2011-2012 Annual Assessment Report - Electrical 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 primary mission of the ECEE department is:

  • To provide relevant and highly respected undergraduate EE and ECE degree programs to on-campus students.
  • To provide excellent graduate degree programs in electrical engineering.
  • To advance industry in the state of Colorado and the nation, as well as the accumulated knowledge of mankind through our high quality research programs.
  • To use our on-campus educational activities to provide high-quality continuing education programs for off-campus students.

The objectives of the EE degree program are that during the first several years after completion of their baccalaureate studies (BS):

  • EE-1    Graduates will be situated in growing careers involving the design, development or support of electrical or electronic systems, devices, instruments, or products, or will be successfully pursuing an advanced degree.
  • EE-2    Graduates will have advanced in professional standing based on their technical accomplishments and will have accumulated additional technical expertise to remain globally competitive.
  • EE-3    Graduates will have demonstrated professional and personal leadership and growth.”

The goals of the EE BS program are reviewed at least once a year at faculty meetings.   In addition, the curriculum goals are discussed at the twice yearly meetings of the Industrial Advisory Board (IAB). The faculty and the IAB concur that the goals as stated above are still current and accurate.

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

A number of assessment instruments are administered by the College of Engineering and Applied Science to gather relevant data for the EE program. The surveys that were used for this assessment report are:

  • The Freshman Survey from Spring 2012 (9 respondents)
  • The Senior Survey for AY 2011-2012 (33 respondents)
  • The Post-Graduation Survey for CY 2011 (14 respondents)
  • The Alumni Survey for Summer 2012 (only 4 respondents, 1 incomplete)
  • The Internship Survey from Fall 2012 (16 respondents)

The Faculty Course Questionnaires (FCQs) administered at the Campus level were used to assess individual courses and instructors, together with graded student materials sampled from individual courses. Eight courses (ECEN 2250, 2260, 3300, 3400, 2830/2270, 2350, 3250, 4610) were assessed in detail as part of the 3-year rotation of course assessment for ABET. In addition two teams of faculty from the department analyzed the sequence of analog and digital core courses. The overall results were then discussed in the undergraduate Curriculum Committee which has the responsibility for recommending curriculum changes for approval by the faculty of the department.

What has the department/program concluded with respect to the outcomes of its undergraduate curriculum?

The EE Program is currently undergoing a major revision which started in Fall 2009. The revision introduces more flexibility for the students and offers a variety of specializations in the senior year through the choice of two track courses. Core courses which were 5 credit hours and had an associated lab are now 3 credit hours and the labs are consolidated into two major design lab experiences, one covering analog electronics and one covering digital electronics. Since the transition is still in progress, it is difficult to draw final conclusions. But results from the analog core courses and the associated design lab look strong in terms of fulfilling the program objectives and the ABET student outcomes 3a...3k. Some of the recommendations are to give students a pre-laboratory hardware experience in the form of homeworks with personal electronic devices such as the MyDAQ platform from National Instruments or the DE0 boards from Altera/Terasic. 

From the Senior Survey data several conclusions can be drawn. Students are satisfied with CU in general (71.9% in the top 2 categories) and with their major in particular (68.8% in the top 2 categories), and 68.8% would recommend the major without or with some reservations. The average annual salary of the newly graduated students (1 BS/MS, 4 BS) is $66,800.

Regarding the self-assessment of ABET student outcomes 3a...3k, the ratings vary between 3.09 and 4.06 (on a scale from 1...5) with the high end for criteria 3i (recognition of need/ability to engage in lifelong learning) and 3e (ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems) and with the low for criterion 3j (knowledge of contemporary issues). The recommendation here is to put more emphasis on criterion 3j into the new 2-semester capstone course sequence.

What changes in the curriculum or in major requirements have occurred as a result of your assessment of your undergraduate program?

EE students now take two sophomore elective classes and three advanced core courses (ECEN 3250, Microelectronics, ECEN 3300, Linear Systems, ECEN 3400, EM Fields and Waves). Starting in Fall 2011 the advanced core courses are redesigned 3 credit-hour classes. A newly designed digital course which incorporates a personal FPGA board (DE0 board), ECEN 3350, Programming Digital Systems, was offered for the first time in Fall 2011 and a newly designed lab course ECEN 3000/3360 was introduced in Spring 2012. Also in Spring 2012 the one-semester Capstone course was offered for the last time and simultaneously preparations were undertaken for the design and implementation of the new 2-semestor Capstone course.

Smaller revisions and adjustments included the recommendation to teach Spice simulations in ECEN 2250, Introduction to Circuits and Electronics, and to require Matlab and C Programming as prerequisite for the Electronics Design Lab (ECEN 2830/2270). Adjustments were also made to the prerequisites for the Capstone course. All core courses (including ECEN 3810, Introduction to Probability) must now be completed before the first Capstone course. The advanced core courses can be taken concurrently with the first semester of the Capstone course.