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

"The department prepares its graduates to make significant contributions in many diverse areas. Specifically, within a few years of graduation our graduates will have achieved one or more of the following attributes:

  • In their chosen field, be established in a professional career, be pursuing an advanced degree or be seeking advanced certification.
  • Be recognized as academic, industrial or entrepreneurial leaders.
  • Be successfully working and communicating in a variety of technical fields.
  • Be adapting to new technologies and changing professional environments.

Program Outcomes

At the time of graduation, graduates will demonstrate:

  • an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
  • an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
  • an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
  • an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
  • an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
  • an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
  • the appropriate written and verbal communication skills required to communicate effectively
  • the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
  • a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in, lifelong learning
  • a knowledge of contemporary issues
  • an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice"

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?

There have been no changes to the curriculum goals during the last review period.  The curriculum goals were last revisited/modified during the 2011/2012 academic year.  Input is obtained from Alumni Surveys with regards to curriculum goals as well as from the Undergraduate Education Advisory Council (UEAC), which meets approximately every 3 years.  Curriculum goals will be revisited during the 2015/2016 academic year.  Back in 2011/2012 when the goals were last revisited by the UEAC, the members recommended that changes not be made too frequently because it does not provide enough time to implement changes and observe the actions of those changes. 

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

The Department has in place a process for evaluating to what extent the program goals are met.  The program relies on surveys of our alumni (Alumni Survey) as well as surveys of employers of our graduates (Employer Survey) and graduates post-graduation (Post-Grad Survey).  At the conclusion of each academic year, the Alumni Survey is sent to alumni who graduated roughly 4 years prior.  The Employer Survey is sent out in January of every third year; this was last administered during the spring semester of 2014.

The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam has also traditionally been used to evaluate objectively how our students compare to other students nationwide in a variety of engineering areas.  The exam also allows us to determine any deviations or changes in various topic areas over time.  However, in recent years, fewer and fewer students have been taking the exam.  In particular, we noticed a marked decrease in the number of students taking the exam in December of 2014 and June of 2015.  In the spring of 2015, the department made some changes to try to encourage more students to take the optional exam.  These changes included the department paying for half of the exam (increased from 1/3) and two reminders each semester about the importance of the exam.  It is important to note that in contrast to other fields of study, chemical engineers do not need to pass the FE exam for professional licensure or certification.  Only a single student took the exam in December of 2014 and only a single student took the exam in June of 2015.  Therefore, we have decided for the time being to exclude FE results from our analysis.

In addition to the surveys mentioned above, the department receives course-specific feedback in the form of Faculty Course Questionnaires (FCQs) as well as periodic direct assessment of outcomes in various courses each year.

The Undergraduate Committee compiles survey results and compares the results to the targets that were previously set.  In this way, the committee can identify areas of weaknesses and synthesize recommendations for the faculty.  Finally, changes are implemented to address these areas of weakness.

In summary, the following surveys and modalities are implemented to make continuous program changes:

  • Senior Survey (data from December 2014 and May and August 2015 graduates) – assessment of program outcomes
  • Post-Grad Survey (given to alumni about 6 months after graduation; data from May, August and December 2014 available)
  • Employer Survey - A college-level Employer Survey was implemented for the first time in the spring of 2008 and most recently administered in the spring of 2014.  This survey was administered to employers of our graduates.
  • Alumni Survey - Approximately 4 years after graduation from the ChBE program, alumni are asked questions that relate directly to attainment of the Program Educational Objectives.  Data from the summer of 2015 (2011 graduates) are included here.
  • Faculty Course Questionnaires - End-of-semester evaluations made by students in each class
  • Direct outcomes assessment in various courses on a periodic basis

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

Student outcomes (ABET 3a-k) are assessed on a calendar year basis.  In the spring of 2015, the 2014 results were evaluated.  Data from the surveys mentioned above were analyzed and scores of “A” through “F” were given to each outcome as a whole.  Unfortunately, outcome K received a “D” score (all other outcomes received “A” or “B” scores).  According to the departmental assessment procedures, no remedial action is *required* if an outcome receives a score of “A” or “B” and the next assessment of that outcome in that course is in three years.  In these cases, optional improvements can be made if an instructor of a course wishes to do so.  Many instructors continue to make course improvements.  However, if an outcome receives a score of “C” or “D” then that outcome must be re-assessed in two years (for “C”) or the following year (for “D”) and changes must be implemented in the courses that address that outcome.  Consequently, changes that emphasize use of computing tools have been implemented in the following courses (see specific changes below): CHEN 1310 (Introduction to Computing), CHEN 3010 (Applied Data Analysis), and CHEN 4520 (Design).

Overall, the results of program outcome assessment have been positive, with only outcome (k) (computing) receiving a score of “C” or lower over the last evaluation period.  Traditionally, about 50-65% of all freshman have taken GEEN 1300 (also recently cross-listed as COEN 1300) from a faculty member of ChBE.  However, the remaining 35-50% of the students have taken the course from a different department.  Due to the deficiencies identified related to outcome (k) (computing), the department decided in the spring of 2015 to begin teaching a department-specific computing course (CHEN 1310 - Intro to Computing).  In this way, we hope to ensure a quality first-year computing experience; ALL students in ChBE must take CHEN 1310, which will only be taught by ChBE faculty.

To further improve the shortcomings in computing, the instructor of CHEN 2120 (Material and Energy Balances) assigned two computer-based problems during the semester (in addition to the regular homework, which is typically done by hand on paper).  Students were required to prepare the solution in Microsoft Excel, which is a typical computing platform that would be used in industry.  Furthermore, significant efforts were made for students to solve in-class problems using Excel; the instructor encouraged students to bring laptops to class approximately 4 times during the semester to improve computing skills.  One of the instructors of CHEN 4520 (Design) added a Monte Carlo simulation to the mini design report requirements to highlight a computing tool used to evaluate randomness and uncertainty in complex processes.  Finally, in the computer-heavy course CHEN 3010 (Applied Data Analysis), the instructors have recently implemented a policy requiring laptops of all students.  Students can access sophisticated statistical software via a university-supported "virtual desktop".  By making computing tools more readily available to all students (as opposed to the previous method where students had to work through workshops as a group during class on workstations - and usually only one or two students really understood what was going on), the hope is that this will improve computing skills in this course.

One outcome that appeared to be performing quite well is outcome (j) (a knowledge of contemporary issues). However, when we take a closer look at some of the survey results, this outcome is really earning a “B-” (i.e. close to needing improvement).  Year after year this outcome receives an overall grade of “B” (and the occasional “A”); however, alumni and senior survey results indicate that there is a lot of room for improvement with this outcome.  Some of the biggest changes related to this outcome have been done in the CHEN 1300 (Intro to Chemical Engineering).  In particular, the instructor of CHEN 1300 has recently implemented over the last 2 years a 5-7-minute segment in the beginning of each class where she talks about one ChBE field.  She explains some of the research going on in general and ends with discussing the research related to this field that is being done in the ChBE department.  In addition, the instructor has also recently implemented one panel talk per semester in one of the following four areas: Bioengineering, Materials, Energy, or Alternative Energy.  Several alumni and/or employers in that specific field are invited to briefly talk about their work and are available to answer questions.  These course improvements that have been phased into CHEN 1300 gradually over the last several years have undoubtedly led to the improvement in senior survey results related to knowledge of contemporary issues.

Finally, the faculty voted in the spring of 2015 to teach CHEN 4090 (Senior Seminar) in the spring semester of students' senior year to coincide more with job searches, etc.