Cognitive Outcome Attainment of The Undergraduate Civil Engineering Students before and During COVID-19

Abstract

This paper describes the performance of cognitive outcomes attainment of the undergraduate diploma in civil engineering students at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Johor Branch, Pasir Gudang Campus. Specifically, this study examined the different cognitive outcomes attained among this population from before until during the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) starting in the March 2020 semester. The study utilised data from the Programme Outcomes (POs) analysis by the Outcomes Based Education Committee every semester. This study identified different cognitive outcome attainments both before and during the COVID-19 semesters among students. The attainments used for the students are based on the Averaging Model, in which all courses contributing to the achievements are considered in the calculation of the cognitive outcomes average. The increase in percentages recorded from the result indicates that the shift to online learning has a useful effect on students’ performances in cognitive attribution. Findings also show that some assessment grades, such as assignments, quizzes, and tests during COVID-19 semesters, can possibly improve greater achievements in cognitive level among students. The study discusses the implementation and functional descriptions of the findings and how they would be beneficial to stakeholders.