Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering

An Overview of the Assessment, Evaluation, and Improvement Process for the Program Outcomes

The following diagram of the annual cycle figure captures the typical annual cycle of assessment, evaluation, and improvement efforts for the program outcomes. A brief explanation of each box numbered 1 through 6 is as follows.

1. During the fall semester, specific changes are made to improve outcomes as recommended in the fall faculty retreat. Also, surveys are conducted for Year 1 and Year 3 alumni (e.g., all former students graduated last calendar year are Year 1 alumni) and graduating seniors. The Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies (ACUS), in consultation with CASCOM, Academic Advisor, and available outcome data, requests rubric-based direct measurement of a selected set of outcomes to the instructors of a selected set of required IE courses. The instructors complete and report the direct measurement of the outcomes.
2. Based on the available data, CASCOM assesses and evaluates the degree of achievement of outcomes. Also, CASCOM formulates a set of recommendations to be considered during the spring faculty retreat for improvements.
3. The faculty reviews a relevant set of data, CASCOM recommendations, and determines a course of action for improvement of outcomes.
4. During the spring semester, specific changes are made to improve outcomes as recommended in the spring faculty retreat. Also, a survey is conducted for graduating seniors. The ACUS, in consultation with CASCOM, Academic Advisor, and available outcome data, requests rubric-based direct measurement of a selected set of outcomes to the instructors of a selected set of required IE courses. The instructors complete and report the direct measurement of the outcomes.
5. Also in the spring semester, the outcome assessment efforts are summarized and reported to the Industrial Advisory Council (IAC), its feedback is obtained.
6. Based on the available data, CASCOM assesses and evaluates the degree of achievement of outcomes. Also, CASCOM formulates a set of recommendations to be considered during the fall faculty retreat for improvements.
7. The faculty reviews a relevant set of data, CASCOM recommendations, and determines a course of action for improvement of outcomes.

Annual Cycle of Outcome Assessment, Evaluation and Improvement (E&I)

During the faculty retreat, outcomes are targeted for improvement as determined by a consensus of the faculty. The data collection and reporting by CASCOM provides critical data to support this decision making activity. At least one coordinator per targeted outcome is chosen. The coordinators and/or the relevant faculty members make improvement efforts in their classes for the chosen outcome items. These outcomes are closely monitored for at least several semesters, and improvement efforts are continually made. In a subsequent retreat, the faculty may decide to add additional outcomes for improvement or may decide to focus on different outcomes if noticeable improvement for an outcome item can be seen from the collected data.

Examples of Improvement Efforts

During the faculty retreats of 2004 and 2005, the faculty decided to make improvement efforts for outcomes (h), (j), and (o).

For outcome (h), in the Fall 2005 semester, IE 305 was modified to include economic and environmental contexts for engineering solutions in the form of worked examples in class and homework problems dealing with oil depletion and the payoff from investments in hybrid cars, efficient motors, electric and alternative-fueled vehicles, and energy efficient lighting. In addition, in IE 441, pre- and post-test surveys on sustainability, global perspective, and design were administered to capstone design students to measure the impact of the course in these areas. A world map was placed in the IE 441 laboratory showing the global impact of decisions made with respect to senior design projects for specific business partners. This addressed outcome (o) as well. Furthermore, some faculty from outside the capstone design course have been invited to evaluate Sustainability and Social (including global impact) ramification papers. Even though this is an outcome item with some room to improve, we do observe that the average survey scores of recent semesters are better than the average survey scores of earlier semesters for graduating seniors.

For outcome (j), in Spring 2005, in IE 348, a writing assignment was given to evaluate methods of improving air quality in a manufacturing environment. This also addresses outcomes (h) and (g). Also, in IE 101, in Spring 2006, students were presented with a brief list of contemporary terms in Industrial Engineering. Next, the students were asked to review a fictional case study and then discuss several questions in small teams. Each team was asked to present their answers, and each individual student was asked to discuss in a paragraph what methods would likely be useful with respect to the case study. Even though this is an outcome item with some room to improve, we do observe that the average survey scores of recent semesters and years are better than the average survey scores of earlier semesters years for graduating seniors, Year 1 alumni, and Year 3 alumni.

For outcome (o), in Fall 2004, in IE 341, the students worked on a global supply chain project with international team members at University of Strathclyde, Scotland, via Internet. In Fall 2005, in IE 341, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and Monterrey Institute of Technology, Mexico, joined this international student team project, expanding the choices of collaboration for our students. Even though this is an outcome item with some room to improve, we do observe that the average survey scores of recent semesters and years are better than the average survey scores of earlier semesters years for graduating seniors and Year 1 alumni. Also, the average scores of the rubric grading seems increasing with respect to time.

In addition, for outcome (g), which is linked to the Objective 4, in IE 441, in Spring 2005, the “how to write” lecture was modified to include a team exercise of writing instructions and then review this task. In addition, specific emphasis was placed on punctuation during the semester, including handouts, websites, and a brief review during lecture. Furthermore, in Fall 2005, the lecture material regarding the communication process was included during the writing/presenting lectures. As this is an outcome item with some room to improve as pointed out by the industries in the objective evaluation process of 2004-2005, we are currently exploring ways to offer a professional communication course within the department.

Also, we note that, improvement efforts are made for numerous other outcome items whenever there are opportunities to do so. For example, in IE 341 in Fall 2005, within the framework of international teams, students were asked to assume strategic and tactical roles (multi-functional) and lead in different phases (strategic vs. tactical), addressing outcome items (d) and (p).

Other Development and Improvement Efforts

Additional efforts to further develop and improve the IE program are as follows.

1. Curriculum Flexibilities: With support from faculty, students, alumni, and industry, we maintain a substantial degree of curriculum flexibilities while experiencing the university-wide reduction and consolidation of courses due to budget difficulties. This approach has led us to offering four categories of electives (Social Sciences and Humanities, Management, Focus Electives, and Engineering Topics Electives) totaling 30 credits. Based on systematic feedback, it appears that numerous students and alumni appreciate further opportunity to develop their managerial knowledge and skills through the management electives and the engineering management electives (an area of Focus Electives). We also encourage extra-curricular and experiential education while maintaining a reasonable number of course requirements totaling 120.5 credits. This has contributed positively to the developments described in 3 and 4 below with outcome consequences.
2. The Problem Solving Learning Portal (PSLP): PSLP is a web based collaborative environment developed in the IMSE Department to improve students’ ability to solve ill structured engineering problems with the endorsement from faculty and Industry Advisory Council (IAC). The PSLP is a learning management system that includes a set of problem scenarios, multiple problem scenario information resources that can be requested by students, a multi-stage structure for the problem solving process, mechanisms for collecting information on cognitive activities, a repository that supports collaborative work in multiple formats for each student team, and feedback to teams on their progress. This development was originally funded by National Science Foundation, and is currently utilized in several required IE courses including IE 305, IE 312, and IE 341. This contributes to enhancement of outcome item (e) in particular.
3. Experiential Education: With active encouragement from the College of Engineering among others, in recent years, the academic advisor as well as numerous faculty members have emphasized the importance of the experiential education primarily consisting of co-op and internship programs and study abroad programs. As a result, in Fall 2005, 87% of the graduates of the IE program have at least three months of engineering related work experience before graduation (76% in the College). Also, 33% of these graduates have either international work or international academic experience (21% in the College). These two programs contribute to attainment of (f), (h), (i), (j), and (o) in particular.
4. IIE Student Chapter: With substantial number of IE majors as members, the student chapter of IIE has become significantly active. It typically organizes five professional and eight social activities per year as well as some community outreach. Many of the social activities involve practicing engineers presenting career information. ISU recently hosted the student regional conference (2002) and attained the Gold status (2003-2005) from IIE for its community outreach, events, and industry involvement. This contributes to the attainment of (h), (i), and (j).
5. Laboratory Enhancement: Since 2000, the department has continually made updates to its laboratories as well as adding a new laboratory. The latest laboratory is the Rapid Manufacturing and Prototyping laboratory. Updates to other laboratories include a modular fixturing set, DVT vision systems, and various software purchases. This contributes to the enhancement of (k) and (n).
6. IDEAL (InDustrial Engineers Are Leaders) Learning Community: It helps new freshman and transfer students adapt to the department and get to know the classmates they will work with until graduation. IDEAL students have access to peer mentors who can show them around campus, refer them to resources, and help with academics. Also available for advice and support are the professors who act as faculty mentors and some recent graduates who volunteer as alumni mentors - great resources for professional development and networking. In addition to taking courses together that satisfy degree requirements, IDEAL students enjoy other academic, service, and social activities to enrich their learning. This contributes to the enhancement of outcomes (d) and (p).
7. Concurrent BSIE/MBA Program: Even though the concurrent BS/MBA program is available for the entire College of Engineering, the majority of the students in this concurrent program are IE majors. A contributing factor is that IE majors are required to take two elective management courses. Another contributing factor is that the IE majors have an option to take two additional engineering management courses as their Focus Elective courses. This contributes to the enhancement of outcomes (h), (i), and (m) in particular.
8. With enthusiastic support from Industry Advisory Council (IAC), in Spring 2006, a small scale exploratory course in Kaizen was offered. The feedback from the students and hosting company (Deere) was excellent. An international version of this is planned for 2007. This effort contributes to the enhancement in (c), (d), (e), (g), and (p).