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Session 2425

Assessment Opportunities in a Capstone Design Course

Karen C. Davis University of Cincinnati

Abstract

This paper describes activities related to ABET EAC assessment that have been implemented within a senior design capstone course sequence. The activities and instruments address Criterion 3, Program Outcomes and Assessment, and Criterion 4, Professional Component (specifically the major design experience). A variety of assessment techniques are used to obtain both quantitative measurements and qualitative indicators that can be used to demonstrate achievement of outcomes as well as to improve the course itself and the program curriculum as a whole. The techniques include an initial survey of achievement vs. importance of all outcomes, an individual self-assessment assignment, a project-specific statement of ABET concerns (health, safety, environmental, ethical, etc.), student assessment of team functioning, peer assessment for design reviews, an assignment to discuss current events related to professionalism and ABET concerns, a small group assessment (over the entire program curriculum), an exit survey for achievement of all outcomes, and peer assessment of project final presentations. Examples of assessment instruments, results, observations, and discussion are given. A timeline illustrates how these activities are integrated into a design lifecycle and coordinated with design project deliverables.

1. Introduction

Electrical and Computer Engineering seniors at the University of Cincinnati take a capstone design course sequence that extends across the entire senior year1. Students typically self-organize into teams of 2-4 people and select project topics proposed by an ECECS faculty member; alternately, students propose projects based on their co-op experience or personal interest. In either case, students have a technical project advisor as well as a professor who supervises the course work of all teams. The course work itself can be generalized to most engineering degree programs while the technical content will vary with the project and engineering discipline. The focus of this paper is how

Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright 2004, American Society for Engineering Education

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Davis, K. (2004, June), Outcomes Assessment Opportunities In A Capstone Design Course Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--13817