Cooperative Education as the Catalyst for Effective and Efficient Assessment of ABET Student Learning Outcomes for an Engineering Program

Chris Plouff

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Conference: 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Publication Date: June 23, 2013
Start Date: June 23, 2013
End Date: June 26, 2013
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: CEED - Technical Session 1
Tagged Division: Cooperative & Experiential Education
Page Count: 19
Page Numbers: 23.340.1 - 23.340.19
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--19354
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/19354
Download Count: 391

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Paper Authors

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Chris Plouff Grand Valley State University

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Chris Plouff, Ed.D., P.E., is an Assistant Professor & James R. Sebastian Chair of Engineering Cooperative Education and Educational Development at Grand Valley State University. He is also the chair of the Product Design & Manufacturing Engineering program. He coordinates assessment efforts for the School of Engineering, including for the mandatory cooperative education program. His research interests include first-year engineering program development, effective assessment of engineering education, cooperative education, and transition to and from the engineering educational environment. Prof. Plouff has a Doctorate in Education from Eastern Michigan University and is a registered Professional Engineer in Michigan.

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Abstract

Cooperative Education as the Catalyst for Effective and Efficient Assessment of ABET Student Learning Outcomes for an Engineering Program AbstractA comprehensive approach to industry partnerships can provide multiple types of measures andfeedback mechanisms to assess student learning outcomes in an engineering program. At thisinstitution, a cooperative education program is the catalyst for developing and maintaing industrypartnerships that provide consistent and regular external constituent input on students’knowldege, skills and abilities related to ABET student learning outcomes. Constituent inputregarding students’ knowledge and preparation is provided in multiple and varied ways throughdirect feedback mechanisms in the workplace.The relationships developed through the cooperative education program lead to different formsof involvement by the employer constituents, including course projects, senior capstoneexperiences/projects, and advisory boards. These directly address ABET’s criteria that studentsare prepared for engineering practice through a curriculum incorporating appropriate engineeringstandards and multiple realistic constraints.The cooperative education program provides assessment of student learning outcomes on acontinuous (every semester), annual basis. Online tools have been developed that allow for easycollection and summarization of input related to student outcomes. Input is obtained at variouslevels of involvement, ranging from student to program-level. Individual employers are engagedin student and curricular assessment at various levels and multiple times throughout thecurriculum. Examples of multi-faceted experiences with individual employer involvement instudent learning outcome assessment will be provided.In addition to employer input on student abilities, students are required to complete online,distance-learning modules during each cooperative education semester which allow foradditional direct measurement of student learning outcomes. The framework for assessment andassessment plans will be detailed, and examples outcomes will be shared to demonstrate how thisinformation is evaluated and used for curricular improvement.

Citation
Format

Plouff, C. (2013, June), Cooperative Education as the Catalyst for Effective and Efficient Assessment of ABET Student Learning Outcomes for an Engineering Program Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--19354

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -         Cooperative Education as the Catalyst for Effective and Efficient           Assessment of ABET Student Learning Outcomes for an                            Engineering Program                                            AbstractA comprehensive approach to industry partnerships can provide multiple types of measures andfeedback mechanisms to assess student learning outcomes in an engineering program. At thisinstitution, a cooperative education program is the catalyst for developing and maintaing industrypartnerships that provide consistent and regular external constituent input on students’knowldege, skills and abilities related to ABET student learning outcomes. Constituent inputregarding students’ knowledge and preparation is provided in multiple and varied ways throughdirect feedback mechanisms in the workplace.The relationships developed through the cooperative education program lead to different formsof involvement by the employer constituents, including course projects, senior capstoneexperiences/projects, and advisory boards. These directly address ABET’s criteria that studentsare prepared for engineering practice through a curriculum incorporating appropriate engineeringstandards and multiple realistic constraints.The cooperative education program provides assessment of student learning outcomes on acontinuous (every semester), annual basis. Online tools have been developed that allow for easycollection and summarization of input related to student outcomes. Input is obtained at variouslevels of involvement, ranging from student to program-level. Individual employers are engagedin student and curricular assessment at various levels and multiple times throughout thecurriculum. Examples of multi-faceted experiences with individual employer involvement instudent learning outcome assessment will be provided.In addition to employer input on student abilities, students are required to complete online,distance-learning modules during each cooperative education semester which allow foradditional direct measurement of student learning outcomes. The framework for assessment andassessment plans will be detailed, and examples outcomes will be shared to demonstrate how thisinformation is evaluated and used for curricular improvement.
AU  - Chris Plouff
CY  - Atlanta, Georgia
DA  - 2013/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Cooperative Education as the Catalyst for Effective and Efficient Assessment of ABET Student Learning Outcomes for an Engineering Program
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/19354
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--19354
ER  -