Assessing And Improving A Senior Design Project Course For Undergraduates In Mechanical Engineering Based On New Abet Guidelines

The Senior Design Project Course in Mechanical Engineering at the University of WisconsinPlatteville offers a format of instruction and student participation that is centered around industry sponsored projects. The course is designed to serve as a transition from education to the practice of engineering to the graduating engineering student. The course is designed at the same time to meet the educational objectives consistent with the new ABET guidelines which offer flexibility of setting, assessing, and improving the goals of the course in particular and the curriculum at large. This paper addresses the developments in format, content, instruction, and student participation and their relation to the assessment plans, evaluation, and improvements in the Senior Design Project course. Design Process, Time Management, and Engineering Ethics are discussed as examples of the variety of topics covered in the course. Samples of assessment plans, evaluation, and subsequent improvements are also discussed.