Mechanical engineering program assessment in the Schaefer school of engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology

The Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology has recently completed successfully its first ABET visit based on EC2000 criteria. The assessment system developed for the Mechanical Engineering Program within the School are presented with emphasis on the outcomes assessment strategy developed and samples of the assessment instruments/tools that were designed. These include course-level assessment of student performance, program-level assessment tools and assessment at the School of Engineering level. In particular, an innovative technique for direct assessment at the course level is developed to demonstrate achievement of course outcomes and it is based on the instructor assessment of student performance. This method relies on the instructor's predetermined set of announced standards of performance needed to achieve the course outcomes. Furthermore, a unique method for evaluating achievement of program outcomes has been developed. It provides a systematic mechanism that combines all the results from the various program-level assessment tools to determine an overall rating for the program for each outcome and guidelines for taking corrective action for continuous improvement.