ABET EC-2000 Assessment Using Outcome Portfolios

A comprehensive implementation of outcome portfolios is presented. Outcome portfolios are assessment tools used by the authors to accomplish triangulation in the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) EC-2000 assessment process. Systematic and effective use of outcome portfolios has provided us with a convenient, reliable, and powerful tool for assessing the level of achievement of our graduates on all the program outcomes for the Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering programs at West Virginia University. The objective of this paper is to describe our approach to assembling, assessing, and improving outcome portfolios as an essential outcome assessment tool under ABET Criterion 3. The process is illustrated in detail using outcome “k” [1] as an example. Assessment data are presented to support the hypothesis that survey data alone are inconclusive and that outcome portfolios provide additional, valuable information for program enhancement. A comparison between the assessment data for the two programs, Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, is used to support our conclusions.