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."

During the last review period, what revisions, if any, have been made to your curriculum goals as stated in the CU course catalog? What is your schedule for such curriculum review?

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.

Summarize the means you have employed to assess your success in attaining those 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 2013 (6 respondents)
  • The Senior Survey for AY 2012-2013 (21 respondents)
  • The Post-Graduation Survey for CY 2012 (15 respondents)
  • The Alumni Survey for Summer 2013 (only 3 respondents)
  • The Internship Survey from Fall 2013 (31 respondents)
  • The Employer Survey for AY 2010-2011 (54 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. Six courses (ECEN 1030, 2420, 3350, 3410, 2410/2020, 3810) were assessed in detail as part of the 3-year rotation of course assessments for ABET. The overall results were discussed in the undergraduate Curriculum Committee which has the responsibility for recommending curriculum changes for approval by the faculty of the department.

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

The EE program is still in the transition phase towards the implementation of the new revised curriculum that started in Fall 2009. The student cohort that entered the program in 2009 was in the senior year during the reporting period. The biggest change that the students saw was the new 1-year Capstone Laboratory course. The transition from one semester to one year allows for a more in-depth design experience that emphasizes functional decomposition, modeling, and more extensive testing in the first semester before the actual project modules are implemented and integrated. The additional semester also allowed for the inclusion of material on good software design practice and on ethical and legal issues. Emphasis is also placed on teamwork, oral presentations, and the discussion of contemporary issues. The book that is used for the Capstone Laboratory is "Design for Electrical and Computer Engineers" by R.M. Ford and C.S. Coulston.

Other, smaller changes, were proposed and/or implemented in the courses that were reviewed as part of the 3-year review cycle.

  • In ECEN 1030 (Programming for ECEs) the treatment of ODEs in C has been removed and replaced by polynomial curve fitting in Matlab. Also, the treatment of linked lists has been reduced significantly since the students see that material in later courses.
  • For ECEN 2420 (Electronics for Wireless Systems) a co-requisite of ECEN 2250 (Introduction to Circuits and Electronics) has been added. It is also recommended to start early with the building of the NorCal 40A transceiver and to build it up and test it in a modular fashion.

For ECEN 2410/2010 it is recommended to use more examples that emphasize not only qualitative but also quantitative behavior of embedded processors, e.g., by determining the actual size and specific addresses of memory and the specific locations and detailed commands of peripherals.