MEETING OF ABET COORDINATORS

Monday, May 10, 1999

1:00PM - 355 Loew Hall

Attendees

Richard Gustafson (FE); Kristina Heisler (COE); Michael Jenkins (ME); Lorena McLaren (Co-Op); Greg Miller (C&EE); Helene Obradovich (EE); Carolyn Plumb (TC); Jenny Seller (CS&E); Mani Soma (COE); Tom Stoebe (MS&E); Richard Storch (IE)

Discussion

Soma distributed A&A's goals and objectives draft-report prepared by Scott Eberhardt and A&A's UG committee - A&A requests feedback from the group.
Lorena McLaren - Co-Op - Discussion of:

Student Evaluation by Employer form (currently not posted on the web), and
Student Work Evaluation form (http://www.engr.washington.edu/~coopweb/guidelines.html) - select "On-line Student Evaluation Form."

The Student Evaluation by Employer form is sent to employers five-weeks before the student returns from his/her Co-Op. The student and supervisor signs-off on the form. There is around a 50-60% response rate back - Co-Op does not hold-up the students if the form is not returned. Lorena reviews the forms for red-flags and works to resolve any issues and then places in the students file.

Co-Op tracks whether the students fill out the Student Work Evaluation form. If student approves, forms are placed in a binder for students to review various companies. Usually 90% of the students mark that it is okay to place in binder. (see action item)

Updates from Departments

MS&E (Stoebe) - Department has most objectives handled. Assessment: focus groups with students, surveys, and Faculty self-evaluations.
Forestry (Gustafson) - Pretty much finished modifying matrix for each objective. Currently working on assessment and would like some help from the group.
TC (Plumb) - Currently working on writing program. Soma asked Plumb if she would help the group in writing portfolios - she offered to do this. (see action item)

IE (Storch) - Currently working through objectives. Assessment: exit interviews with seniors. Forty interviews scheduled - based on CS&E model with a few alterations.
ME (Jenkins) - Jenkins plans to work on outcome mapping before the end of the year.

Jenkins talked briefly about an ABET workshop he attended 4/17-18, '99:

Discussed objectives and outcomes, surveys, exit interviews, portfolios, triangulerization, feedback loops, importance of documentation, time-lines. The key is to come up with mapping in addition to the assessment method. Wrote objectives and mapped a-k.
He received a hard copy of "Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs, Effective for Evaluation during the 99-00 Accreditation Cycle." Request a copy from ABET by going to: www.abet.org.
Program self-evaluations need to be filled out six months prior to ABET visiting.

CEE (Miller) - Started from mapping and faculty development first. Having some data-management problems, trying to minimize the number of times they need to bother faculty for data. Miller created a database of information received from faculty. The database spits out web pages including self-assessment. Reports will come out every quarter - tie it in with global assessment. Database is beta.
EE (Obradovich) - Working on Goals and Objectives. Started first by collecting data from faculty as a base-line course. Need to start mapping to goals and objectives (currently in draft format). There is an issue with faculty involvement. Visiting committee will be presented this month with goals and objectives.
CS&E (Seller) - Mapping courses to goals and objectives. Updated exit-interview survey. If someone would like a copy, ask Jenny.

Departments to meet with Ron Miller, Colorado School of Mines, June 3 and 4 (updated information as of 5/26/99)

Aeronautics & Astronautics - Bruckner, Eberhardt, and Anderson
Civil & Environmental Engineering - Miller and Mannering
Computer Science & Engineering - Seller
Electrical Engineering - Obradovich and Ritcey
Forest Engineering - Gustafson - possibly Fridley
Industrial Engineering - Storch and Atman
Materials Science & Engineering - Stoebe and Bordia
Mechanical Engineering - Fridley, Kramlich, Reinhall, and Jenkins
Technical Communication - Plumb

If you have questions, please email them right away to soma@ee.washington.edu and to atman@engr.washington.edu. This way, questions are answered promptly instead of having to wait until the next ABET meeting.
Soma mentioned the importance of looking at what other schools are doing and how we can benefit from their ABET visits. Some schools who are currently going through the review:

Seattle University - visit this fall. Anyone can meet with Pat Daniels from Seattle U to discuss their visit.
San Jose State - visit this fall.

There is an ASEE meeting this June in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you can attend, this would be a great meeting to learn more about ABET and to ask other schools about their ABET review.

Action Items

It is suggested that departments post all ABET handouts and documentation on websites and then forward the web address to soma@ee.washington.edu so that they can be linked to the COE ABET Webpage. This will help in tracking documents over a large period of time.
McLaren, Jenkins, and Seller plan to meet to discuss how to map questions in the Co-Op form to a-k outcomes. June 15 due date.
Co-Op to send a summary report (1997-Present) to each department to incorporate summer participants and their feedback. October 15 due date.
Co-Op to work on linking Student Work Evaluation Form with what ABET wants.
Carolyn Plumb to be added to the agenda for the next ABET Coordinator Meeting in June to discuss portfolios. Carolyn to also send information to Soma so that he can post this on the ABET website.

Meeting Adjourned

Minutes prepared by Kristina Heisler