, MATH 123, and MATH 301 

• Department of Chemistry and Physics (Chair: Dr. Eric Glendening, Professor): PHYS 

105 & 105L, CHEM 100 & 100L 

• Department of English (Chair: Dr. Robert Perrin, Professor): ENG 101, ENG 105, 

ENG 107, ENG 305T 

• Department of Communication (Chair: Dr. David Worley, Professor): COMM 101 

• Department of Physical Education (Acting Chair: Dr. Jeffrey Edwards, Professor): 

PE 101 & 101L 

• Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Chair: Dr. Ronald Dunbar, 

Professor): Foreign Languages 

• Department of History (Chair: Dr. Christopher Olsen, Associate Professor)

CET - ABET Self-Study - Indiana State University

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