Instructor Course Surveys

Assessing Course Content

Instructor surveys are given to instructors at the beginning of each semester to provide departmental expectation of the topical coverage of a given course. Instructors complete the survey at the end of each semester to ensure the curriculum has sufficient breadth and depth , ensure adequate support, and to ensure that adequate coverage of electrical engineering topics is taking place in each area.

Surveys are divided into three parts:

• Section I covers the amount of design content, teamwork, and oral and written communication in a particular course.
• Section II surveys faculty opinion of student preparation, student professionalism, and if the course had adequate support and facilities.
• Section III is designed to verify coverage of specific topics in a specific course.

Sections I and II are the same for all courses, section III is course specific.

Once surveys are collected from faculty, the responses are tabulated by an ECEN staff member and individual surveys are then destroyed. The results of sections I and II are analyzed by the ABET committee to ensure adequate design content, opportunity to perform in-depth projects, and opportunity for written and oral communications. The results of section III are returned to the area faculty. The complete report is posted to the EC-2000 web site for public dissemination.

Section II: Results can be found at the bottom of the Program Level Assessment page.

Section III: Instructor survey graphs for specific courses. Instructor Course Survey Graphs

Actions

Several possible actions are anticipated following data collection and dissemination. These are listed below with recommended courses of action.

• Insufficient coverage.  If a course does not cover sufficient material to ensure students are prepared for later courses or to meet the program outcomes the area coordinator will meet with area faculty to modify the course to ensure sufficient coverage.
• Multiple courses cover the same material.  This shall be resolved within the area or through the undergraduate program committee if multiple areas are involved.
• Dated material.  If a faculty member feels the material in a course is outdated, they will petition the area coordinator to update the course. Course changes will be published to the faculty for comment before being implemented.
• Holes in the curriculum.   If an area feels that an important topic is not covered in the ECEN curriculum, they will petition the undergraduate program committee to evaluate the program. Recommendations for programmatic changes will be put forth by the undergraduate program committee and approved by the faculty before being adopted by an area.

All curriculum actions which affect more than one area shall be approved by the ECEN faculty and the ABET committee. If disagreements occur within an area or between areas which cannot be resolved through discussion, the conflict shall be mediated by the undergraduate program committee in consultation with the ECEN department head.