1. (Towards a)* Positive Impact of Assessment
Stephen Kampe
Franklin St. John Professor and Chair
Materials Science and Engineering
Michigan Tech
5 May 2017
* Work in progress

2. Materials Science and Engineering
• Academic roots and subdisciplines in metallurgy, ceramic engineering, polymer engineering, applied physics, chemistry, microelectronics
• At Michigan Tech, strong legacy in metallurgical engineering undergraduate education
- “Metallurgy Department” founded in 1887
- Largest metallurgy department in USA during 1960s – 70s (10% of annual grads)
• Strong research culture (graduate students, post docs, research faculty)
Nationally, more graduate MSE degrees are conferred than undergraduate
Graduate programs: less structured, more individualistic, more academic “freedom”
• Strong “preference” among some faculty towards research and graduate education

3. Landscape, continued
• As an engineering discipline, the MSE undergraduate program is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)
• Circa 2000, ABET accreditation began requiring a strictly-defined process consisting of the development of stated program educational objectives, identification of stakeholders, mandatory student learning outcomes, regular and formal assessment, and evidence of continuous improvement.
• The process constituted a culture-shift for engineering education
ABET: aka “A Bad and Evil Thing”

4. 11 Student Outcomes required for accreditation by ABET
“A-K outcomes”
A An ability to apply knowledge of math, science, and engineering
B An ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
C An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, societal, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
D An ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
E An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
F An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
G An ability to communicate effectively
H The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
I A recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
J A knowledge of contemporary issues
K An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice

5. “A Bad and Evil Thing” or an academic FitBit?
ABET
“A Bad and Evil Thing” or an academic FitBit?
• ABET has been successful in engaging department faculties for the purpose of curricular self study and improvement
• Assessment of an UG program is an important component in a unit’s desire to ramp-up its research activities; e.g., it provides a basis to implement strategic goals such as,
“ we will increase our research activities, and will do so without adversely affecting the quality of our UG education “
• ABET guidelines encourage a healthy breadth of assessment, but not necessarily depth or resolution
e.g., ABET Criterion 3, outcome G: “An ability to communicate effectively ” ?

6. Assessment strategies for A-K

7. Interlocking USLG and A-K Opportunites

9. MSE Communications Thread

10. So how did it go?
• Initially, one writing artifact was chosen yearly from one of our junior level courses for obligatory USLG5 assessment by the undergraduate curriculum committee (UGCC)
• Fortuitously, 3 of 4 faculty who led instruction of our Sophomore-Junior lab sequence were members of the committee
• Discussion during rubric norming session turned out to be mutually and widely revealing; e.g.,
“ they were to told to format this way “
“ they were not told “
“ they were told not to “
“ this aspect was / was not emphasized “
“ they were told , etc. “
∴ Created curricular awareness, consistency, skill-building flow, logic of presentation

11. Some positive developments . . .
• Assessment has expanded to include:
- 4 artifacts from each of 4 sophomore – junior labs, yearly
- the 4th faculty member among the 4 lab course sequence
- now, a better defined audience and purpose of writing for each
- ”this will be assessed ” now announced to students
- longitudinal assessment through the sequence
- significantly, ancillary discussion on other aspects of the assignments and other “thematic threads”
∆ e.g., statistical analyses of data (error and uncertainty, significance, sig figs)
∆ need to cite background literature; references
∆ computational thread
∆ holistic assessment of appropriate technical aspects of the assignment (i.e., A-K)
• We are now the Undergraduate Curriculum and Assessment Committee (UGCAC)
- 7-8 faculty / staff
- double service credit
- team approach to student writing improvement and curricular improvements

12. Student Writing Skills?
We continue to be frustrated by our student writing skills, but we are now systematically addressing specific student attitudes, tendencies, shortcomings (for both the group of students and for individuals).

13. Final comments
(from a 2014 presentation to a College Assessment Committee)
• I appreciate the structure and resolution that the USLG-5 rubrics provide
• I believe that these will (mostly) meet and exceed the expectations of the ABET assessment.
• Separating assessment of communication from the grading streamlines the process, and enables quantitative partitioning of the sub-skills. Student grades for the assessed work are available and will likely be incorporated in a final analysis.
• Strategic identification of assessment artifacts enables their possible use for several USLGs and ABET outcomes - providing a degree of efficiency and streamlining.

14. MSE Undergraduate Curriculum and Assessment Committee
Acknowledgements
MSE Undergraduate Curriculum and Assessment Committee
Professor J.W. Drelich
Associate Professor Y.M. Jin
Associate Provost J.M. Kampe
Professor P.D. Moran
Associate Professor P.G. Sanders
Associate Professor D.J. Swenson
Dr. D.J. Seguin (MSE technical staff and student advisor)
Dr. E.A. Laitila (MSE technical staff)
J.S. DeClerck
Instructional Design and Assessment Specialist
Office of the Provost