2014-2015 Annual Assessment Report - Environmental 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 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?

The faculty approved revised outcomes in spring 2014, but these revisions were too late to appear in the 2014/2015 catalog; they were published in the 2015/2016 catalog. The revised outcomes each align more specifically and individually to the ABET EAC criterion 3a-k outcomes.  During a review by a Joint Evaluation Committee in spring 2015, revisions to the objectives were recommended. Revised objectives were approved by a vote of the EVEN faculty in fall 2015.  Again, these changes missed the deadline to appear in the 2016/2017 catalog but should appear for 2017/2018.

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, and the results from the graduating senior 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).  A new external assessment method was instituted in 2014/2015. This aligned the EVEN program with other degrees in the CEAE department.  As such, environmental courses serving both the civil engineering (CVEN) and EVEN degree were reviewed by a Joint Evaluation Committee (JEC) in spring 2015. The JEC was comprised of engineers (who both employ our students and/or were alumni of our program), students (both CVEN and EVEN), and faculty. The JEC process will continue each year, with a rotating focus on different courses in the curriculum, and exploring the overall program outcomes.

In spring 2015 the courses specifically examined by the JEC included: CVEN 3414 Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering, CVEN 4333 Engineering Hydrology, the civil engineering version of fluid mechanics (CVEN 3313), and courses in the water option (CVEN 3323 Hydraulic Engineering, CVEN 3424 Water and Wastewater Treatment, and CVEN 4353 Groundwater Engineering). The JEC recommendations related to EVEN included: changing the program objectives, increase emphasis on communication skills, increase lab experience, increase exposure to digital drawing/drafting, improve advising to help students select better electives, and consider offering fewer than the current 7 options. During the 2015/2016 academic year the faculty will be discussing these recommendations to determine what course of action to take, as well as passing these ideas on to the next JEC in order to see if a different group of professionals (without a water bias) will agree.

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

Based on feedback from constituents, the program outcomes and objectives have been recently modified.  The transition to the assessment associated with the revised outcomes identified two areas of concern; the FE exam results indicated two topics of concern. Thus, topics within courses and courses required in the curriculum are being actively evaluated.  However, overall the assessment and evaluation results indicate that our program is strong and generally meeting our goals.