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

"The educational objective of the environmental engineering bachelor of science degree is to produce graduates who reach the following achievements three to five years after graduation:

  • become established in professional careers and/or earn advanced degrees;
  • apply multidisciplinary approaches to manage the unique challenges and balance the competing social, political, economic, and technical goals of environmental problems and solutions; and
  • serve the needs of our society and protect the future of our planet in an ethical manner.

Program Outcomes.  The Environmental Engineering Program demonstrates that its graduates:

  • have sufficient knowledge of engineering, mathematics, and science fundamentals to succeed in environmental engineering practice or advanced degrees;
  • have sufficient knowledge of advanced environmental engineering applications and complementary natural sciences to succeed in environmental engineering practice or advanced degrees;
  • have sufficient knowledge of engineering approaches to problem solving (hypothesis, design, testing; team work) to succeed in environmental engineering practice or advanced degrees;
  • have sufficient knowledge of basic engineering skills and tools (computer, laboratory, and field) to succeed in environmental engineering practice or advanced degrees;
  • have adequate writing and oral presentation skills to succeed in environmental engineering practice or advanced degrees;
  • have adequate understanding of the social, economic, political, and ethical context of environmental problems and solutions;
  • have adequate opportunity to include service at the local, state, national, or global levels as an important part of their environmental engineering education; and
  • recognize the importance of life-long learning by seeking advanced degrees and pursuing continuing education."

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?

No revisions were made to the program objectives; these have remained the same since our previous ABET self-study in 2011.  These goals are reviewed by a professional advisory board that meets once every one to two years.  The curriculum that allows us to meet these goals is also reviewed by this group.  In addition, the faculty review the curriculum and achievement of our goals each year. The environmental engineering faculty voted to revise the program outcomes in spring 2014.  The revised outcomes map more directly and cleanly to the required ABET 3a-k outcomes.  Assessment will also be enhanced because these outcomes are more similar to those in the partner programs for EVEN (civil engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering).  These new goals will be published in the 2014-2015 catalog.

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

The program assessed the achievement of the program objectives primarily via the results from the alumni survey, which is administered each summer.  The program assessed the achievement of the program outcomes primarily via the success of our senior students who are required to take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, the results from the graduating senior survey, and the post- graduation survey.  In addition, the contribution of specific courses in the curriculum toward meeting the program outcomes are reviewed by students each semester in Faculty Course Questionnaires (FCQs). 

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

The alumni survey and senior survey have long indicated that the requirement to take a Physical Chemistry course is not particularly useful.  Therefore, a new curriculum was voted in to replace the Physical Chemistry requirement with a requirement to take a course focused on sustainability and life cycle assessment in the sophomore year.  Students entering the EVEN program in fall 2013 began this new curriculum, and will take the sustainability course in spring 2015.  Otherwise, the outcomes assessment and in particular the percentage of EVEN students who pass the FE exam indicate that our program is strong.