Journal of Engineering Education Transformations

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Complementary Effect of Curricula Modifications, OBE and Students' Performance in College of Engineering, King Saud University – Case Study


Affiliations
1 Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh-11421, Saudi Arabia
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Engineering education require timely changes in curriculum in order to keep its relevance with technology upgradation. The outcome-based education (OBE) has become a preferred vehicle of education reform through curriculum upgradation. In the College of Engineering King Saud University three reform regimes have been undertaken.

Plan A was from 1990-2002, Plan B was from 2003-2007 and Plan C from 2008-2018. Curriculum plans B and C were considered ABET accreditation requirements in their constitutes. The consistent increase in number of students earning GPA from 4.5 to 5 was 2%, 7% and 33% during Plan A, B and C. The increase in mean average GPA of plan B registered 10% increase in comparison of plan A bench mark. However, the mean average GPA of plan C registered significant increase of 34%. The percentages of honor degree holders in each successive curriculum plan A, B and C exhibited increase of 0.9%, 2.1% and 16% respectively. The average number of years taken by the students to complete the graduate program decreased from 6 years to 5.5 years and to 5 years under plan A, B and C respectively. All above parameters exhibited fulfilment of OBE criteria and justifies the modifications in plans of curriculum.


Keywords

Curriculum; OBE; ABET; Assessment
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • ABET. 2000. Criteria for accrediting engineering programs. Baltimore: ABET, Inc. www.abet.org/accreditation

  • ABET. 2008. 2007 ABET annual report. Baltimore: ABET. www.abet.org/accreditation

  • Barry, B. E. and Ohland, M. W. 2012. ABET. Criterion 3.f: How Much Curriculum Content is Enough? Sci Eng Ethics) 18:369–392 DOI 10.1007/s11948-011-9255-5

  • Bloom, B. S. 1956. Taxonomy of educational objectives; the classification of educational goals (1st ed.). New York: Longmans, Green.

  • Cooper, M. D. 1955. The teaching of engineering ethics. Journal of Engineering Education, 45(7), 545-546

  • Green, J. L., & Stone, J. C. 1977. Curriculum evaluation: theory and practice, with a case study from nursing education. New York: Springer Pub. Co.

  • Hastings Center. 1980. The teaching of ethics in higher education: a report. Hastingson-Hudson, N.Y.: Hastings Center, Institute for Society, Ethics, and the Life Sciences.

  • Herkert, J. R. 2000. Engineering education in the USA: Content, pedagogy and curriculum. European, Journal of Engineering Education, 25(4), 303–313.

  • Herkert, J. R. 2002. Continuing and emerging issues in engineering ethics education. The Bridge, 32(3), 15–19.

  • Khan, M. I., Mourad, S. M., & Zahid, W. M. 2016. Developing and qualifying Civil Engineering Programs for ABET accreditation, Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences (2016) 28, 1–11.

  • Koehn, E. E., & Parthasarathy, M. S. 2005. Practitioner and Employer Assessment of ABET Outcome Criteria. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice © ASCE / O c t o b e r 2 0 0 5 / 2 3 1 - 2 3 7 , D O I : 10.1061/(ASCE)1052-3928(2005)131:4(231)

  • Lang, J.D., Cruse, S., & Mcvey, F. D. 1999. Industry Expectations of New Engineers: A Survey to Assist Curriculum Designers. Journal of Engineering Education, January 1999, 43-51.

  • Memon, J.A., Demirdo¨ g˘ en, R.E., & Chowdhry, B.S., 2009. Achievements, outcomes and proposal for global accreditation of engineering education in developing countries. Proc. Soc. Behav. Sci. 1 (1), 2557–2561.

  • MIDFIELD. 2007. Multiple-Institution Database for Investigating Engineering L o n g i t u d i n a l D e v e l o p m e n t . https://engineering.purdue.edu/MIDFIELD)

  • Mills, J. E., & Treagust, D. F. 2003. Engineering Education – Is Problem Based or Project Based Learning the Answer? Australasian Journal of Engineering Education, 8.

  • NAE, 2004a. National Academy of Engineering. Emerging technologies and ethical issues in engineering: papers from a workshop, October 14-15, 2003. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

  • N A E , 2 0 0 4 b . N a t i o n a l A c a d e m y o f Engineering. The engineer of 2020: visions of engineering in the new century. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

  • Olds B. M, & Miller, R. L. 1998. An assessment matrix for evaluating engineering programs, Journal of Engineering Education, 87(2) (1998) pp. 173±178.

  • Pradhan, D. 2021. Effectiveness of Outcome Based Education (OBE) toward Empowering the Students Performance in an Engineering Course. Journal of Advances in Education and Philosophy, 5(2): 58-65, DOI: 10.36348/jaep. 2021.v05i02.003

  • Rabins, M. 1998. Teaching engineering ethics to undergraduates: Why? What? How? Science and Engineering Ethics, 4(3), 291–302.

  • Shuman, L. J., Besterfield-Sacre, M., & McGourty, J. 2005. The ABET "Professional Skills" - Can they be taught? Can they be assessed? Journal of Engineering Education, 94(1), 41-55.

  • Trevelyan, J. 2010. Mind the Gaps: Engineering Education and Practice. Proceedings of the 2010 AaeE Conference, Sydney, Australia.

  • Volkwein, J. F., Lattuca, L. R., Terenzini, P. T., Strauss, L.C., &Sukhbaatar, J. 2004. Engineering Change: A Study of the Impact of EC 2000. Int. J. Engng Ed. Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 318±328, 2004.

  • Walkington, J., 2002. Curriculum change in engineering. Eur. J. Eng. Edu. 27 (2), 133–148.

  • Welch, R., Robinson, M., Glagola, C., & Nelson, J. (2007, June). An Aspirational Vision for Civil Engineering in 2025: The BOK and Future Directions for Civil Engineering Curricula. In 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition (pp. 12- 200).


Abstract Views: 151

PDF Views: 1




  • Complementary Effect of Curricula Modifications, OBE and Students' Performance in College of Engineering, King Saud University – Case Study

Abstract Views: 151  |  PDF Views: 1

Authors

Abdullah H. Alsabhan
Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh-11421, Saudi Arabia

Abstract


Engineering education require timely changes in curriculum in order to keep its relevance with technology upgradation. The outcome-based education (OBE) has become a preferred vehicle of education reform through curriculum upgradation. In the College of Engineering King Saud University three reform regimes have been undertaken.

Plan A was from 1990-2002, Plan B was from 2003-2007 and Plan C from 2008-2018. Curriculum plans B and C were considered ABET accreditation requirements in their constitutes. The consistent increase in number of students earning GPA from 4.5 to 5 was 2%, 7% and 33% during Plan A, B and C. The increase in mean average GPA of plan B registered 10% increase in comparison of plan A bench mark. However, the mean average GPA of plan C registered significant increase of 34%. The percentages of honor degree holders in each successive curriculum plan A, B and C exhibited increase of 0.9%, 2.1% and 16% respectively. The average number of years taken by the students to complete the graduate program decreased from 6 years to 5.5 years and to 5 years under plan A, B and C respectively. All above parameters exhibited fulfilment of OBE criteria and justifies the modifications in plans of curriculum.


Keywords


Curriculum; OBE; ABET; Assessment

References