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Name of Unit:
College of Engineering |
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Date:
September 10, 2008 |
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Section 2: CORE REQUIREMENTS |
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2.1
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The institution has degree-granting authority from the
appropriate government agency or agencies.
(Degree-granting Authority) |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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2.2
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The institution has a governing board of at least five members
that is the legal body with specific authority over the
institution. The board is an active policy-making body for the
institution and is
ultimately responsible for ensuring that the
financial resources of the institution are adequate to provide a
sound educational program. The board is not controlled by a
minority of board members or
by organizations or interests
separate from it. Neither the presiding officer of the board nor
the majority of other voting members of the board have
contractual, employment, or personal or familial
financial
interest in the institution.
A military institution authorized
and operated by the federal government to award degrees has a
public board in which neither the presiding officer nor a
majority
of the other members are civilian employees of the
military or active/retired military. The board has broad and
significant influence upon the institution’s programs and
operations, plays an active role in
policy-making, and ensures
that the financial resources of the institution are used to
provide a sound educational program. The board is not controlled
by a minority of board members or by organizations
or interests
separate from the board except as specified by the authorizing
legislation. Neither the presiding officer of the board nor the
majority of other voting board members have contractual,
employment, or personal or familial financial interest in the
institution. (Governing Board) |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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2.3 |
The institution has a chief executive officer whose primary
responsibility is to the institution and who is not the
presiding officer of the board. (Chief Executive
Officer) |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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2.4
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The institution has a clearly defined and published mission
statement specific to the institution and appropriate to an
institution of higher education, addressing teaching and
learning and, where applicable, research and public service.
(Institutional Mission) |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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2.5
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The institution engages in
ongoing, integrated, and institution-wide research-based
planning and evaluation processes that incorporate a systematic
review of programs and services that (a) results in continuing
improvement and (b) demonstrates that the institution is
effectively accomplishing its mission.
(Institutional
Effectiveness) |
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The College of Engineering is
in compliance with this requirement |
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i. The
College of Engineering participates in the ongoing, integrated TTU-wide
research-based planning and evaluation process, also known as the TTU
strategic plan. The strategic plan for the college may be found at:
http://www.coe.ttu.edu/CoeWeb/StrategicPlan.pdf or
at
http://techdata.irs.ttu.edu/stratreport/index.asp.
These and other data are reviewed systematically and result in continuing
improvement.
ii. The
College of Engineering is accomplishing its mission and and is making
progress towards achieving the various goals. For example, the College of
Engineering is about to achieve its undergraduate enrollment goal of 3000
that was set initially during the strategic planning process. Our
undergraduate enrollment was about 2950 in the fall of 2003. Other
accomplishments can be found at the above Web address.
iii. The
College of Engineering also maintains an outcomes assessment process as part
of its ABET accreditation process. Each program or degree plan that is ABET
accredited has education objectives, desired outcomes, and an assessment
process in place to evaluate the program and the process of assessment. An
overview of this process is shown in Figure 2.1. Each program has a similar
process, which includes assessment of each class towards completing the
education objectives and desired outcomes, the assessment of graduates as
they exit from the program, and assessment of graduates 1, 3, and 7 years
after graduation. All ABET accredited programs have a curriculum committee
and an Industrial Advisory Board that assists the unit administration in
evaluation of the degree program, the educational process, and the quality
of students in the program and the graduates from the program. Self-Study
Reports and the results from the last accreditation site visit are available
in the College of Engineering Dean’s Office, Room 102 of the Engineering
Center. Education objectives are published on the department or program
Website and also in the Texas Tech University Catalog starting in the
2000-2001 year. In addition to establishing educational objectives, which
are evaluated with alumni assessment and feedback through Industrial
Advisory Board members for each department, each ABET accredited program
also has desired outcomes for students at time of graduation. The success
at meeting these desired outcomes is evaluated through surveys. Students
evaluate which desired outcomes were addressed in each of their engineering
classes and how well the outcomes were met. The success at meeting these
desired outcomes is also evaluated through performance in capstone design
courses and exit surveys and/or exit interviews.

Figure 1. Example quality
control plan for engineering.
iv.
Decisions about survey instruments, results from the various assessments,
desired outcomes, and education objectives are made by curriculum committees
for each program, Industrial Advisory Board for the program, and the
department head who has responsibility for managing the available resources
and assigning teachers, etc. While non-ABET accredited programs are not
reviewed by the ABET process, these programs often benefit from the quality
control environment established as part of the ABET accreditation process.
For example ABET will only accredit a program at one level; thus, most of
the MS and PhD programs in the College of Engineering are not ABET
accredited. These programs are, however, often discussed and reviewed by
the departmental Industrial Advisory Board and benefit from the assessment process.
In addition, graduate level programs are assessed by the graduate faculty in
the department and doctoral programs are formally reviewed by the Graduate
School on a 6 year cycle. |
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2.6 |
The institution is in
operation and has students enrolled in degree programs.
(Continuous Operation) |
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The College of
Engineering is in compliance with this requirement.
Current year
enrollments by major and gender are available at the College of
Engineering Website under the Student heading. The direct
address is
http://www.coe.ttu.edu/CoeWeb/. |
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2.7 |
The institution |
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2.7.1 |
offers one or
more degree programs based on at least 60 semester credit hours or
the equivalent at the associate level; at least 120 semester credit
hours or the equivalent at the baccalaureate level; or at least 30
semester credit hours or the equivalent at the
post-baccalaureate, graduate, or professional level. The institution
provides a written justification and rationale for program
equivalency. (Program Length) |
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The College of
Engineering is in compliance with this requirement. |
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The College of
Engineering has:
● Bachelor of Arts Degree with
128 hours in
Engineering
● Bachelor of Science Degree
with 124 hours in:
Computer Science
● Bachelor of Science Degree
with 126 hours in:
Chemical Engineering
Engineering Physics – Civil
Option
Engineering Physics –
Environmental Option
● Bachelor of Science Degree
with 128 hours in:
Industrial Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Technology
● Bachelor of Science Degree
with 129 hours in:
Construction Technology
Electrical Technology
● Bachelor of Science Degree
with 130 hours in:
Electrical Engineering
Engineering Physics –
Electrical Option
Engineering Physics –
Industrial Option
● Bachelor of Science Degree
with 133 hours in:
Engineering Physics –
Chemical Engineering Option
● Bachelor of Science Degree
with 134 hours in:
Computer Engineering
Engineering Physics –
Mechanical Option
● Bachelor of Science Degree
with 136 hours in:
Civil Engineering
Petroleum Engineering
● Bachelor of Science Degree
(Dual Degree) with 149 hours in:
Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science
● Bachelor of Science Degree
(Dual Degree) with 155 hours in:
Mathematics and Computer
Science
●
Bachelor of Science Degree
and Master of Science Degree
(Dual Degree) with 160 hours in:
Environmental Engineering
● Bachelor of Science Degree
(Dual Degree) with 165 hours in:
Chemical Engineering and
Computer Science
● Bachelor of Science Degree
(Dual Degree) with 172 hours in:
Mechanical Engineering and
Computer Science
● Bachelor of Science Degree
(Dual Degree) with 184 hours in:
Architecture and Civil
Engineering
● Master of Science Degree with
30 hours (Thesis) in:
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Environmental Technology
Management
Industrial Engineering
Manufacturing Systems and Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Petroleum Engineering
Software Engineering
Systems and Engineering
Management
● Master of Science Degree with
36 hours (Nonthesis) in:
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Environmental Technology
Management
Industrial Engineering
Manufacturing Systems and Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Petroleum Engineering
Software Engineering
Systems and Engineering
Management
● Doctor of Philosophy Degree
with 60 hours in:
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Electrical Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Petroleum Engineering
Any of the Master
of Science Degree with 30 hours (Thesis) may be coupled with the
related undergraduate program
to have a Dual 150-Degree program. Students may use
graduate courses related to the undergraduate courses as
substitutes for undergraduate courses in excess of 120 hours. We
use the generic term “Dual 150-Degree program” for any program
that allows undergraduates to change their status to that of a
graduate student and shorten the time to complete both degrees
by “double counting” 2 or 3 courses for both degrees. In the
case of non-thesis masters degrees or undergraduate degree
programs that require more than 129 hours, the program will
require more than150 hours to complete both the baccalaureate
and masters degrees.
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2.7.2 |
offers degree programs that embody a coherent
course of study that is compatible with its stated purpose and
is based upon fields of study appropriate to higher education.
(Program Content) |
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The
College of Engineering is in compliance with this requirement. |
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The curriculum
committees in each department review undergraduate and graduate courses on
an annual basis to determine necessary changes in degree plans. Often,
departmental Industrial Advisory Boards (IABs)are consulted in conjunction
with curriculum changes. IABs are able to provide input from an industrial
perspective on the capabilities and limitations of engineering graduates and
how curriculum changes might better engineers for industrial positions.
Recent curriculum discussions have led to the 150 hour dual degree programs
in the college and the revised Master of Engineering program being offered
via distance education.
The College
of Engineering is currently reviewing and attempting to reduce the number of
hours required in each undergraduate degree plan.
Texas State Law requires
that all students complete at least 6 hours of US history and 6 hours of
political science in addition to other core requirements. Big 12 schools
outside of Texas do not have this requirement. Thus, engineering schools in
Texas have to closely balance ABET requirements, State Law requirements, and
the desire to keep the cost of education down.
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2.7.3 |
requires in each undergraduate degree program
the successful completion
of a general education component at the collegiate level that is
(1) a substantial component of each undergraduate degree, (2)
ensures breadth of knowledge, and (3) is based on a coherent
rationale. For degree completion in
associate programs, the component constitutes a minimum of 15
semester hours or the equivalent; for baccalaureate programs, a
minimum of 30 semester
hours or the equivalent. These credit
hours are to be drawn from and include at least one course from
each of the following areas: humanities/fine arts;
social/behavioral sciences; and natural
science/mathematics. The
courses do not narrowly focus on those skills, techniques, and
procedures specific to a particular occupation or profession.
The institution provides a written
justification and rationale
for course equivalency. (General Education) |
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The College of
Engineering is in compliance with this requirement. |
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The College of Engineering complies with the University-wide
core curriculum requirements as defined in the Texas Tech
University Catalog;
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/officialpublications/catalog/AcademicsCore.html.
In addition to meeting these requirements, the College of
Engineering has a policy of C or better grades in all classes
used in the undergraduate degree plan. In addition to meeting
the breadth of all liberal arts core requirements, the College
of Engineering greatly exceeds the math and conservative science
core requirements. |
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2.7.4 |
provides instruction for all course work
required for at least one degree program at each
level at which if awards degree. If the institution
makes arrangements for some
instruction to be provided by other accredited institutions or
entities through contracts or consortia, or uses some
other alternative approach to meeting this requirement, the
alternative approach must be approved by the Commission on
Colleges. In all cases, the institution demonstrates that
it controls all aspects of its educational program.
(Contractual Agreements for
Instruction) |
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The College of
Engineering is in compliance with this requirement.
Instruction is
provided for all degree programs at all levels (undergraduate,
masters, and doctoral). Students are allowed to transfer
courses into programs in accordance with departmental and
university requirements. |
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2.8 |
The number of full-time faculty members is
adequate to support the mission of the institution. The
institution has adequate faculty resources to ensure the quality
and integrity of its academic
programs. In addition, upon
application for candidacy, an applicant institution demonstrates
that it meets the comprehensive standard for faculty
qualifications.
(Faculty) |
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The College of
Engineering is in compliance with this requirement.
The college has
over 125 full time tenured or tenure track faculty resulting in
a student-to-faculty ratio of less than 30:1. Faculty growth has
paralleled student growth, resulting in a similar
student-to-faculty ratio over the past ten years. |
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2.9 |
The institution, through ownership or formal
arrangements or agreements, provides and supports student and
faculty access and user privileges to adequate library
collections as well as to other
learning/information resources
consistent with the degrees offered. These collections and
resources are sufficient to support all its educational,
research, and public service programs. (Learning
Resources and Services) |
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The College of
Engineering is in compliance with this requirement.
The Texas
Tech University main library adequately supports the needs of
the College of Engineering. In addition to the main library,
some of the engineering professors and students use the Medical
School Library. While the College of Engineering does not have
an individual library, many of the departments or centers in the
College of Engineering have individual libraries to meet their
special needs. For example the Wind Engineering Center Library
has extensive listings of wind damage slides, pictures, and
publications related to wind engineering topics. |
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| 2.10 |
The institution provides student support
programs, services, and activities consistent with its mission
that promote student learning and enhance the development of its
students. (Student Support Services) |
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The College of
Engineering is in compliance with this requirement.
The
College of Engineering is committed to providing student support
programs, services, and activities to promote student learning
and achievement of academic success. In addition to providing
these services, the College of Engineering has been on the
cutting edge in the development of tools to serve the academic
needs of students. The process includes a Web-based
career-mapping and learning styles assessment tool to aid junior
high and high school students as well as college students in the
selection of a career and major in college. It works for all
majors—not just engineering. The system includes a
learning-how-to-learn tool that predicts GPA in college and
helps students to interactively discover how time, study, and
sleep management affects academic performance. The system
includes a SLEEP Model to help students to understand the
dynamics of a build up of sleep debt interacting with a night of
no sleep, use of caffeine, and/or alcohol and the effects of
combinations of these variables on academic performance, injury
risks, and some medical risk. It even includes caffeine gum as
a counter measure for insufficient sleep for applications in
both academic and military units. Other tools, such as COURSE
Select, are currently being developed to further improve the
process of providing excellent student support.
This
system of education tools is known as E—COACH and is available
at
http://ednet.coe.ttu.edu/development/coe/software/eddocsoft/
Texas Tech University was one of 12 universities that received a
Certificate of Merit for innovations in advising at NACADA
(National Academic Advising Association). This Certificate of
Merit is on display in the College of Engineering Dean’s Office.
Three universities outside of Texas and one junior college
within Texas have expressed interest in the use of E-COACH on
their campus.
In addition
to using E-COACH to serve students in the College of
Engineering, the College of Engineering also provides workshops
at the high school level in an attempt to integrate and provide
a seamless education system from high school to college. This
service also provides an opportunity to recruit quality students
to the College of Engineering.
The College
of Engineering has also provided a BRIDGE program to incoming
freshmen since 1996. Industry provides a real problem to be
solved. Students work in teams and compete in teams to solve
the problem. Students learn the value of working in teams as
they start their academic work. They are also provided a
student Peer Mentor to help them understand and solve academic
problems during the first semester in college.
Numerous
other examples of activities to serve students are available on
request. |
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| 2.11 |
The institution has a sound
financial base and demonstrated financial stability, and
adequate physical resources to support the mission of the
institution and the scope of its programs and services.
The
member institution provides the following financial statements: (a)
an institutional audit (or Standard Review Report issued in
accordance with Statements on Standards for Accounting and
Review Services issued by the AICPA for those institutions
audited as part of a systemwide or
statewide audit) and written institutional management letter for the most recent
fiscal year
prepared by an independent certified public
accountant and/or an appropriate governmental auditing agency employing the
appropriate audit (or Standard Review Report) guide; (b) a
statement of financial position of unrestricted net assets,
exclusive of plant assets and plant-related debt, which
represents the change in unrestricted net assets attributable to
operations for
the most recent year; and, (c) an annual budget
that is preceded by sound planning, is subject to sound fiscal
procedures, and is approved by the governing board.
Audit
requirements for applicant institutions may be found in the
Commission policy entitled "Accreditation Procedures for
Applicant Institutions.
(Resources) |
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The College of
Engineering is in compliance with this requirement
Routes of
compliance:
● Support for faculty and departmental expenses from
university resources
● Contributions from alumni
● Contributions from industry
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a. |
Institutional Audit:
The College of Engineering was last audited with a full in house
audit in December 1998 by the Internal Audit staff of the
university.
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b.
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Annual Budget:
The
annual budget of the College of Engineering is prepared by the
Dean in conjunction with the department heads and their
requested needs and the available resources. The Dean is
assisted by a Financial Administrative Assistant. The budget is
reviewed and approved by the Office of the Provost.
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c. |
Changes in Net Assets: N/A. |
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| 2.12 |
The institution
has developed an acceptable Quality Enhancement Plan and
demonstrate that the plan is part of an ongoing planning and
evaluation process. (Quality Enhancement Plan).
(Not
applicable for the Compliance Certification submitted by
institution). |
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ABET requirements
in the College of Engineering are very consistent with a Quality
Enhancement Plan and will be easily adapted to similar
university plans. |
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Section 3: COMPREHENSIVE STANDARDS |
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Institutional
Mission, Governance, And Effectiveness |
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3.1 Institutional
Mission |
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3.1.1
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The institution
has a clear and comprehensive mission statement that guides it;
is approved
by the governing board; is periodically reviewed by the board;
and is communicated to the
institution’s constituencies. |
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The mission for the College of Engineering
is available at the College of Engineering Website at
www.coe.ttu.edu
under Strategic Plan.
The mission of the
college was reviewed and approved as part of the strategic plan
presented to the Texas Tech University Board of Regents at their
regular meeting of December 2001. |
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3.2 Governance and
Administration |
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3.2.1 |
The governing
board of the institution is responsible for the selection and
the evaluation of
the chief executive officer. |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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3.2.2 |
The legal
authority and operating control of the institution are clearly
defined for the following
areas within the institution’s governance structure: |
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3.2.2.1 |
the institution’s
mission; |
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3.2.2.2 |
the fiscal
stability of the institution; |
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3.2.2.3 |
institutional policy, including policies concerning related
and affiliated corporate
entities and all auxiliary services; |
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3.2.2.4 |
related foundations (athletic, research, etc.) and other
corporate entities whose
primary purpose is to support the institution and/or its
programs. |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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3.2.3 |
The board has a policy
addressing conflict of interest for its members. |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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3.2.4 |
The governing board is free
from undue influence from political, religious, or other
external
bodies, and protects the institution from such influence. |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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3.2.5. |
Members of the governing
board can be dismissed only for cause and by due process. |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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3.2.6 |
There is a clear and
appropriate distinction, in writing and practice, between the
policy-making
functions of the governing board and the responsibility of the
administration and
faculty to administer and implement policy. |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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3.2.7 |
The institution
has a clearly defined and published organizational structure
that delineates
responsibility for the administration of policies. |
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The College of
Engineering organizational chart is available in the Dean’s
Office located in 102 Engineering Center. |
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3.2.8 |
The institution has
qualified administrative and academic officers with the
experience,
competence, and capacity to lead the institution.
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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| 3.2.9 |
The institution
defines and publishes policies regarding appointment and
employment of
faculty and staff.
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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3.2.10 |
The institution evaluates
the effectiveness of its administrators, including the chief
executive
officer, on a periodic basis. |
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The College of
Engineering is in compliance with this standard.
● The Dean
reports to the Provost and is evaluated annually.
● All
associate deans, department chairs and directors report to and
are evaluated annually by the Dean. For documents see the
Dean’s Administrative Assistant in the Dean’s Office Room 102
Engineering Center. |
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3.2.11 |
The institution’s
chief executive officer has ultimate responsibility for, and
exercises
appropriate administrative and fiscal control over, the
institution’s intercollegiate athletics
program. |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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3.2.12 |
The institution’s
chief executive officer has ultimate control of the
institution’s fund-raising
activities. |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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3.2.13 |
Any
institution-related foundation not controlled by the
institution has a contractual or other
formal agreement that (a) accurately describes the relationship
between the institution and
the foundation, and (b) describes any liability associated with
that relationship. In all cases,
the institution ensures that the relationship is consistent with
its mission. |
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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3.2.14 |
The institution’s
policies are clear concerning ownership of materials,
compensation,
copyright issues, and the use of revenue derived from the
creation and production of all
intellectual property. This applies to students, faculty and
staff.
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Not applicable to
unit level. |
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3.3 Institutional
Effectiveness |
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3.3.1 |
The institution
identifies expected outcomes for its educational programs and
its
administrative and educational support services; assesses
whether it achieves these
outcomes; and provides evidence of improvement based on analysis
of those results.
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The
College of Engineering is in compliance with this standard.
There are two
levels of assessments used in the College of Engineering. The
College of Engineering participates in the ongoing, integrated
Texas Tech University planning and evaluation process. All
departments have identified missions, education objectives,
plans for achieving these objectives, and evaluate progress in
accomplishing these desired outcomes.
All ABET
accredited programs have identified and published educations
objectives. These objects will describe the type of graduate
that is produced in the workforce 1 to 7 years after
graduation. The College of Engineering has developed and used a
specific alumni survey that is included with the university
alumni survey that survey 1, 3, and 7 year graduates each year.
The College of Engineering was evaluated under the Criteria 2000
in the year 2000; thus, the College of Engineering was an early
adopter of the new assessment process required for accredited
engineering programs. Results from these surveys are available
at the Department level (See Department Chair for details). The
College of Engineering also has a master copy of surveys
completed through November 2003, which is located in a thick
black notebook in the office of the Associate Dean for
Undergraduate Studies in Room 102 of the Engineering Center.
Education objectives are published on the Website for each
department and in the University Catalog starting in the
2000-2001 year.
All ABET programs
have identified desired outcomes
for students graduating from
their programs. Each engineering course required for a program
is evaluated through student surveys and in some department also
by the instructor of the course to identify which of the desired
outcomes are achieved and to the degree at which they are
achieved in each course. A matrix of all courses and the
outcomes achieved is prepared from these surveys and reviewed by
the Curriculum Committee in each department, the Industrial
Advisory Board for each department, and the Department Chair. A
figure showing the process is shown in Figure 2.1 in Section
2.5.
Only two of the
undergraduate programs in the College of Engineering are not
ABET accredited: Computer Science and the Bachelor of Arts. The
Computer Science program is very parallel in structure to other
engineering programs. They have a
Curriculum Committee that reviews and evaluates their
educational programs on a regular basis.
The Bachelor of
Arts program is designed as an engineering program (same math,
physics, and science requirements); however, the student and the
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies discuss and select the
electives that are used in the program. The program is designed
to allow flexibility for students to prepare for Law School or
Medical School or a desired degree related to engineering. For
example, the State of Texas has recently authorized teaching
certification in math, science, and engineering. The Bachelor
of Arts in Engineering was modified to keep the engineering and
science courses but to restrict electives and humanity courses
to allow for the required education courses to prepare students
to become teachers. Both the College of Education and the
College of Engineering cooperated in the development of this
modification. While the Bachelor of Arts program has more
flexibility than other engineering programs, the education
objectives are very specific: take the required courses for the
professional program and maintain the grade point average
required to compete well in the selection process for the
desired program.
Graduate faculty
in the individual departments monitor and control the masters
and doctoral programs. Since graduate programs vary widely
among and within departments, desired outcomes are necessarily
very broad and less specific that the ABET outcomes for the
undergraduate programs. In general, the desired outsomes
include:
-
Enhanced
technical competence through graduate level coursework
-
Ability to
perform independent scholarly activities
-
Ability to
conduct independent (original) research for thesis and
dissertation students
Quality control
(assessment) measures include student performance in classes,
laboratories, independent projects, comprehensive final
examinations for non-thesis students, and public defenses of
theses and dissertations. In many cases, thesis and
dissertation committees involve members outside of the
university, who provide independent external assessment of the
research. Some Industrial Advisory Boards also provide feedback
and assessment of the graduate programs.
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PROGRAMS |
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3.4 Educational
Programs
Standards for
All Educational Programs: |
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(Includes all
on-campus, off-campus and distance learning programs) |