Using a common course syllabus as part of the quality control loop and accreditation data collection process

Abstract

The importance of a good syllabus as part of delivering a course is well known. However, it is an all too often a reality that syllabi are prepared hastily, inconsistent from program expectations and missing vital information. The primary role of the syllabus is to help instructors prepare and deliver the expected course content to students. However, it can also be used as a tool to aid programs in their continual improvement and quality control process. Further, it can be used to automatically collect vital information for accreditation purposes.In this paper, we introduce a Syllabus Assembly and Management System (SAMS) that supports our instructors and our programs teaching mandate

Intersecting Roadmaps: Resolving Tension Between Profession-Specific and University-Wide Graduate Attributes

“…3 The International Engineering Alliance (IEA) is a non-profit organization that establishes and enforces international standards for engineering education to ensure quality and mobility. 4 Queen's University, the University of Calgary, UBC, the University of Toronto, Dalhousie, and the University of Guelph (Frank et al, 2011;Kaupp et al, 2012;Kaupp & Frank, 2016;Stiver et al, 2010;Stiver, 2011), Ryerson University (Easa, 2013;Salustri & Neumann, 2016;Shehata & Schwartz, 2015), Concordia University (Gopakumar et al, 2013;Hamou-Lhadj et al, 2015), the University of Manitoba (Seniuk-Cicek et al, 2014;Sepheri, 2013), the University of Alberta (Dew et al, 2013;ElAtia & Ipperciel, 2015a, 2015bElAtia et al, 2016;ElAtia et al, 2020;Ivey, 2017;Ivey et al, 2018;Parker et al, 2019;Watson et al, 2018), the University of Victoria (Gwyn, 2016(Gwyn, , 2017Gwyn & Gupta, 2015), and Memorial University (Spracklin-Reid & Fisher, 2012…”

“…The Federation of Law Societies of Canada Standards (2018) calls them skill competencies. In the Canadian engineering education field, these abilities are called graduate attributes (CEAB, 2019); they are demonstrated through institution level-specific and measurable indicators mapped to course learning outcomes (Ivey et al, 2017(Ivey et al, , 2018. In each of these professions, graduates are required to demonstrate knowledge and skills specific to the profession (e.g., engineering design, clinical skills, knowledge of case law) and skills that are often common (e.g., lifelong learning, communications, ethics).…”

“…The Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta framework has been detailed extensively (Parker et al, 2019;Ivey et al, 2018;Watson et al, 2018; ). The seven university graduate attributes are related to skills, characteristics, and values.…”

Preliminary Results from a High-Resolution Analysis of Accreditation Data to Assess Indicators, Identify Predictors and Assess Equitability of Teaching Practices

“…Using detailed accreditation data to inform program improvements is not a new idea. Recently, for example, a continual improvement process integrates development and assessment elements surrounding graduate attributes, learning outcomes, and curriculum mapping; has been developed and implemented in University of Alberta [3]. In another study, students' perspectives were collected to [4].…”