Implementation Plan for CEE Vision and Mission Statements

The UAF Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering will implement its vision and mission statements by having stated educational objectives, strategies for meeting these objectives, and assessment of outcomes.

Educational Objectives and Strategies|Outcomes Assessment | ABET 2000

Evaluation and Monitoring | Assessment Tools | Corrective Action

Educational Objectives and Strategies

The BSCE Objectives were chosen to be consistent with the missions of the College and the University, to reflect the BSCE program's need to provide proficiency in the recognized major areas of Civil Engineering, and to provide our graduate's with the skills necessary for professional practice and growth.

The objectives make up the mission statement of the CEE department and drive all the efforts of the BSCE program. The objectives tell the world what the BSCE program is trying to accomplish. Many of the objectives are far reaching. The only way to determine if the objectives are being met is to study the long-term performance of our graduates after they leave the BSCE program.

In each objective, "Civil and Environmental Engineering students" refers to those enrolled in the BSCE program:

Objective 1. Graduates will have a strong fundamental scientific and technical knowledge base as well as strong critical thinking skills.

Objective 2. Graduates will apply their engineering skills to critically analyze and interpret data and be proficient in engineering design accommodating the total project environment.

Objective 3. Graduates will be able to communicate with the technical, professional and broader communities in written, verbal and visual formats, including interacting in interdisciplinary contexts.

Objective 4. Graduates will demonstrate high standards in ethical, legal, and professional obligations to protect human health, welfare, and the environment.

Objective 5. Graduates will be active in the professional civil engineering community, actively contribute to the profession, and pursue life-long learning.

Relationship of the BSCE program Objectives to the College and University Mission and ABET Criteria The mission statements of the College of Engineering and Mines and the University are as follows:

Mission of the College of Engineering and Mines The College of Engineering and Mines at the University of Alaska Fairbanks advances and disseminates technical and scientific knowledge through creative teaching, research and public service with an emphasis on Alaska and other high latitude regions.

Since the College's mission is broadly stated, the Civil and Environmental Engineering Educational Objectives correlate well with the intent of the College's mission. The education of civil engineers is fundamental to enriching Alaska, the nation and the world as they are a vital component of the development of our society.

Mission Statement of the University of Alaska Fairbanks

The University of Alaska Fairbanks, as the nation's northernmost Land, Sea, and Space Grant university and international research center, advances and disseminates knowledge through creative teaching, research, and public service with an emphasis on Alaska, the North and their diverse peoples.

Again, since the University mission is broadly stated, the Civil and Environmental Engineering Educational Objectives correlate well with the intent of the University's mission.

The correlation between the Civil and Environmental Engineering Educational Objectives and ABET Criteria is illustrated in Table 1.

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Constituencies

The CEE department has identified the following constituencies:

The CEE department created the AC in 2001 as a means of forming an important and mutually beneficial partnership with local employers. The AC has met yearly since then with the faculty and students for one day. The membership is made up of practicing civil and environmental engineers from local companies and agencies, all of which are either employers or supervisors of our graduates. AC members are selected from various sub-fields of Civil Engineering. The AC size is moderate (i.e., 10 members) and knowledgeable about the issues facing the CEE Department. The feedback that the CEE Department receives from the AC is more helpful than results of anonymous surveys of our alumni or employers as it provides an excellent opportunity to receive face to face dialogue. Because of this valuable interaction with the AC, this constituent group is our primary partner in the development of our BSCE program objectives and outcome as it consists of both CE employers or CE alumni. Short biographical sketches of the current members can be found in Appendix I-F.

The CEE department maintains a list of firms and organizations that employ or have the potential to employ alumni of the BSCE program. Each year a third of these employers are surveyed in order to assess the achievement of the BSCE program objectives and general performance. No one employer receives a survey more than one time every three years.

Both currently enrolled and graduating CE students are constituents. The students participate in outcome coverage surveys given in every ES (Engineering Science) and CE course at the end of each semester (discussed in section B.3.5) and they are given an exit survey in their final semester.

Each year a survey is sent to graduates that are two and five years out from their graduation. The surveys ask the students to rate their performance relating to the BSCE program outcomes.

The CEE faculty play a pivotal role in developing and modifying the BSCE program Educational Objectives and Outcomes. This group is ultimately responsible for the quality of the curriculum and the overall education experience offered to the students. The CEE faculty meet during the course of the academic year to review the performance of students and to share observations relating the potential ways to improve student performance relative to the BSCE program outcomes. The faculty is split into committees that are responsible for overseeing the curriculum of the subdisciplines (e.g., water and environmental, structures and geotechnical, and engineering science).

Establishment and Review of the BSCE Program Objectives

Figure 1 illustrates the process used by the BSCE program to establish, assess, and modify the BSCE program educational objectives. The educational assessment plan, including the objectives and outcomes, for the BSCE program was originally approved in 2001 with the approval of the first set of objectives. The plan has gradually been executed with different parts completed between 2001 and 2004. For each academic year, an assessment report is prepared over the following summer.

In the spring of 2004, the objectives were revisited by the faculty and the AC. The new objectives were not greatly different than the original. Except for preliminary assessment of the 2004/05 academic year, all assessments conducted to-date have been relative to original objectives and outcomes. The results of the assessments and experience with administering the assessments as well as the needs/requirements of the local engineering community and ABET will be used to refine the objectives in future years (see Figure 1).

The achievement of the objectives is assessed using four basic assessment tools:

Advisory committee,
Alumni survey,
Employer survey, and
Alaska Professional Engineer rolls.

Table 2 shows which of these tools have been used to review the different BSCE program objectives.

Results from these assessments have led the faculty to make a number of changes to the curriculum to enhance performance relative to the objectives. For example, communications skills continue to be a concern of employers (alumni tend to rate their communications skills higher than do their employers). This feedback along with feedback from professors has led the faculty to focus more attention in the assessment process on communication, particularly in teams. In addition there has been much discussion on how writing communications should be integrated into the student's work and evaluated.

Curriculum and Process to Ensure Achievement of Objectives

The major components of the BSCE program curriculum predate the advent of the EC 2000 requirement for the establishment of BSCE program objectives and outcomes. Fortunately, the curriculum was well suited for the BSCE program objectives chosen. The curriculum is broadly based and includes required courses, technical electives, and general education electives. The required courses include mathematics, calculus-based physics, chemistry, and English, communication, humanities ("Perspectives on the Human Condition"), in addition to the technical courses. In the required courses and in the technical electives, the students gain laboratory and design experience as they learn the fundamentals of civil engineering. Additionally teamwork, project, and communications exercises are built into most courses to prepare the students for working environments.

Table 3 shows the contributions that each course makes to the BSCE program objectives. The mapping of objectives and outcomes to each course was first established in 2001 and then was reviewed and modified in 2004. As with all segments of the assessment, annual assessment is made during the Course Level Assessment (CLA) meetings that are part of our regular departmental meetings.

The following sections describe, in more detail, how the curriculum and educational opportunities within the CEE department support the BSCE program Educational Objectives (in italics).

Strategy for meeting Objective 1: BSCE students shall complete sequences in math, chemistry, and physics to prepare them for all level of engineering analysis. These courses must include:

calculus I, II and III (12 credits)
ordinary differential equations (3 credits)
calculus based physics I and II (8 credits)
chemistry I and II (8 credits)

Strategy for meeting Objective 2: Require students to:

take two courses of basic science with a laboratory component (chemistry/physics)
take two courses of engineering with a laboratory component
design as well as conduct experiments
take a minimum of 3 credits of computing
Require as a minimum, a 3-credit capstone course that is team based. The focus of the experience will be to integrate their 4-year experience into a single project. The capstone project will include review from peer groups, faculty, and industry.

Strategy for meeting Objective 3: In conjunction with the University of Alaska Fairbanks core requirements, Civil and Environmental Engineering students complete a minimum of 27 semester credits representing a breadth of study in the humanities, social sciences, ethics, language and communication. These courses are intended to help broaden the student's perspectives, improve communication, and increase the student's ability to work across disciplines. These courses include:

9 credits in Communications (including academic writing and oral communication)
18 credits in Perspectives on the Human Condition include:
modern world history,
political economy,
world literature,
individuals, society and culture,
aesthetic appreciation,
ethics,
or 4 of the above and 2 semesters of a non-English language or 3 semesters in American sign language,
2 courses that have been designated as writing intensive,
1 course that has been designated as oral intensive.

Strategy for meeting Objective 4: Require a course in environmental engineering (health, welfare and the environment), a course in engineering economic analysis and operations (course includes ethics and professional responsibility) and a 3-credit capstone course that is team based, and stresses on professionalism.

Strategy for meeting Objective 5:

require all students to take the fundamentals of engineering exam.
provide an industry/university seminar series.

Assessment tools used to measure the effectiveness of these outcomes included an annual meeting of the AC, surveys of employers, and Alaska Professional Engineer roles. These three assessment tools and their usefulness are discussed later in the report. top

ABET 2000 PRESCRIBED OUTCOMES

math, science, engineering skills
design and conduct experiments and analyze data
design a system or process
function on multidisciplinary teams
solve engineering problems
understand ethical and professional responsibility
ability to communicate
understand impact of engineering in a global and societal context
recognize lifelong learning
knowledge of contemporary issues
ability to use techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools. top

EVALUATION AND MONITORING OF PROGRESS

Annual report is prepared with sections that outline the following:
action taken in the previous year as a result of assessment
results from assessment instruments
action to be taken in the next year
reassessment of objectives
Annual departmental session to reassess departmental goals and directions. top

ASSESSMENT TOOLS 1. Fundamentals of Engineering Exam

A requirement for graduation will be to take the FE exam.
Document program performance in each category for each portion of the exam (general and discipline specific).
Determine strengths and weaknesses based on documented performance.
Results documented yearly and summarized in the Annual Report.

2. Senior Survey

Seniors will be given an opportunity to comment on their educational experience through a senior survey
Results will be documented yearly and summarized in the Annual Report.

3. Departmental External Advisory Committee

Assess students' ethical responsibility, communication, knowledge of societal context, recognition of lifelong learning, and knowledge of contemporary issues.
Results documented yearly and summarized in the Annual Report.

4. Employer Survey Every Three Years

Mail survey to employers every three years to assess performance of our alumni.
Survey will be broad-based, including college and departmental questions, and cover a breadth of criteria.
Historical data from instrument will be used to chart progress of UAF Civil and Environmental Engineering graduates and their advancement into senior technical and management positions.
Results documented yearly and summarized in the Annual Report.

5. Alumni Survey

The design instrument will encompass broad-based departmental questions, including questions to measure the recognition of lifelong learning.
Mail out graduate survey to alumni 2 and 5 years out of school.
Results documented and summarized in the Annual Report top

6. Corrective Action

Assess status of programs based on data from a minimum of assessment instruments 1-5.
Based on feedback, provide direction for needed changes in programs.
Provide State of the Program Report each year; discuss actions taken the previous year and results achieved, suggestions that need to be considered for the upcoming year, and data that needs to be collected.
Summary of State of the Program Report provided in the Annual Report each year.
Departmental Advisory Boards review the State of the Program Report each year.

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