interpret student feedback in light of these changes. Responsible Faculty: 170 instructor. 18 Better define the boundary between ChEn 170 and ChEn 191 March 2014 Completed as part of course revamp to make it more lab-based and hands-on Winter Complete. 19 Hands-on design experience Fall 2014 Please add a project, such as the ChE car, to allow them to experience the major aspects of a project, including performing a safety analysis/review, some kind of sign-off or approval process to proceed, and setting and reviewing milestones along the way. 2016 Complete. 20 Avoid making the class the material and energy balance class. Fall 2014 Emphasize the chemical engineering experience rather than any particular technical topic: it is acceptable to cover fewer topics to help the students master a smaller set. This class is not intended to be ChEn 273. 2016 Complete. ChEn 191 (formerly 291) # Initial Date Action/Recommendation Date Reassessment/ Status 1 Need quantitative assessment listed assessment method (i.e. use scores from assignments, etc rather than listing just general categories such as life-long learning assignment, homework, etc.) Fall 2008 The UG committee will revise the form to emphasize this point. March 2009 Completed Winter 2009. 2 Competency 1.5 (related to resumes) requested to be added. Fall 2009 As requested, competency 1.5 will be added. 2010 Complete. 3 Add a competency in the course for “familiarity with the profession of chemical engineering”. Fall 2009 There is already a competency in the course for “familiarity with the profession of chemical engineering” (1.3). – confirm with Tommy. March 2010 Complete 4 Required direct assessment of some competencies (soft skills) is too much for this course. Fall 2009 The undergraduate committee agrees. We will remove the direct assessment requirement for specific competencies. However, please March 2010 Complete.
# Topic Initial Date Action/Recommendation Date Reassessment/ Status 1 Based on the 2007 feedback, there was some concern that programming may not be needed and that we should re-evaluate the computer tools used. Fall 2007 Ken and Tommy surveyed graduate students and concluded that programming should be kept. Need to integrate through curriculum. The undergraduate committee should pursue this aspect. Fall 2008 Complete. Mathcad remains the primary tool 2 Similar to last year’s feedback, the added VBA lectures increased the VBA capability of students. The average score on the programming project was 95%. Fall 2008 Continue the VBA lectures. 2009 Complete. 2a Similar to last year’s feedback, the increase in VBA lectures increased the VBA capability of students. Fall 2009 The average score on the VBA project was 90%. This item does not need to be followed any longer unless the instructor notes a decrease in student capabilities. March 2010 Complete. 3 Students had difficulty with T and T in MathCad. Fall 2008 Continue to emphasize this point and interact with the 273 instructor regarding ways to resolve this problem. March 2009 Ongoing (see 3a). 3a In previous years students had difficulty with T and T units in MathCad. Fall 2009 Instruction on temperature units was modified by teaching primarily K and ºR units. Students performed much better (>90%) on problems related to temperature units. Continue to monitor student’s progress another year. March 2010 Ongoing(see 3b). 3b Student difficulty with T and T units in MathCad. Fall 2010 Instruction improved again, with continued improvement in performance based on homework (from >90% of students doing it correctly last year to >95% this year). The instructor wants one more year of evaluation to see how the students do in the advanced junior classes. Responsible: Brad. March 2011 Ongoing (see 3c). 3c Temperature units in Mathcad. Based on the instructor’s advice, the students primarily used absolute temperatures in Mathcad, but did Fall 2011 Responsible: ChEn 263 instructor. March 2012 Ongoing (see 3d).
introduce °F and °C, with their associated complications. The instructor wants to assess again next year. 3d Temperature units in Mathcad. Fall 2012 The students are excelling here and choosing to use primarily R and K (as the instructor recommends). The instructor wants to assess one more year with a little more exposure to units of °F and °C. Responsible: ChEn 263 instructor. March 2013 Ongoing (see 3e). 3e Temperature units in Mathcad. Fall 2013 The instructor was satisfied with his own and the student’s performance. March 2014 Complete. 4 Competency 6.2 (“Students will be able to convert problem solving strategies to procedural algorithms”) wording is very general and needs to be modified. Fall 2009 with Tommy to update the wording of the competency. Generally, these changes have been made in the database, but website may not yet reflect them. March 2010 Complete. 5 Solving engineering problems Fall 2009 Over 90% of the homework and exam problems were related to chemical engineers. Students expressed verbally and demonstrated through homework that they improved their ability to solve engineering problems (competency 6.1). This item does not need to be followed any longer unless the instructor notes a decrease in student capabilities. March 2010 Complete. 6 Help students see multiple approaches to a problem. Fall 2009 The UG committee your recommendation. However, as you implement your recommendation, please be careful in minimizing the impact this recommendation would have on a student’s time or your ability to cover the necessary course content. March 2010 Complete 7 Leadership opportunity and student team learning environment. Fall 2010 Fall 2011 Students given an opportunity to present their team projects during an evening celebration in order to see a wider variety of approaches to team work, leadership, and solving problems. March 2012 March 2013 Complete.
VLE) and construct mass balances from them using the lever rule, tie lines, etc.”) 7 Degree of freedom analysis Winter 2014 The Undergraduate (UG) Committee agrees with the instructor’s recommendation not to eliminate competency 3.1.4 (“Students will be able to use a degree-of-freedom approach to assist in the solution of material and energy balances.”). However, please review the student comments and work to present the concepts as clearly as possible, while helping the students to set realistic expectations. Winter 2015 Cancelled. 8 VLE competence. Winter 2014 Students did not feel as confident about VLE competence compared to instructor. Please investigate. May 2015 Ongoing. 8a VLE competence. Winter 2015 The UG Committee thanks the instructor’s efforts and ask for him to continue to improve VLE competence (3.7.2, “Students will be able to Raoult’s law to solve VLE problems including bubble point, dew point, and flash calculations.”) and asks him to continue. Responsible Faculty: 273 instructor. May 2016 Complete. 9 Fluid statics. Winter 2014 Students expressed lack of confidence with simple fluid statics (3.3.3). Please review and address. May 2015 Ongoing (see 9a). 9a Fluid statics. Winter The UG Committee that some students continued to express a lack of proficiency on Competency 3.3.3 “Students will be able to solve simple fluid statics problems (e.g., manometers, fluid head, etc.)”. Again, the UG Committee thank the instructor’s efforts and ask for him to continue. Responsible Faculty: 273 instructor. May 2016 Ongoing.
10 Material balances with reactions with inerts Winter 2014 Based on a review of the L3 Exam results, the Undergraduate Committee found that students are missing the concept of inerts in L3 Competency 3.1.2.3: “Students will be able to solve steady-state material balances for reacting systems.” Review again based on new L3 results. Responsible Faculty: UG Committee. Winter Ongoing. 11 Competency change Winter 2016 Competency 3.3.3 changed to eliminate the words after “problems” (from “Students will be able to solve simple fluid statics problems (e.g., manometers, fluid head, etc.” to “Students will be able to solve simple fluid statics problems.”) May 2016 Complete. ChEn 311 # Topic Initial Date Action/Recommendation Date Reassessment/ Status 1 Need quantitative assessment listed under assessment method (i.e. use scores from assignments, etc rather than listing just general categories such as life-long learning assignment, homework, etc.) Fall 2008 The UG committee will revise the form to emphasize this point. March 2009 Completed Winter 2009. 2 Course content augmented. Fall 2009 With the change in content for the course in Fall 2010, please provide a recommendation for the addition or deletion of competencies. March 2010 Complete. 3 The 11 and 12 competencies will be dropped in Fall 2012, as they are covered in EngT 231. Fall 2010 They will be retained through Fall 2011 because a poll indicated that the Econ 110 and EngT 231 heritage was still about 50/50 among current students. March 2011 Ongoing (see 3a). 3a Ethics, teamwork, and leadership. The 11 and 12 competencies will be dropped in Fall 2012, as they are covered in EngT 231. Fall 2011 competencies were retained through Fall 2011 because a poll indicated that the Econ 110 and EngT 231 heritage was still about 50/50 March 2012 Ongoing (see 3b).
the change and is keeping it, with the opportunity for the students to correct mistakes for partial credit. 10 Competency change Winter 2014 Reword competency 3.1.2 (“Students will be able to solve steady-state, overall, material and energy balances for systems which include one or more of the following: recycle, multiple units, chemical reactions.”) to eliminate the word “recycle May 2016 Complete. 11 Competencies in which some students feel unprepared. Winter 2014 Winter 2015 The UG Committee recommends keeping the conversation going on these competencies with high “No” responses from the students: 3.7.7 and 10.4.2. May 2016 Complete. ChEn 374 # Initial Date Action/Recommendation Date Reassessment/ Status 1 Move 3.3.5 (“Students will understand the significance of steady-state, integral and differential mass, energy, and momentum balances in one dimension”) to Level 2 and remove “in one dimension”. Fall 2008 Ask Tommy to do this. March 2009 See 1a. 1a Again, competency 3.3.5 requested to be changed to Level 2 and the wording “in one dimension” to be removed. Fall 2009 As requested, competency 3.3.5 will be changed to Level 2 and the wording “in one dimension” will be removed. March 2010 Complete. 2 Continue to emphasize 10.3.3 (“Students will be able to design flow systems involving pipes and pumps for power-law fluids”) since this appears weak. Fall 2008 Fluids instructor to continue to emphasize. March 2009 Ongoing (see 2a). 2a Student evaluation and instructor comments that competencies 3.3.4 and 10.3.3 (related to power law) were weak. Fall 2009 Previous instructors spent two days on this subject. Please interact with previous March 2010 Ongoing (see 2b).
6 Workload assessment Winter 2012 The instructor tracked time spent on homework assignments via self-reporting by students. The average was just over 2 hours (after including reading) and outliers were addressed. May 2012 Complete. 7 Heat exchanger instruction Winter 2012 The instructor continued using improved LMTD instruction, with 94% of students reporting mastery of the competency. Effectiveness/NTU method was not neglected, with 87% of students reporting mastery. He will continue focusing on LMTD. May 2012 Complete. 8 Competency awareness Winter 2012 The instructor again used the revised syllabus which introduced competencies in chronological order with subheadings to improve student understanding of the competencies covered and will continue doing this. May 2012 Complete. 9 Improve heat transfer coverage. Winter 2013 The new instructor increased heat exchanger calculation coverage and made the tests harder, but the students continued to perform well on these competencies (10.2.1/3, 10.2.1/2, and 10.2.2) Winter 2014 Complete. 10 Instructor recommended adoption of new edition of text book. Winter 2013 7th edition adopted. Winter 2014 Closed. 11 Change competency 3.4.7 on radiative heat transfer Winter 2014 Instructor recommended against it and increased/improved coverage. Winter 2015 Closed. 12 Mass transfer. Winter 2014 The instructor recommends that mass transfer coverage be coordinated with necessary coverage in ChEn 476. He also felt that he overwhelmed the students covering 3.5.3. May 2015 Ongoing (see 12a) 12a Mass transfer. Winter 2015 The UG Committee agrees that mass transfer coverage, (e.g., 3.5.3 “Students will be able to simple problems where heat and mass transfer are coupled.”, 3.4.5, “Students will be able to formulate and solve differential energy May 2016 Ongoing.
3 The suggestion was to move “corrosion” from competency 3.2.5 to 3.2.7. Fall 2009 Please identify the appropriate wording changes and submit to Tommy. March 2010 Complete. 4 Move corrosion topics to earlier in the semester. Fall 2009 Continue with your recommendation. March 2010 Ongoing (see 4a). 4a Corrosion. Fall 2010 Continue to monitor and report on the perceived positive impact of moving corrosion topics to earlier in the semester. Responsible: Dean. March 2011 Ongoing (see 4b). 4b Corrosion. The instructor felt that moving the material to the middle of the semester was an improvement, but wondered if there was other evidence (such as Plant Design team performance) to corroborate the improvement. Fall 2011 These concepts are definitely being reinforced during Plant Design. However, please discuss in further detail with Vince and continue to monitor the students’ competency evaluation feedback. Responsible: ChEn 378 instructor. March 2012 Ongoing (see 4c). 4c Corrosion. Fall 2012 The instructor discussed with Vince and will continue to monitor the students’ competency evaluation feedback. March 2013 Complete. 5 Competency 3.2.7 Fall 2010 Changed to “Students will select materials appropriate for particular applications and processes, through consideration of physical and chemical characteristics of materials, including possible failure and corrosion modes.” As a design competency, it was renumbered 10.9.1. Responsible: Tommy. March 2011 Not yet complete. 6 L3 exam question from Materials Science. Fall 2010 Work with previous instructors to propose one set of five questions. Responsible: Dean with Bill and Ken. March 2011 Ongoing. 6a L3 Exam question on Materials Science. Fall 2011 The instructor will work with previous instructors to propose one set of five questions by the end of the Winter 2012 semester. Before implementing the new question, the UG Committee must consider that not all students take 378 before the L3 Exam dates. Responsible: ChEn 378 instructor with Bill Pitt and Ken Solen. March 2012 Ongoing (see 6b).
2 There were still licensing issues regarding ChemCad. Winter 2009 It is recommended that a committee be formed to address simulator package should be used in the future. Added Aspen in Fall 2011. Fall 2011 Complete. 3 Offer simulator options. Consider introducing simulators earlier in curriculum and providing simulator options (like Aspen and Unisim). Winter 2011 The UG Committee is addressing computer program usage, but planning to adopt Aspen this year. Responsible Faculty: Undergraduate Committee. May 2011 Ongoing (see 3a). 3a Simulator options. Winter 2012 Multiple simulator options were offered in ChEn 451. The results were 17 groups chose ChemCad, 1 chose Aspen, and 1 chose Unisim. Continue teaching Aspen. May 2012 Complete. 4 Competency change Winter 2014 Remove “sizing” and “turbines” from 10.6.1 (“Students will be able to perform design (sizing) calculations for turbines and compressors (e.g., involving delta H, delta S, work, heat, efficiencies).”). Tommy may recommend further revision. May 2015 Complete. 5 Competency change Winter 2014 Change 10.3.2 from (“Students will be able to select pumps, turbines, and valves for a specific application.”) to “Students will be able to select type of pump and valve for a specific application.” May 2015 Complete. 6 Competency change Winter 2016 Competency 5.1.3 was changed from “Students will be able to use commercial process simulation software for process development” to “Students will be able to use process simulation software for process development.” May 2016 Complete. ChEn 475 # Topic Initial Date Action/Recommendation Date Reassessment/ Status
General Curriculum # Topic Initial Date Action/Recommendation Date Reassessment/ Status 1 Concern that programming may not be needed and that we should re-evaluate the computer tools used. Fall 2007 Ken and Tommy surveyed graduate students and concluded that programming should be kept. Need to integrate through curriculum. The undergraduate committee should pursue this aspect. Responsible faculty: Undergraduate committee. Fall 2008 Complete. Mathcad and Chemcad remain the primary 1a There were still licensing issues in many courses regarding ChemCad. Fall 2009 It is recommended that a committee be formed to address which simulator package should be used in the future. Responsible Faculty: Undergraduate Committee July 2009 August 2011 Licensing issues mainly resolved. Platform evaluation ongoing (see 1b). 1b Consider introducing simulators earlier in curriculum and providing simulator options (like Aspen and Unisim). Winter 2011 The UG Committee is addressing computer program usage, but planning to adopt Aspen this year. Responsible Faculty: Undergraduate Committee. May 2011 Complete (see 1c). 1c Simulator assessment. Winter 2012 Multiple simulator options were offered in ChEn 451. The results were 17 groups chose ChemCad, 1 chose Aspen, and 1 chose Unisim. Continue teaching Aspen. May 2012 Complete. 2 Need quantitative assessment listed under assessment method. (i.e. use scores from assignments, etc rather than listing just general categories such as life-long learning assignment, homework, etc. Fall 2008 The UG committee will revise the form to emphasize this Responsible faculty: Undergraduate committee. March 2009 Complete. 3 Some competency information is cutoff on the evaluation form (see ChEn 378, ChEn 374 form). Fall 2008 Need to fix. Responsible faculty: Tommy Knotts. 2009 Completed Fall 2009 4 Faculty evaluation sheets (for end of semester assessment) need to be changed to better Winter 2009 Need to avoid ambiguity of using H, E, F, Q, and P. Responsible Faculty: Randy and Tommy July 2009 Complete
7b Improve the UO experience for all involved. Winter 2011 Winter 2012 The UG committee is considering all options, especially in view of the department’s desire and college funding to make this a showcase lab. Responsible Faculty: UG Committee, 475 and 477 instructors, Mike Beliveau. May 2012 Ongoing. 8 There is a conflict between UO lab Section 2 and ChEn 378 (Fall semester). Winter 2009 This should be resolved. Responsible Faculty: Undergraduate Committee. July 2009 Resolved: ChEn 378 moved to 11:00 a.m. to not conflict with the afternoon UO class. 9 Continuous improvement. Fall 2009 For each course you teach, you need to remember to look at the action item(s) from the previous year before the semester begins and respond to the action item(s) at the end of the semester. If you are teaching a course for the first time, you should look at the past history of action items to provide guidance for your course preparation. Responsible: ALL March 2009 This document will help to facilitate “closing the loop” as identified in this item. 10 There was a concern with TA’s in ChEn 170. Their reliability and competency were not at the expected level. TA’s had difficulty answering questions. Fall 2009 It’s recommended that we put greater emphasis on TA’s used for this course. Responsible: Department Chair/Associate Chair. March 2009 Complete. 11 Program outcomes related to soft skills need better assessment tools. Some concern has also been expressed regarding the assignment of specific courses for soft skill assessment. Fall 2009 We need to reevaluate which courses should assess soft skills. The undergraduate committee will work on this. Responsible: Undergraduate Committee March 2009 Ongoing. 12 Consider effectiveness of 391. Winter 2010 Responsible Faculty: Undergraduate Committee. May 2011 Ongoing. 13 Improve the UO experience for all involved. Winter The UG committee is considering all options, especially in view of the department’s desire and college funding to make this a showcase lab. Responsible Faculty: UG Committee, 475 and 477 instructors, Mike Beliveau. May Ongoing.