Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011 - rees2009

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) Página 429 de 957
The model is directed to measuring education not only academic student’s education but
also the professional formation, making it more competitive in the world of business. "This
is especially true as industry views an increasingly larger portion of the science and
engineering labor pool more like a commodity then a profession" (Shuman, Besterfield-
Sacre, & McGourty, 2005).
The assessment of the "Courses Outcomes" (CO) is the first process that takes place in the
model and is carried out every six months. It is a process formulated and developed as a
mechanism to support and monitor the process of curriculum modernization planned out
in 2005, which initiated its development progressively; in 2008, after 3 years, the
complete assessment model was developed and from then it has been used in all
engineering programs. The main objective of the assessment of CO is to measure student
outcomes obtained in the qualifying evaluations and activities designed for this and
comparing them with the learning objectives set by the college of engineering. This will
identify those weaknesses presented by the students in order to design better strategies to
help improve performance in the subject. The strategies are to be implemented in the
following period, and they will be analyzed, measured and evaluated at the end of it; this
stage is called "loop closure". The latter is displayed and easily identified in the closing
report made for each course called "Final Course Assessment Report" (FCAR) (Camacho &
Ruiz, 2010).
The second process takes place is the Assessment of the "Program Outcomes" (PO), which
is done annually. It applies for all program outcomes formulated under the scheme
EC2000 by ABET. Similar to the CO, in the assessment of the PO, measurement, evaluation
and improvement processes are carried out (Camacho & Ruiz, 2010). As such, it should
use tools to measure from different aspects the performance of students in their programs.
The tools currently used are:
• Evaluation "SABER PRO": This is a state examan conducted annually and
regulated by the Colombian Ministry of National Education; its objective is to check
the skill level of students about to graduate (ICFES Instituto Colombiano para
Evaluación de la Educacion Superior).
• Report of the National Accreditation Commission (CNA): A report where it is
determined whether the engineering programs meet national standards; the
frequency of reporting is determined by CNA.
• Comprehensive Exam (CE) 1 and 2: These institutional tests are administered
since 2008, and performed 2 times per semester. The CE1 seeks to measure the
knowledge of students who have completed the basic training cycle (Mathematics,
Physics, Chemistry and Reading Comprehension). Likewise, the CE2 is applied to
students coming to the end of their education process where professional skills
and knowledge are evaluated.
• Measurement of performance in professional practice: Although internships
are not mandatory in the school of engineering, many students carry them out as
an option. The company provides semester evaluation of student performance in
practice.
Proceedings of Research in Engineering Education Symposium 2011
Madrid, 4 th - 7 th October 2011