UCSC CE and EE Departments' fulfillment of ABET Outcome G

Engineering programs must demonstrate that their graduates have an ability to communicate effectively.

These courses help fulfill this ABET outcome:

1. CE80e via Skill 1
2. CE100 via Skill 12 and Core Lab Exercises 2 and 4
3. CE113 via Skill 3 and Required Lab Exercise 3
4. CE118 via Core Lab 5.
5. CE121 via Core Topic 6
6. CE123 via Skill 3
7. CE155 via Skill 3
8. CE185 via Core Topics 1-5, 8, and 10-11
9. CS12a via Skill 3 and Core Topic 5
10. CS12b Skill 5 and Core Topic 9
11. CS13 via Skills 3 and 12 and Core Topic 5
12. CS115 Skills 1, 2, 4, 6, and Core Topic 2
13. CS116 via Skills 1, 2, and Core Topics 1, 2, and 5
14. EE125 via Skill 1 and Core Topic 3
15. EE126 via Skill 1,5 and Core Topic 3
16. EE127 via Skill 5
17. EE128 via Skills 4 and 6 and Core Topics 3, 4, and 6.
18. EE129 (at SJSU) via Skills 13 and 14
19. EE145 via Skill 98
20. Chem1bc/mn via 1M Skill 2

In the following section, representatives from each department talk about how their students fulfill this component, how it is monitored, and what the feedback loops are.

1. The CE department on monitoring and feedback
   1. The initial take (as written by Tara Madhyastha)
      Many courses require writing and presenting and teach these skills. However, we ensure that students must be able to communicate by requiring CMPE 185, technical writing, for majors, which is a requirement for our major design courses. Outcome g is also evaluated via the CE Portfolio requirement, which has allowed us to judge the body of student reports.
   2. Final metric and feedback as determined by the Oversight committee

      Our three metrics are:

      1. Quantitative: The SOE Alumni and Industrial collaborators at the CE123B design contest must give an average of 4 for criteria G to all design teams containing CE members.
      2. Quantitative: 123B grades in oral and written communication: 100% of the CE students receive passing grades in these two aspects of the course.
      3. Quantitative: The Senior Portfolio: students receive an average of 4 out of 5 on the Communication component of the Senior Portfolio evaluation.
      4. Subjective: The exit survey results on Questions 7 (written), 8 (oral),  and 9 (intra-team): An average of 4 out of 5 must be maintained.
      If any of the three of these is not met, the oversight committee must propose changes to the faculty and the advisory counsil.
2. The EE department's monitoring and feedback (as written by John Vesecky)
   The EE Department strives to fulfill Outcome g concerning an ability to communicate effectively through faculty awareness and teaching in many courses as well as through specific learning experiences, such as oral presentations and the writing of technical memos.

   As with all School of Engineering faculty, the tools for effective communication are emphasized as they bear on academic assignments and tests. The most concentrated training is in Technical Writing, CMPE 185, required of all Electrical Engineering majors. Many courses (see above) teach and test effective communications skills in written assignments, laboratory reports and technical memos. The capstone design courses EE125 & EE126 as well as EE127 & EE128 emphasize the practical application of effective communication skills thorough team design experience, technical memos and oral and visual presentation. The use of these tools throughout one's professional career is emphasized through examples of application in the instructor's professional career.

   Feedback to assure continuous improvement in achieving Outcome g is present over short, medium and long time scales as shown in the EE ABET Feedback Loop Diagram. The shortest time scale is within a given course (over one to six months), medium term is between courses (three to twelve months) and long term is over a student's degree term (two to five years) or longer (four years and more after graduation). An example of short term feed back is the grading or evaluation of technical memos as well as oral and visual presentations that require effective communications skills (EE125 & EE126 and EE127 & EE128). Oral and visual presentations are exposed to the criticism of review panels with both internal and external members.