4. The institution identifies expected outcomes, assesses the extent ...

SACS/COC Fifth-Year Interim Report, Part III.
as develop a clinical handbook. The Department also made substantive changes to items on the
Clinical Evaluation Continuum evaluations.
School of Engineering
The School of Engineering has 13 degree programs. Five undergraduate programs met accreditation
standards for assessment of student learning established by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and
Technology (ABET) Engineering Accreditation Commission (Criteria 2, 3, and 4) at their most recent
reviews: Biomedical Engineering, B.S.; Chemical and Life Science Engineering, B.S.; Computer
Engineering, B.S.; Electrical Engineering, B.S.; and Mechanical Engineering, B.S. In addition, the
Computer Science, B.S. program met the accreditation standards for assessment of student learning
established by the ABET Computing Accreditation Commission (Criteria 2, 3, and 4) at its most recent
review. The School has one representative on the VCU Assessment Council, Dr. Stephanie Adams,
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies. According to our external consultant, all programs in the
School of Engineering meet or exceed VCU’s threshold requirements for assessing student learning (see
School of Engineering scorecard).
For most programs, student learning objectives are clearly defined, and the statements reflect
important knowledge, skills, and values in the field of study. During the most recent ABET Engineering
Accreditation Commission (EAC) general review, evaluators determined that the Computer Engineering,
B.S. and Electrical Engineering, B.S. programs were in compliance with the ABET EAC criteria for
assessing student learning, but commented that the student learning outcomes for both programs
should be written to encompass ABET EAC a-k criteria. In their 2008-2009 WEAVEonline reports, both
programs revised their student learning outcomes to map directly onto the ABET EAC a-k criteria. More
than half of the programs in the School made noteworthy improvements in the 2008-2009 cycle by
increasing the specificity of their student learning objectives. For several programs, additional work on
student learning objectives is desirable.
Measurement continues to be a challenge for some programs in the School, particularly at the
undergraduate level. The primary measurement difficulties for the undergraduate programs are the use
of course grades, an over-reliance on indirect measures, and a lack of evidence of inter-rater reliability
for measures with multiple raters. In contrast, all of the M.S. and Ph.D. programs improved their
measures in 2008-2009 by eliminating course grades and/or adding stronger measures (e.g.,
comprehensive examination performance, number of peer-reviewed publications and conference
presentations, portfolio evaluation, thesis/dissertation review). Some of the graduate programs will
benefit from creating rubrics and evaluating inter-rater reliability for those measures.
All programs in the School of Engineering reported assessment findings for 2008-2009, with the
exception of one newly approved program (Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, M.S., which enrolled
its first students in Fall 2009).
Programs in the School have taken steps to promote continuous improvement in student learning. For
example, the Electrical Engineering, B.S. program implemented a number of changes in existing courses
and also added a new course. The program notes the following improvements:
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