2011-2012 Annual Assessment Report - Aerospace Engineering Program

The curriculum goals of the unit, as currently stated in the catalog or other departmental documents, are as follows: (from the catalog)

"The mission of Aerospace Engineering Sciences is to provide quality education, including hands-on learning, and to conduct foremost research in aerospace engineering sciences. These goals are accomplished through fundamental and multidisciplinary research and by preparing aerospace engineering students to meet the needs of 21st-century society through the conception, design, and application of aerial and spacecraft systems.

AES Educational Objectives, 2010-present

During their first three to five years after graduation, Aerospace Engineering Sciences graduates will have:

  • Established themselves in professional careers or received a graduate degree;
  • Demonstrated ethical leadership, project management, and/or innovation; and
  • Played significant roles in the research and development of engineering systems and products.

Desired Outcomes

Students completing the undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering will be knowledgeable in the following areas:

  • the professional context of the practice of aerospace engineering and expectations of new graduates in aerospace engineering organizations, including an awareness of ethics issues, economics, and the business environment;
  • the history of aerospace engineering, providing a perspective on current events;
  • aerospace engineering as a highly multidisciplinary endeavor, requiring a systems perspective to integrate technologies and manage complexity; and
  • major principles and scientific methods underlying the technologies comprising aerospace vehicles and systems.

Upon graduation, students will have developed the following general skills and abilities:

  • written, oral, and graphical communication skills;
  • an ability to quantitatively estimate, model, analyze, and compute;
  • an ability to define and conduct experiments using modern laboratory instruments, and to interpret experimental results;
  • an ability to seek out and gather information, enabling independent and lifelong learning;
  • interpersonal and organizational skills that enable individuals to work effectively in teams and assume leadership positions;
  • an ability to identify needs, requirements, and constraints, and to design appropriate reliable engineering solutions;
  • an ability to formulate technical problems clearly, and to correctly apply appropriate methods and procedures for their solution;
  • an ability to program computers, and skills in the use of modern engineering analysis, simulation software, and operating systems; and
  • an ability to understand societal needs, business issues, and the ethical concerns and responsibility of the industry.”

These objectives and outcomes have not changed since 2009.

During the last review period, how has the department/program assessed how well it has accomplished its curriculum goals?

The Aerospace Engineering Sciences Department Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies is responsible for overseeing the operation of our undergraduate curriculum.  These duties include an annual assessment of the program.  The Associate Chair is the chair of the undergraduate curriculum and teaching committee which is formed every year and consists of tenure track faculty and instructors involved with the undergraduate curriculum in addition to the undergraduate advisors.  Participation on the committee generally rotates each year to engage a diversity of opinions. The undergraduate curriculum and teaching committee meets monthly during the academic year to address both the strategic vision of the undergraduate program and tactical issues that require timely resolution.  Every spring, on the Tuesday of finals week the AES department holds a ¾ day retreat to focus on the undergraduate curriculum.  This retreat is coordinated by the Associate Chair and is structured to bring to closure, by faculty vote if necessary, undergraduate curriculum issues that were addressed during the preceding academic year and to develop a forward-looking plan for the next academic year to address developing issues.  Topics covered during 2011-2012 retreat, held on May 8th 2012, which ran from 8:15am to 3:00pm included ethics/honor code, thermodynamics and aerodynamics curriculum review, mentoring and advising, senior projects feedback and software in the AES curriculum.

The College of Engineering and Applied Science collects data for the department through a variety of surveys some of which are documented in this report.  These surveys include:

  • Annual Senior Survey, conducted during students’ final semester on campus
  • Annual Post-Graduation Survey, conducted 6-8 months after graduation
  • Alumni Survey, conducted four years after graduation
  • Employer Survey, conducted every 3 years (2010-11 is most recent survey)
  • Annual Freshman Survey (not documented in this report)
  • Annual Internship and Summer School Survey (not documented in this report)

Additional data are collected through the following methods:

The AES senior students meet on a voluntary basis to participate in an exit survey and program discussions organized by undergraduate student adviser Claire Yang at the end of the spring semester.

Every semester Comprehensive Course Assessment (CCA) evaluations are done by the department faculty in all required undergraduate courses. They pertain to the aerospace program’s K1-3 and A1-8 evaluation criteria, which map to the ABET 3a-k outcomes. The outcomes are discussed by the Curriculum and Teaching Committee (C&T) the following year and concerns are discussed at the annual retreat if necessary.

The department has a standing Curriculum Improvement Team (CIT) that consist of 2-4 students from each academic year (10-15 total).  The CIT committee is selected by the Associate Chair and a concerted effort is made to have a team with significant diversity in race, gender, academic performance, and extracurricular activities.  Students participating in ROTC and intercollegiate athletics also bring a valuable voice to the committee.  The Associate Chair hosts a meeting with the CIT at least once every semester to hear the students concerns and discuss potential solutions.  After meeting with the students, the Associate Chair reports back to the undergraduate committee where the concerns are either addressed directly or elevated to the annual retreat for discussion.

The department’s External Advisory Board (EAB) meets with the Aerospace Engineering Department every fall.  The academic focus of the meeting alternates between the undergraduate and graduate program every year.  When the EAB meeting is focused on the undergraduate curriculum, the EAB has lunch with the CIT to hear the voice of the students.  When concerns are raised by the students the EAB reports back with follow-up action items for the department to address.

During the month of October all Aerospace Engineering students are required to meet with their academic advisors before a registration hold for the spring semester will be lifted.  These meetings are often held in group settings as it is often the case that students have similar questions.  If students have more personal or sensitive questions, then a 1-on-1 meeting with a faculty advisor is scheduled.  During these group meetings the faculty receive feedback from the students.  The Associate Chair solicits this feedback from the faculty advisors for inclusion in the regular undergraduate committee discussion.

The Faculty Course Questionnaires (FCQs) administered by the University are also used to assess individual courses.  Every term, CU-Boulder students evaluate each of their courses and instructors using a standard questionnaire called the FCQ or Faculty Course Questionnaire. The results go to:

  • Individual instructors for use in improving their courses and teaching
  • Department chairs and deans for use in mentoring for professional development, course assignments and in promotion, salary, and tenure decisions
  • Students for use in course selection.

Results for the most recent years are available electronically on the web. Results are available in paper form in the Norlin Library Archives office.

The FCQ are utilized to evaluate the student impression of the course and instructor.  Key questions on the questionnaire are the standard questions:

  • Instructor effectiveness in encouraging interest
  • Intellectual challenge of course 
  • How much you learned in course 

and the optional questions:

  • Students assumed responsibility for their learning
  • Students learned by participation  
  • Lab work was worthwhile
  • This class improved my understanding of the engineering profession
  • My confidence to succeed as an engineering student was enhanced
  • This course prepared me for a career in engineering

Summarize the means you have employed to assess your success in attaining those curriculum goals.

Overall the department is pleased with the outcome of its undergraduate curriculum.

Faculty and staff advising ratings were up, students continue to feel strongly that the AES program is meeting their educational goals and they feel that our senior design capstone course is preparing them for an engineering career.  The majority of our alumni who responded to the survey continue to find jobs after graduation and these alumni are thrilled with the quality of our program.  Many of the responses from students and alumni continue to be well above the college averages.

The department continues to work to improve ethics training and this year we implemented an ethics quiz and an honor code requirement (described in the next section).

While the advising ratings were up this year they were still below the college average.  The AES department was concerned about the advising load on its one undergraduate advisor and has therefore restructured the undergraduate advising structure and hired an additional advisor.

AES students have continually been concerned with chemistry and the impact on our curriculum has been documented.  This year the undergraduate curriculum was changed to address this concern.

Specify what actions you have taken as a result of employing your assessment protocols.

To address the topic of ethics the department has required students to take and pass an honor code quiz.  This quiz is based on an ethics quiz developed by the engineering management program and the process is managed by Joe Tanner, an AES instructor and ethics coordinator.

The text from the CU honor code was added to the advising form.  Students are required to complete and sign this advising form annually.  The purpose of including the honor code on the form is to remind the students of their ethical responsibility.

To address the continuing issue of student success with freshman year and the concern that the topical coverage was not meeting the needs of the Aerospace Engineering students, a new freshman course entitled Materials Science for Aerospace Engineers was developed by Mahmoud Hussein.  This course covers prerequisite chemistry topics for materials science and introduces material types, and materials engineering, for aerospace engineers. Topics include stoichiometry; thermodynamics; liquids and solids; equilibrium; atomic structure and periodicity; bonding concepts; structure-property relationships; phase diagrams; heat treatment; failure mechanisms; materials selection; and a general introduction to modern materials for aerospace applications including composites, nanomaterials and metamaterials. Lab experiments are included.  The course proposal was reviewed with a pilot version of the course to be taught to a small group of freshman students in spring 2013, with the required course offered in spring 2014.

With the chemistry requirement dropped from the freshman year starting in fall 2012 a new degree plan for AES undergraduate students was developed.  This includes moving intro to engineering to the fall of the freshman year, Materials Science for Aerospace Engineers (ASEN 1022) to the spring of the freshman year and providing space in the spring of the junior year for an elective course.  It is the long-term plan of the department to transition this elective course to a required junior level course on aerospace software systems during the spring of the junior year.  We have received regular feedback from our external advisory board and industry contacts that deeper software skills are important for aerospace engineers.

The details of the new plan are as follows:

  • Remove CHEN 1211-3 & CHEM 1221-2 (total 5 hrs)
  • Plan to replace 3 hrs of the CHEM credit with a new software course in the junior year
  • Replace other 2 hrs of CHEM credit by increasing elective credits
  • Replace ASEN 4012 Materials with ASEN 1022 new materials taught in the freshman year that includes chemistry content relevant for the ASEN degree.
  • Consider a professional area elective on materials for the senior year
  • The new freshman level Aerospace Materials course will be offered in the spring semester of the freshman year.  Sophomores who didn’t have the class in their freshman year are allowed to take it in the spring of their sophomore year (to address the common first year issue).  One of the reasons why the new materials course is set to be offered in the spring of the freshman year is so that students who did not take chemistry in high school can take remedial chemistry in the fall of their freshman year as high school chemistry is the prerequisite for the new materials course.
  • The other change is that our Free Electives are now down to 4 credit hours total instead of 5 b/c starting in Fall 2012, GEEN 1500-1 will be required for all incoming freshmen.
  • Other courses are moved up in the curriculum for various reasons– for instance freshmen will take PHYS 1120 Physics 2 in the spring of their freshman year, ASEN 4013 propulsion has been moved up into the fall of the senior year, etc.

As part of the annual technical curriculum review process, during the 2011-12 academic year, Professor Lakshmi Kantha lead a review of thermodynamics and fluids curriculum.  This included a review of ASEN 2002, ASEN 3111, ASEN 3113 and ASEN 4013.  Professor Kantha authored a report on the topic and made a presentation at the annual retreat that has multiple pathways to consider, one of which was a major restructuring of the curriculum.  One of the conclusions was that we are not spending sufficient time on the topic of heat transfer.  Feedback from the senior project coordinator has supported this insight.  The consensus of the faculty at the retreat is to move forward with Professor Xinlin Li, who will be teaching ASEN 3113 in fall 2012, to develop an action plan based on the report of Professor Kantha to modify the curriculum and address the current concerns.  Professor Li will report back with his recommendations at the spring 2013 retreat.

Professor Ryan Starkey requested a change in the senior propulsion course textbook.  This change was reviewed by the undergraduate committee and approved.

The AES department discontinued the department administered senior survey in lieu of College senior survey.

The department undergraduate advising was restructured to reduce the load of 400+ students, almost 2x the recommended advising load, on Claire Yang.  This restructuring included the hiring of Lauren Cole.  Lauren’s job description include both student advising and department administration duties.  Lauren will be responsible for all of the incoming freshman and transfer students.  This will free up Claire’s time during the summer when there are significant orientation activities and allow Clair to do more strategic planning for the coming academic year.  The department also decided to transition all BS/MS student to graduate coordinator Ann Brookover.  Rising seniors who are continuing in the BS/MS program will be transitioned to Ann Brookover for advising.