Below are questions that are sometimes asked by faculty members. If you have a question that is not answered here, please contact Susan Nesbit.
1. Why are we doing this?
Two reasons:
(1) In order to monitor the impact of the curriculum changes we are making so that we can learn from, and further improve the curriculum.
(2) CEAB will be visiting our department in 2014 to determine whether our program meets published accreditation criteria. The accreditation decision will be based, in part, on
- the ability of our graduates to meet 12 graduate attributes,
- our process for measuring this ability, and
- our process for continuously evolving our program to address deficiencies as they are observed.
Starting in 2014, all Canadian engineering schools have been held accountable in this manner.
2. What data do I need to provide?
For now,
3. Is there any other work I need to do?
Yes. You will need to complete a Course Information Sheet. We will be contacting you about this, but likely not until the 2018-2019 academic year.
4. Will ALL attribute reporting data come from student work assessed for marks?
No. While most of the data will be from learning assessments, some data will be from student surveys.
6. Can a TA gather the data?
Yes. The department has trained TAs who understand the format for assessment data. Please contact Susan Nesbit if you would like TA help in submitting data.
7. Can data be collected for a subset of students instead of the entire course cohort?
Yes, with the proviso that the sub-set membership is (a) random to avoid biases and (b) sufficiently large such that the results are statistically meaningful. In most cases, it will be most appropriate to gather results for all students.
8. Will it be necessary to collect data from a lecture course?
Yes.
9. What if my students do poorly in the assessments? Will these results be used to evaluate me for promotion (tenure, merit, etc) ?
The willingness to gather this sort of data relates to both service and teaching, both of which are described in our terms of appointment. However, the actual data will not be used to evaluate individual instructors or courses. Nor will they be used to evaluate the students (unless the same scores are also used as part of the marking scheme in your course). The results are used to evaluate the quality of the program as a whole, and to guide us to make informed improvements.
10. What are Program Indictors?
Indicators describe what students must do to be considered competent respecting a CEAB attribute.
11. What is the purpose of a Program Indicator?
An indicator sets a pre-determined standard used to evaluate learning, and aligns with specific assessment criteria associated with courses within a program.
12. How were the Civil Engineering Program Level Learning Indicators developed?
In 2012, an initial set of indicators was developed after a thorough review of Indicators from other programs in Canada and the United States, and with reference to the UBC-CIVL 2009 Program-Level Objectives. At approximately the same time, a faculty-level committee created a UBC-generic list of indicators. The two sets of indicators were conflated and presented to a CIVL department sub-committee, which further refined the list.
13. Can we change the indicators?
Yes. But for our next reporting period, we are not intending to review the indicators. Once we get more experience working with the indicators and how they can connect with courses, then we can have review and improve. If you disagree and would like to be part of an ad hoc committee charged with revising the indicators, please contact Bernard Laval.