Assessment of student professional outcomes for continuous improvement

Abstract

This article describes a method for the assessment of professional student outcomes (performance-type outcomes or soft skills). The method is based upon group activities, research on modern electrical engineering topics by individual students, classroom presentations on chosen research topics, final presentations, and technical report writing. Assessment activities include application of a checklist that measures professional student outcomes of teamwork, life-long learning, and communication skills including oral and written communication and presentation skills. The results are discussed with the students and faculty for feedback purposes to establish a stronger relationship between quality assurance and continuous improvement of professional student outcomes crucial for engineers to be successful in their profession.