Assessment Methodologies for Abet Accreditation: Success Factors and Challenges

摘要

This paper presents the importance of a well-established assessment and evaluation process in leading to an improved program delivery. It details a University experience in employing a combination of direct and indirect assessment methods to determine the Program Educational Objectives (PEO) and Students Outcomes (SO) attainment for its Bachelor of Science in Computer Program. In its 3-year cycle of PEO and SO assessment and evaluation, various success factors were identified and at the same time challenges were uncovered. The success factors, as detailed in this paper, include appropriateness and coherence of the course - SO - PEO mapping and the nature of the assessment process, careful design of the assessment tools and instruments, involvement of stakeholders in the assessment process, availability of resources, periodicity and effective documentation of the assessment process, and utilization of assessment information and dissemination of evaluation results. While these factors led to a successful program delivery, the College identified an opportunity to further improve its assessment and evaluation process by using a set of courses to assess a set of specific student outcomes that may lead to an improved collection of assessment information and generation of meaningful information.