SIGITE 2005 Workshops

H2: Assessment and Continuous Improvement

Barbara Price, Han Reichgelt, Diane Hamilton & Jim Leone

2:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Robert Treat Hotel

In line with many other accreditation agencies nationally and internationally, ABET CAC has moved to a model of accreditation that is based more on program educational objectives (defined as statements that describe the career and professional accomplishments that the program is preparing graduates to achieve) and program outcomes (defined as statements that describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation). A program seeking accreditation must therefore have formulated a set of program educational objectives and outcomes.

 However, merely formulating educational objectives and outcomes is not sufficient:  A program seeking accreditation must also have in place a documented process to assess the extent to which graduates meet these objectives and outcomes and to use the results of these assessments to improve the program.  The primary objective of the workshop is to provide an in-depth discussion of the assessment and continuous improvement process.  In particular, it discusses the type of questions that an assessment process is intended to answer and that program evaluators are likely to look for when they evaluate a program.  It will provide participants with the tools to select and/or create appropriate assessment instruments, and discuss some of the issues that a program will have to address in the implementation of an assessment process.  It will also discuss how the data gathered from assessment can be used to effect program improvement, and stress the importance of documenting both the assessment and the continuous improvement process, and the changes that have been made to the program as a result of the implementation of these processes.

The workshop presenters are thoroughly familiar with the ABET CAC Accreditation Criteria and have served either as team chair or program evaluators of programs in Information Systems, or as chairs of programs that have sought accreditation under the new ABET CAC Accreditation Criteria.

Workshop Outcomes

On completion of the workshop, participants will be able to:

•  Map program to program outcomes;

•  Describe a range of different assessment instruments;

•  Discuss some of the factors that need to be taken into account when selecting or creating an assessment instrument;

•  Explain how to use the results of the assessment to effect program improvement;

•  Explain the importance of documentation of the assessment and continuous improvement process, and of the results of the implementation of the process.

Intended Audience

The workshop is intended for programs seeking ABET CAC accreditation.  Participants are expected to be familiar with the ABET CAC Accreditation Criteria and know how to formulate program educational objectives and outcomes.  Those who are not familiar with the ABET CAC Accreditation Criteria or do not know how to formulate program educational objectives and outcomes are encouraged to attend the prior workshop on assessment and program outcomes.

Provisional Outline 

Registration is available through the SIGITE 2005 Registration Page.

Registration rate is: $90. each

Questions regarding any of these workshops should be directed to the Conference Co-Chair for Workshops, Jon Preston.