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Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education
___________________________________________________________________________
1675
Research Article
Vol.12 No.6 (2021), 1675-1688
Information Systems Outcomes based Assessment
at Jouf University for
ABET Accreditation
A. A. Abd El-Aziz
Dept. of Information Systems
College of Computer and Information Sciences Jouf University, KSA
Email: aaeldamarany@ju.edu.sa FGSSR, Cairo University, Egypt
Saleh N Almuayqil
Dept. of Information Systems
College of Computer and Information Sciences Jouf University, KSA Email:snmuayqil@ju.edu.sa
Ahmed Alsayat
College of computer and Information Sciences Jouf University, KSA Email:asayat@ju.edu.sa
Madallah Alriwili
College of computer and Information Sciences Jouf University, KSA Email:madallah@ju.edu.sa
Article History: Received: 10 November 2020; Revised 12 January 2021 Accepted: 27 January 2021;
Published online: 5 April 2021
________________________________________________________________
Abstract
The Accreditation Board for Engineering and
Technology (ABET) Criteria for Computing Accreditation
Commission Programs are based upon knowledge,
presentation skills, communication skills, team work
and
leadership skills that the students gain through
the curriculum in a program. The student outcomes
(SOs)
are the procured skills and knowledge which
the student accomplishes through the curriculum. Each
program needs to have its own SOs and to evaluate it
as per defined assessment cycle, just as to accomplish
program educational objectives (PEOs). The continuous
improvement plan depended on assessment and
evaluation
of the program SOs and PEOs. In this paper, an
advancement cycle for continuous improvement, for
Information systems (IS) program at College of Computer
and Information Sciences (CIS), Jouf University,
Sakaka,
Aljouf, Saudi Arabia, to accomplish the accreditation is
discussed. The proposed cycle is appropriate
to get the
accreditation for bachelor program in information systems
discipline and to fulfill the ABET criteria.
In result, we
will show how the SOs and PEOs were surveyed and
assessed through curriculum accordingly.
Based on these
processes, ABET team has visited CIS college, which had
accomplished extraordinary
achievement and all of the
programs have completely accredited on August 2018 and
the next visit to the
computing and engineering programs
will be on 2026.
Keywords—ABET, Student outcome, Program
educational objectives, Assessment, Evaluation,
Continuous
Improvement, .
________________________________________________________________
I.
I
NTRODUCTION
The ABET Accreditation process is performed by
four accreditation commissions. Each
commission sets
accreditation norms for explicit program areas and
degree levels [2]. ABET
Information Systems Outcomes based Assessment at Jouf University for ABET Accreditation
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accreditation guarantees that
the program has gained international acknowledgment
of its quality.
Accreditation is a voluntary certified
system for computing programs, managed by perceived
professional bodies. It is likewise a positive move
towards making sure about legitimacy, granting
accredited computing programs their meriting honor
and regard through continued proceeded with
proficient
advancement. Internationally, ABET has been thought
of as one of the profoundly
regarded bodies that lead
this cycle.
ABET Criteria tends to the effectiveness of computing
education programs by zeroing in on an
assessment
and evaluation [4], [8], [10], [11], [12], [13] measure
that guarantees the
accomplishment of a bunch of
educational objectives and outcomes. A significant
component of
these criteria is the foundation of a
continuous improvement process. Outcomes based
assessment
process centers around what the students
learned or what they really can do at the time
of
graduation. In its accreditation criteria, ABET
Criteria for Computing depends upon the
knowledge,
presentation skills, communication skills, team work
and leadership skills that the
students evolve through the curriculum in a program.
Jouf University is multi-campus university comprising
of three campuses in Sakaka, Tabarjal and
Qurayyat.
Moreover, every campus comprises of two sections one
for male students and one for
female students. However,
all programs (Computer Science, Information Systems
and Computer
Engineering and Networks) in the CIS
College are indistinguishable for the two sections. Each
section has its own vice-dean yet common departments
head and one Dean of faculty for the two
sections.
With an end goal to improve and keep up the quality
of computing and engineering
education offered by
the CIS’s programs, the College CIS started external
assessments conducted
by the ABET. This cycle was
arranged at first to ensure that what the programs offer,
are identical
to their peer programs around the world,
moreover, to fulfill the alumni and society needs.
To satisfy ABET criteria; IS program set up the PEOs
and SOs. This has experienced number of
preliminaries
and changes made by IS department council. The
Industrial Advisory Committee
(IAC) and the program
alumni were the primary tools for the evaluation
of PEOs and SOs,
while faculty and exit students
evaluated only the SOs. Assessment of PEOs and SOs
show
ordinarily he qualities and shortcomings of the
entire educational process. Accordingly,
continuous
improvement processes were set to expand on the
qualities and to beat the
shortcomings. Moreover,
the improvement cycle should present the available
documentation
processes normally utilized in making
decisions with respect to program improvement. The
implementations of these methodologies were made
by re-examining the curriculum, teaching
methods, lab
facilities [3]. In this paper, an advancement cycle for
continuous improvement for
IS program is introduced.
The proposed cycle is pertinent to get the accreditation
for bachelor
program in information systems discipline
and to fulfill the ABET criteria. In result, we will show
how the SOs and PEOs assessed and evaluated through
curriculum accordingly.
II.
CRITERIA 1:STUDENTS
Jouf University has unified affirmation methodology
for conceding also, following the
advancement of
all students through the Deanship of Admissions
and Registration. These rules
depend on also,
steady with the overall principles of the Saudi
Arabian Ministry of Education
are accessible on the Deanship of Admissions and Registration site
at
http://dar.ju.edu.sa/structures/list laws E.pdf. All,
reasonable students are at first conceded
by the Deanship
of Admissions and Registration to a Common First
Year (CFY) where students
must learn fundamental
courses completely trained by English language before
being admitted to
their ideal faculties. Up to June 2019,
an aggregate of 249 students have registered in the IS
program.
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Vol.12 No.6 (2021), 1675-1688
Letter of Grade
Mark
Average Point
A+
95
5.00
A
90-94
4.75
B+
85-89
4.50
B
80-84
4.00
C+
75-79
3.50
C
70-74
3.00
D+
65-69
2.50
D
60-64
2.00
F
Below 60
1.00
A.
Student Admissions
The University Council determines the number of
students to be admitted in the upcoming
academic year
according to the recommendations of Colleges’ Councils.
Selection of admitted
students from applicants who meet
all admission requirements is taken on the basis of
their grades
in the general secondary certificate, personal
interviews and admission tests (if any).
B.
Evaluating Student Performance
The IS program is a semester system. Every
academic year comprises fundamentally of two
academic
semesters and every academic semester has length of
15 weeks. Moreover, there is one summer semester
with length of about two months. In summer
semester,
the duration of each course is twice its duration of
a regular academic semester. The
IS program is a
four-year program with one year for Common First
Year. Student progresses in the
study in accordance with
the implementation rules approved by the University
Council. Study plans
for the undergraduate study are
designed for a minimum of eight semesters. The grades
of semester
works are calculated by two written tests at
least, quiz, homework, mini project and presentations.
Student’s grade obtained in each course is calculated as
follows:
TABLE I
GRADIN G SY STEMS AT JOUF UNIVERSITY
C.
Advising and Career Guidance
An Academic student guide is available in
Arabic language on the website of the
Deanship
of Admission and Registration, the URL is:
http://dar.ju.edu.sa/forms/Acadmic
Student.pdf.
One
of the academic advising objectives is to
guarantee
that students enrolled in the program, satisfy all
the university, faculty and department
requirements
and graduate on schedule. To understand this, it is
imperative to keep up a continuous
monitoring of the
academic performance and progress of the students, and
whenever required,
students are advised on the course
choices that they should register in every semester. This
monitoring is encouraged through a study plan created
by the department. Each student as
provided with an
academic guide from the same department as long as
the student remains in the
college. The academic guide
exhorts the student until his graduation. The academic
guide observes
the student’s achievement, redresses any
blunders what’s more, noticed lacks, controls the student
in
arrangement of the graduation plan and assists with
choosing the elective courses and appropriate
subject for
senior plan project to meet his graduation plan. Other
responsibilities of the academic
advisors may include:
•
Monitoring the absence of the student: Monitoring
the absence of students from the functions
of the
professor of the course, and the academic advisor to
follow up cases referred to him by
the coordinators
guidance in accordance with the plan.
•
Coaching about students’ add and drop of courses
procedures.
•
Providing students with direct and indirect access
to the expertise of college members outside
the
classroom.
•
Advise the students of their career opportunities.
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D.
Career Guidance
Workshops are conducted during the studying for
students in the early stages of how to choose
a career
path. Moreover, in each academic year prior to the
commencement of the practical
examinations, the college
participates in the professional day. On a professional
day, several
workshops are held to teach students how
to write a C.V., how to conduct interviews and how to
choose the right job. On a professional day, the university
invites a group of companies specializing in
Information
Technology, where they are presented with graduation
projects for senior students and
graduates.
E.
Graduation Requirements
A student graduates after completion of the graduation
requirements successfully according to
the study plan,
provided that his/her cumulative GPA is no less than pass
grade. The graduation
requirements for bachelor degree
in IS are depicted in Fig. 1:
Fig. 1. Graduation Requirements for Bachelor Degree in IS
F.
Transfer Students and Transfer Courses
The transfer requirements are available on the website
of the Deanship of Admission and
Registration, the
URL is: http://dar.ju.edu.sa/forms/list laws E.pdf. The
transfer of a student from
outside the University or from
one College to another could be approved if the student
satisfies
the rules set out by the Deanship of Admission
and Registration and approved by the University
Council.
Moreover, a student may transfer from one major to
another within a college, upon
the Dean’s approval,
in accordance with the rules set out by the University
Council.
III.
CRITERIA 2: PROGRAM EDUCATIONAL
OBJECTIVES (PEOS)
ABET’s evaluation of a program essentially begins
with the evaluation of how PEOs help
in achieving
the institution’s mission. Therefore, ABET requires
discussion on how PEOs are
consistent with the mission
of the institution and is there a review process in place
for the PEOs.
Meeting this requirement may require
some revision of the PEOs and the mission. In our case
we
had to rewrite the mission and PEOs.
A.
Jouf University Mission
Providing distinguished education and research
outcomes to develop the community.
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B.
College Mission
Preparation of qualified scientific cadres in the
various fields of computing through innovative
education
and scientific research, which develops creative and
analytical abilities that can serve the
society.
C.
Department Mission
Preparation of qualified scientific cadres in the
various fields of information systems through
innovative
education and scientific research, which develops
creative and analytical abilities that can
serve the society.
D.
Program Educational Objectives (PEOs)
The program with its different constituents examined
the ABET requirements for the improvement
of the
PEOs in progressive meetings by focusing on the
principle components of the university’s
mission, for
example, innovative information, research and expert
community services. Each one of
those components is
the key center purposes of PEOs of the IS program.
Those PEOs will
assist with imagining the future of
potential and current students selected the IS program.
After
a few departmental meetings, the department with
assistance of its constituents affirmed the
accompanying
PEOs, in that the IS program graduates are set up to:
•
PEO-1: Contribute to the development of growth
of the society by applying Information
System in
various domains.
•
PEO-2: Advance in their careers by starting their
own business or as managers in
organizations by
applying information systems & communication
skills in the evolving
business and technological
issues.
•
PEO-3: Continue their professional development
through advanced studies and research.
1) Consistency of the Program
Educational
Objectives with the Mission of the
Institution:
The department knew that the created PEOs serve
the mission of the Jouf
University as appeared in
Fig. 2 The department’s PEOs are centered around
key
components of the Jouf university’s mission by
conveying the students with basic information,
devices
and aptitudes of science and innovation to meet the
key prerequisites of public and
private association.
Moreover, they improve the knowledge and expertise
based culture to
serve different communities while
decidedly sway the environment.
Fig. 2. Consistency of PEOs with Jouf Universitys Mission
E.
Program Constituencies
The program constituencies are those who must be
satisfied with the performance of the IS
program. The
significant groups of constituencies of the IS program are
included but not restricted
to students, alumni, faculty
and employer and most importantly to the program
Industrial
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Advisory Committee:
•
Faculty: IS faculty members are involved on regular
basis in the assessment processes.
•
Students: current IS students are interested in
whether the IS program adequately prepares
them
for future employment.
•
Alumni: this group consists of recent graduates
who have been employed for most two years.
They
should have the incentives to assess the quality of
PEOs based on their career
achievements.
•
Employers (government, industry and universities):
employers’ satisfaction with our students’
education
provides measure of the program success. Their
satisfaction translates to
employment opportunities
for our students.
•
Industrial Advisory Committee (IAC): this group
plays a major role in program evaluation,
advising,
improvement, and development.
The following figure shows how IS PEOs meet the
needs of its constituencies:
F.
Process for Review of the Program Educational
Objectives
The IS program uses the following process to
periodically review the program educational
objectives
so that they remain consistent with Jouf University
mission, the different constituents’
needs, and the ABET
CAC criteria:
1)
The program reviews the PEOs and may produce
a draft for a new PEOs formulation under
the he most proficient method to improve the program.
2)
The program disperses surveys to students, the program Alumni and faculty members looking for
their assessment with respect to the ampleness of the PEOs.
3)
The contribution from the past constituencies is investigated statistically and another PEOs draft is
created.
4)
The new proposed PEOs are discussed and endorsed by the department council. The last affirmed
PEOs will at that point be distributed in all the program reports (site, handouts, announcement,
and so forth).
Fig. 3. Mapping of Constituents’ Needs to PEOs
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following circumstances:
a)
A change in the University mission. A
request for change coming from members of
one or more of the programs main
constituencies.
b)
A change in the ABET CAC [1] criteria
affecting the PEOs
c)
A change in the vision of national and
international professional societies regarding
information systems practice.
d)
Under all circumstances, however, a major
periodic review of the PEOs will be
conducted every three to four years.
5)
The department council meeting discusses the new
PEOs draft and may suggest some
changes.
6)
The assessment of the program fundamental
constituencies is looked for:
•
The department sorts out a meeting of the
Program Advisory Committee to survey the
PEOs. After conversation, the individuals from
the Advisory Committee round out a
study
about the sufficiency of the proposed PEOs
and any suggestions on the most
proficient
method to improve the IS program.
•
The department welcomes agents from the
primary businesses of the program graduates
for a meeting to audit the PEOs corresponding
to their requirements. After a conversation
about the arrangement between the proposed
PEOs and the businesses’ necessities, the
businesses round out the PEOs overview
frames and compose their conclusions on
Fig. 4. Process for Review of the Program Educational Objectives
G.
Criteria 3: Student Outcomes (SOs)
The IS department met and examined the ABET
Computing Accreditation Commission 1-to-
6 general
measures (SOs) and the program standards and arrived at
the resolution that ABET SOs
1-6 adequately meet the
program prerequisites. They are related to knowledge,
skills and
behavior that students will acquire through the
program. The student outcomes support the PEOs
[9],
[5] and the mission of the University, the college and
the department. The following are
the Student Outcome
of IS program:
1)
Analyze a complex computing problem and to
apply principles of computing and other
relevant
disciplines to identify solutions.
2)
Design, implement, and evaluate a
computing-based solution to meet a given
set of
computing requirements in the context of
the programs discipline.
3)
Communicate effectively in a variety of
professional contexts.
4)
Recognize professional responsibilities and make
informed judgments in computing
practice based
on legal and ethical principles.
5)
Function effectively as a member or leader of
a team engaged in activities appropriate to
the
programs discipline.
6)
Support the delivery, use, and management of
information systems within an information
systems
environment.
1) Relationship of SOs to PEOs: Each SO is surveyed
inside the IS program. Accomplishment of
SOs can
lead to the achievement of the PEOs and they are
an indispensable condition for
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achieving the PEOs as
introduced in Table 2. The faculty members of the IS
program apply the
results of SOs assessment to improve,
create and redesign the program.
TABLE II
RELATIONSHIP OF STU DENT OUTCOMES TO PEOS
SOs
PEO-1
PEO-2
PEO-3
1
√
√
2
√
√
√
3
√
√
√
4
√
√
5
√
√
6
√
IV.
CRITERION 4. CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT
Continuous improvement is performed by two cycles,
assessments and evaluation. The IS program
utilizes
various apparatuses and cycles to survey and assess the
degree to which its SOs are being
accomplished. These
cycles are utilized to assemble the information which is
important for the
evaluations. Evaluation, as deciphering
the data, is then done to decide how well the results
are
being accomplished. The consequences of both the
assessment and evaluation measures are at long
last
used for the continuous improvement of the IS program.
The means utilized for the assessment,
evaluation and
criticism to the continuous improvement of the program
follow the accompanying
three stages:
1)
Assessment apparatuses of the SOs (i.e., gathering
data) can be direct or indirect. Direct
assessment of
SOs typically depends on the course work, though
indirect assessments of SOs
are typically acquired by utilizing reviews. This progression incorporates
planning types of
studies and suitable inquiries for the particular and pertinent information.
2)
The gathered data is investigated and compared to a pre-set performance marker, which
comprises the
assessment processes.
3)
Checking how much the data assessment results
meet the pre-set targets will be the power
for the
continuous improvement processes.
A.
Student Outcomes
In order to assess and evaluate the extent to which
the SOs are being attained, the IS program
uses various
processes. These processes are defined to keep data
gathering efficient and effective,
and the evaluation
pertinent to the process of continuous improvement. To
achieve these goals, two
types of assessments, direct and
indirect are performed [3], [7]. The indirect assessment
is
performed using surveys while the direct assessment
results are obtained from student coursework
based
evaluations. The direct- and indirect-assessment methods
used by the IS to regularly assess and
evaluate the extent
to which the student outcomes are being attained, are
illustrated in Fig. 5:
Fig. 5. Assessment Process
B.
Indirect Assessment
For our indirect assessment, different surveys are
conducted. Course student survey is conducted
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Vol.12 No.6 (2021), 1675-1688
towards
the end of a course. In this regard, formal written surveys
targeting the sought outcomes are
solicited from students
at the end of the IS courses. The surveys are conducted
by the faculty
members in their respective classes. The
indirect assessment is conducted in every semester.
TABLE III
TOOLS USED BY THE PROGR AM FOR INDIRECT ASSESSMENT S
Assessment Tool
Frequency of Assessment
Expected Level of Attainment
Student Surveys
Semester
60%
Exit Surveys
Semester
60%
C.
Direct Assessment
The direct assessment of the outcomes usually relies
on the coursework and uses a variety of
tools that include
combinations (as defined in the articulation matrix at the beginning of academic
year) of final exam, midterm
tests,quizzes, homework, laboratory works, assignments,
practical,
projects, presentations, etc. The assessment
tools are varying from course to course.
TABLE IV
TOOLS USED BY THE PROGRAM FOR DIRECT ASSESSMENTS
No.
Assessment Tool
1
Homework / Assignments
2
Quizzes
3
Mid-term Exams
4
Group (Individual) Project Rubric Based
5
Lab Exam / Lab Activities
6
Student Portfolio
7
Presentation
8
(Comprehensive) Final Exam
D.
Fall Semester(2018-2019) Assessment
1)
Direct Assessment: The cycle of assessment of
SOs is done utilizing a few mixes course work,
for
example, assignments, mid-term, final exams, quizzes,
presentations and projects where the
accomplishments
on these practices are straightforwardly attached to SOs.
The assessment is done
each time a course is given. The
following Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 describe the direct assessment
of course
CS 409 as an example:
Fig. 6. Distribution of Assessment Grades of the Course CS 409
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Fig. 7. Achievement of Assessment Grades of CS 409-Fall
The outcomes in Fig. 7 are explained below in Fig. 8
as a graph of the level of accomplishment
of the course’s
outcomes SO1, SO2 and SO5 and contrasted with the
pre-set achievement level
of 60%.
Fig. 8. Direct Assessment of Course CS 409-Fall 2018-2019
Investigation of the Fig. 8 reveals that the SO2 and SO5
are sufficiently higher than their target,
but the SO1 is
less than its target. Hence, the SO1 needs to be improved
in the next semester.
2)
Indirect Assessment: At the end of the semester,
the students are asked to assess the
courses they
have taken, with specific accentuation on the level of
fulfillment of the focused
on SOs through questions
dependent on fitting KPI. This cycle is on the web. Let
us, indeed,
decide for representation the course CS 409.
The students, who finished this course, are
approached
to answer a bunch of the inquiries as depicted in Fig.
9. These inquiries are identified with the particular SOs
SO1, SO2 and SO5. The crude data
gathered from
the students’ assessment is put away in and broke
down progressively and
electronically and the results are passed to the faculty member and HOD for additional
assessment
and taking proper decision. The results got
for the course CS 409 were summed up in Table 5:
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Fig. 9. A sample of a Student Survey
TABLE V
INDI RECT ASSESSMEN T O F CO URSE CS 409-FALL 2018-2019
SO1
SO2
SO5
Weight Average
3.96
3.91
4.13
Achievements Percentage
79.10
78.23
82.60
This table shows the average got for every one of the
SOs SO1, SO2 and SO5 from their
overview inquiries
on the size of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best and afterward
traded to rate and
demonstrated graphically in Fig. 10.
Examination of Fig. 10 uncovers that the SOs SO1,
Fig. 10. The Indirect Assessment of Course CS 409-Fall 2018-2019
SO2 and SO5 are over their expected values. This
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shows a reasonable difference to the direct assessment
of the courses done by the IS department
members,
which is very sensible as the students are not that
certain to evaluate themselves
precisely the manner
in which they acted in the academic year. The cycle
of the indirect
assessment of courses was done for
all fall-semester offered courses in a similar style as
accomplished for CS 409. In this manner, IS department
members choose the suggestions for
development and
to be led during the following spring semester. Besides,
the IS department
members additionally considered all
courses that didn’t meet their accomplishment levels for
additional examination and proposals for improvements.
E.
Comparison of Semesters Assessment Results
The above direct and indirect assessments performed
for the fall semester 2018-2019 was
carried out for the
spring semester 2018-2019. Hence, for comparing the
direct assessment
results of fall 2018-2019 and spring
2018-2019 semesters, Fig. 11 indicates the average of
direct outcome achievement for the two semesters.
Fig. 11. A Comparison of SOs using Direct Assessment
F.
Analysis of Fall and Spring 2018-2019 Semesters
Assessment Results
1)
Direct Assessment: The two-semester comparative
results of students’ accomplishment
taken from direct
assessment were shown in Fig. 11. This figure displays
the degree of SOs
achievement in the fall semester
when contrasted with the SOs level of fulfillment in
the spring
semester. At the end of the spring semester,
the Quality Assurance and Academic Accreditation
Unit
of the College of Computer and Information Sciences
evaluated the results. It discovered
that all the Sos of
the program were around the benchmark (70%). This
accomplishment is
because of the incredible endeavors
offered by all the IS department members during the
year
2018-2019. In an examination between the two
semesters, it is clear that the SOs SO2 and SO5
in
the spring semester have lower esteems than that in fall semester, while the excess Sos have
higher values in the
spring semester. This affirms that the education cycle is
considered as a
dynamic cycle and its SOs rely upon the
course type.
2)
Indirect Assessment: The consequences of
students’ overview for two-semester of the academic
year 2018-2019 recommend that students’ viewpoint on
their accomplishment of the SOs is
acceptable, in light
of the fact that the entirety of the 1-6 SOs are over the
base degree of
accomplishment (60%) as required. This
is on the grounds that it was the first occasion when
that the department utilizes the indirect assessment
for the proposed courses. In spite of the fact
that the
pre-owned review has been acquainted with the studnets
and its point has been clarified,
students may misjudge
that the overview is associated with the department
member assessment.
Accordingly, a meeting with the
students will be organized right on time in the following
semester
to explain the goal and the substance of the
indirect assessment process.
3)
Continuous Improvement Methodology: IS SOs are
driven mostly by the ABET criteria and
by the PEOs
that are lined up with Jouf University’s mission. The
PEOs set a rule for program
SOs, educational plan
advancement and teaching methodology. To guarantee
accomplishment of
the SOs, an assortment of assessment
tools as examined were utilized. The degree of
assessment and
evaluation measure is led toward the end
at each semester, and the outcomes of this assessment
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Research Article
Vol.12 No.6 (2021), 1675-1688
cycle are utilized to improve the teaching cycle to
accomplish the focused on SOs. The cycle is
presented
below in Fig. 12 which shows assessment and the
evaluation cycle, and thus closing the
circle, of SOs.
Note that evaluation is made at two various levels,
course-level and program level.
The result of evaluation
is used as criticism for development and fused into
intending to improve the
general fulfillment of SOs.
In the following, each component of closing the loop
process is
briefly explained in turn:
4)
Planning: At the start of every semester
(Fall/Spring), each course team (including course
coordinator and instructors) arranges a course
coordination meeting. In these meetings, which
are properly documented, previous semester’s
end-of-semester reports (submitted by each instructor
and coordinator of the course) are discussed and
appropriate changes are made in the course,
including
for example adjustments in the assessment plan.
Course-level
Fig. 12. Assessment and Evaluation Process for Closing the Loop
5)
Course-level Evaluation/Improvement: Course
instructors write end-of-semester reports
taking into
account the degree to which the evaluation results meet
the pre-set targets 60%
minimum section, failing which
the underlying causes are diagnosed and appropriate
corrective
measures are suggested. These reports also
take into account the feedback of students acquired
through Student Course surveys, and overall delivery of
the course. In the subsequent semester,
the suggested
corrective measures are implemented which are the
driving force for the
continuous improvement process.
To this end, the Coordinator of the Quality Assurance
and
Academic Accreditation Unit at the IS department
collects the course portfolios and reports
and the
Continuous Improvement Committee reviews the
course reports that include any
recommendations and
enhancement by the IS department members. This
cycle is held toward
the end of every semester. The
Continuous Improvement Committee meets to talk about
remarks
and input from the students’ achievement of
SOs, Student Course outcomes and Exit Surveys.
The
committee talks about regions of strength, regions for
development, and chooses actions
for improving SOs.
6)
Program-level Evaluation/Improvement: Planning
for Fall/ Spring Semester: The
department council not
only takes the course-level reports into account, but also
sheds light on the
overall strengths and weaknesses of the
program and recommends the necessary actions to rectify
such weaknesses. For this purpose the council members
meet from time to time to review and to
plan for
following semesters. During such meetings, the council
also reviews feedbacks acquired
from constituents and
some other initiatives at the university or public level.
Examples of
outcomes of such meetings include, but not
limited to:
Information Systems Outcomes based Assessment at Jouf University for ABET Accreditation
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1688
•
The department has realized that, the indirect
assessment of the outcomes was based on
general
surveys of the students. Student Course surveys
have been redefined to be more direct
and only use
questions relating to the course specific SOs as in
Fig. 9.
•
The College of Computer and Information Sciences
and IS department follow the field
improvements
and ideally utilize this latest data in their
courses accordingly
contributing towards a dynamic
educational plan.
7)
Highlights of the enhancements: After rigorous
experimentations with the direct and indirect
assessment
data in last 2-3 years and evaluating the quality
assessment tools, the program has
realized and
implemented various measures. Some of them are
summarized here.
•
Raised the attainment level for direct assessments
to 65% from 60%.
•
Emphasizes on assessment based on various
assessment tools.
•
Regular follow-up on improvement statements
through coordination meetings.
•
An examination committee is necessary to peruses
appropriateness of questions targeting the
respective
SOs. Therefore, the program constituted the
Examination Committee by the end of
every
Semester for this purpose. The Committee reviewed
the questions to SO mappings and
suggested
improvements, which were then implemented in the
respective courses.
V.
ABET VISIT
The IS program committees prepared the self study
report (SSR) of IS program and then
submitted them to
ABET on July 2019. The SSR of IS program showed
significant achievements
of IS program outcomes for
students and graduates. In December 2019, ABET team
visited the
college CIS and evaluated IS program and
inspected the documents and facilities of the college and
the university. In their exit statement, the ABET team
stated that no observed weaknesses nor
concerns were
found through the program. The results of direct and indirect
assessment have
provided significant evidences of the
improved teaching and learning[6].
VI.
CONCLUSION
This paper showed the experiences gained in developing and performing the continuous improvement
process that based on PEOs and SOs assessment and evaluation for the IS program to achieve the
skills, knowledge and behavior that the students gain
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