Evolution of the Assessment of Educational Objectives of the Civil Engineering Program, United Arab Emirates University Walid ELSHORBAGY, Mohsen SHERIF*, Amr SWEEDAN and Khalid EL-SAWY Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, United Arab Emirates University, P.O Box 17555, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates Email: Walid.Shorbagy@uaeu.ac.ae and msherif@uaeu.ac.ae ABSTRACT This paper presents the outcomes assessment process adopted by the Civil Engineering Program of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, United Arab Emirates University. The assessment is done considering three sets of objectives; an original set considered prior to the academic year 2006-2007, a new set considered effective of academic year 2006-2007, and a modified new set considered in 2008-2009. The new and modified sets of objectives were developed to be consistent with the ABET definitions of objectives, to better reflect the changes of the curriculum and to consider feedbacks from various constituencies on the educational objectives. Different assessment-calculation approaches were considered for the three sets of objectives. The results show that the objectives of the five considered assessment cycles (five academic years) were met as per prescribed success criteria. Keywords: Assessment, outcomes, objectives, ABET, Civil Engineering, United Arab Emirates University. 1. INTRODUCTION As the oldest and most comprehensive educational and research institute in the United Arab Emirates, the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) was established in 1977. Currently the university includes ten colleges offering more than 50 Bachelor and 15 Master Degrees in different fields. The Civil Engineering Department was inaugurated in 1980. Its name changed to Civil and Environmental Engineering Department (CEED) in 2003 to reflect the importance of environmental issues in all Civil Engineering projects. However, the name of the program remained as Civil Engineering (CE) Program and the graduates of the Department receive a Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering. The program currently accommodates 145 male and 71 female students and a total of 19 Faculty members and six professional staff. The Civil and Environmental Engineering Department was granted the recognition of “Substantial Equivalency” to the US accredited engineering programs by the Engineering Accreditation Committee (EAC), Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in 1998 for a duration of 6 years and renewed the recognition for an additional 6 years covering the duration of 2004-2010. Effective of 2007, ABET does not differentiate among national universities in the US and other international universities outside of the US. In other words, “Substantial Equivalency” is not granted any more and all ABET reviews are for full accreditation. Therefore, the next ABET review process scheduled near the end of 2009 for the CE program is expected to be more comprehensive and rigorous. 2. ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW Learning is an inherently social process, where different strategies for effective learning can be implemented [1]. Assessment is focused on improving the learning process by examining the adopted strategies with the goal of enhancing them. High-quality assessment provides educators with information they can use to move the field forward. On the other hand, inadequate or poorly constructed assessment can cause educators to pursue ineffective paths, resulting in the loss of time and efforts [2]. Program assessment can help achieve the program outcomes and objectives, defining outcomes that need improvement, and identifying effective and suitable tools for measuring outcomes. Assessment and evaluation should be implemented at both formative and summative levels using validated, research-based strategies or theoretical models. The assessment-based approach in engineering education does not prescribe specific standard teaching methods but offers a principle for designing the teaching and learning methods so that the students are able to achieve the intended learning outcomes. Over the last few years, a number of studies have been published presenting different experiences in the assessment process [3-5]. Mourtos [6,7] described the design and implementation of a sustainable, systematic process for defining and assessing program outcomes. He presented a systematic way of addressing program outcomes through course and curriculum design. Hughes and Sayle [8] described the assessment process used by the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering in Georgia Institute of Technology, including the definition of objectives and outcomes, implementation of assessment measures, and efforts to use the assessment results for continuous improvement. This paper outlines the experiences of CEED in the assessment process to meet ABET requirements and ensure the quality of Civil Engineering Education. Besides assessing the outcomes, the paper discusses the assessment of three sets of objectives of the Civil Engineering program, outlines the assessment tools for each and demonstrates the complexity and effectiveness of the selected tools. The paper presents recommendations to close the assessment loop and ensure that possible improvements are made. Five cycles were implemented so far in assessing the CE program objectives for the academic years 2004-2005, 2005- 2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. Almehaideb and Nazmy [9] presented an overview of the considered assessment approach in the College of Engineering, UAE University, at large in addition to brief results of the first two assessment cycles. At the end of the second cycle, a review of the CE program objectives was done and the feedback from several constituencies in an open house was included and hence, a new set of objectives was defined.