ABET is Coming! Getting Faculty Involved

Abstract

<p>Faculty participation in outcomes assessment is critical to a successful ABET review, yet many faculty view assessment as merely an additional time-consuming task piled on top of the many things they already have to do. Enthusiasm for outcomes assessment can be in short supply. The Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE) Department at Iowa State has its ABET review in 2006. We have been working for the past two years to engage our faculty in outcomes assessment, with a fair degree of success. This paper discusses the activities we’ve used to help fellow faculty members become active participants in learning and outcomes assessment, and how we’ve addressed impediments to their involvement. We’ll discuss the ABE Learning Circle, faculty workshops, curriculum development, and one-on-one assistance provided to faculty to integrate outcomes assessment into the courses they teach. While faculty participation in the process can always be improved, we believe we are well on our way to successful preparation for our 2006 ABET review.</p>