IUPUI mechanical engineering technology senior assessment

Abstract

This paper discusses the methods and analysis of 6-semesters of senior assessment examination data identifying the courses and subject material students found the most difficult to solve in the MET program Senior Assessment Examination. The analysis results indicate that MET 111 (Applied Statics), MET 213 (Dynamics), and MET 348 (Engineering Materials) are courses in need of potential improvement. Furthermore, subject areas such as the calculation of entropy change, the calculation of pressure drop flow through a pipe, and Hooke's Law are subject material that poses greatest problems for senior students. For the past 12 years, the Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) Program faculty at IUPUI require all seniors to take a MET Senior Assessment Examination that is similar in content to the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination. This paper discusses the methods used to provide insightful and actionable inputs for the IUPUI MET program process improvements plan. The raw data consists of test scores from 123 senior students who took the examination from 2014 through 2016. The Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology (ABET) is an organization that ensures universities and institutions like IUPUI meet certain accreditation requirements and requires that each program develops a continuous improvement plan. The improvement plan typically consists of a compilation of student materials, employer surveys, and course evaluations used to ensure continuous improvement within a program. In 2004 IUPUI, MET program faculty decided that a standardized senior examination would be part of the program process improvement process, [1].