Assessment Process Using the First Year Computer Graphics Course at University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Abstract

Continuous improvement is an important requirement for Engineering Technology programs that are undergoing the accreditation review process by Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC) of ABET. This issue will remain important in the future as ABET emphasizes the importance of a continuous improvement process in their review process as it benefits both instructors and their students. The faculty of the Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) developed a general assessment method to evaluate the student outcomes of the ABETEngineering Technology Accreditation criteria (a) through (k) as a part of their accreditation process [1]. Different courses in the MET program are used to evaluate and assess these student outcomes. The indirect student self-assessment scores and the direct student performance scores are correlated to assess the student outcomes. In addition to describing the general assessment method, this paper describes a specific course to explain the assessment process. We selected the first year computer graphics course to satisfy the student outcome (f) of the Associate of Science (AS) degree. The student outcome (f) places significant emphasis on written, oral, and graphical communication. Though the assessment method is general, this paper describes how it is applied to computer graphics course. In this paper, we present the course structure, assessment method and continuous improvement process.