Cooperative Education as the Catalyst for Effective and Efficient Assessment of ABET Student Learning Outcomes for an Engineering Program

A comprehensive approach to industry partnerships can provide multiple types of measures and feedback mechanisms to assess student learning outcomes in an engineering program. At Grand Valley State University, a cooperative education program is the catalyst for developing and maintaing industry partnerships that provide consistent and regular external constituent input on students‟ knowldege, skills and abilities related to ABET student learning outcomes [1] . Constituent input regarding students‟ knowledge and preparation is provided in multiple and varied ways through direct feedback mechanisms in the workplace. Input is obtained at various levels, ranging from student-specific to program-level feedback. Individual employers are engaged in student and curricular assessment at various levels and multiple times throughout the curriculum. The framework for assessment and assessment plans are detailed, and examples are provided that demonstrate how this information is evaluated and used for curricular improvement. The cooperative education program provides assessment of student learning outcomes on a continuous (every semester), annual basis. Online tools allow for easy collection and summarization of input related to student outcomes. In addition to employer input on student abilities, students are required to complete online, distance-learning modules during each cooperative education semester which allow for additional direct measurement of student learning outcomes. The relationships developed through the cooperative education program lead to different forms of involvement by the employer constituents, including course projects, senior capstone experiences/projects, and advisory boards. These directly address ABET‟s criteria that students are prepared for engineering practice through a curriculum incorporating appropriate engineering standards and multiple realistic constraints [2] .