EACEvaluatorandObserverChecklist
AmericanSocietyofCivilEngineers
CommitteeonAccreditationOperations(COAO)
Architectural,Civil,andConstructionEngineeringPrograms
This document has been prepared by the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Committee on Accreditation Operations (ASCE‐COAO) to provide an EAC Evaluator and Observer with a checklist of items to be considered by the Evaluator and the Observer during the evaluation process. 1.
As soon as the Evaluator is informed by the Team Chair of the assignment of an Observer to the visit, the Evaluator shall contact the Observer to introduce himself/herself and welcome him/her to the visit. The Evaluator shall thank him/her for his/her interest in engineering accreditation. The Evaluator shall explain a bit of his/her background and experience in the accreditation process and request the Observer explain why he/she has become involved in this activity. 2.
The Evaluator shall explain to the Observer that he/she will be receiving some information from ABET/ASCE and the institution covering the evaluation details. The Evaluator should emphasize that the evaluation discussions and all documents should not be discussed with anyone outside of the ASCE Program Evaluator and the evaluation team. 3.
The Evaluator shall briefly outline the evaluation timing from the review of the self‐study information to completion of the final report. The Evaluator shall explain that this evaluation will take a significant amount of the Evaluator’s and Observer’s time from about two months before the campus visit to several days after the campus visit. If the observer is not prepared to devote the time necessary, the Evaluator shall contact Dion Coward at ASCE for possible reassignment of the Observer ([email protected]). 4.
Soon after receiving the information from ABET/ASCE, the Evaluator shall contact the Observer and review the documents which ABET/ASCE have sent. The Evaluator shall emphasize that the Observer should carefully read all the documents. The Evaluator shall also emphasize that the General and Program Criteria are the standards against which the institution’s program will be judged, and that the Observer’s opinion about the criteria, while important, are not to be used when evaluating the program. 5.
The Evaluator shall ask the Observer to direct any questions to the evaluator. The Evaluator shall also emphasize that the forms must be completed, the source of the information that goes on each form and the timing requirements. 6.
After receiving the self‐study and other information from the institution, the Evaluator shall contact the Observer and emphasize the need to read all of the information that the institution provided very carefully. 7.
The Evaluator shall explain to the Observer that the Evaluator and Observer will independently complete the Program Evaluator Report. 8.
The first forms to be completed are the Curriculum Analysis and Transcript Analysis. The Observer should complete these forms and submit them to the Evaluator. The Evaluator should submit copies of his/her forms to the Observer and discuss the differences and reach an agreement. If an agreement EAC Evaluator and Observer Checklist 1 August 2015 cannot be reached, the Evaluator’s forms take precedence as the Evaluator is the responsible party. This process should be completed four to six weeks before the campus visit. It may take several iterations to reach an agreement on the information in these two forms. When completing the Curriculum Analysis and the Transcript Analysis forms please list the specific program criteria with yes/no checklist and supplementary information as required in the Observer Instructions. 9.
The Team Chair will provide an overall outline of the campus visit timing. There will be time allotted for the Program Evaluator and Observer to visit the program. The Evaluator should prepare a draft schedule to be used for the program visit time. The Evaluator will share this with the Observer and ask for his/her comments. The Evaluator will make the appropriate revisions based on discussions with the Observer. This should be completed about four weeks prior to the campus visit. The schedule should include identification of the faculty that will be interviewed during the visit, timing for laboratory and classroom visits, identification of students to be interviewed, time allotted for review of student materials, and exit interview timing. The Evaluator shall contact the Department Chair and discuss the draft schedule that has been developed by the Evaluator and Observer. The Department Chair shall be asked to carefully review the draft schedule and make any suggested changes that may be needed to accommodate the department’s teaching and other responsibilities. The Evaluator should share these comments with the Observer and reach agreement with the Department Chair on the schedule. 10. Typically, the Evaluator and Observer will meet with the Department Chair together. Some Evaluators prefer that all visits to the other faculty members should be just the Evaluator or just the Observer and the faculty member. Other Evaluators prefer that the Observer participate in the faculty interviews that the Evaluator conducts and not conduct them separately. The visit with the students can be both by the Evaluator and the Observer or each separately, depending on the time that the students have. 11. It is suggested that the Evaluator develop an outline or a list of questions that will be covered with each person being interviewed. The Evaluator should share this with the Observer and obtain any suggested additions or deletions from the Observer. The information used to develop these items will come from careful review of the self‐study. Should it develop that the program has not provided some information which the Evaluator and Observer will need, don’t wait until the first meeting with the Department Chair to request this information if it will take him/her some to time to develop it. The Evaluator should communicate this to the Department Chair at least one week before the campus visit. 12. Many Team Chairs will require the Curriculum Analysis, Transcript Analysis, and Program Evaluator Worksheet in draft form a week or two prior to the campus visit. It is important to meet the Team Chair’s requirements. 13. The Evaluator and Observer should plan to arrive for the first team meeting, typically Sunday noon, about an hour before the meeting. This will give the Evaluator and Observer a chance to meet each other and discuss a few points before the first team meeting. EAC Evaluator and Observer Checklist 2 August 2015 14. Usually, the first meeting with the Department Chair is Sunday afternoon. The Evaluator and Observer should go through the department materials checking for design content in the appropriate courses and reviewing the major design experience course (capstone course) reports and class notes. Usually, laboratory visits are scheduled on Sundays. The Evaluator and Observer should ascertain whether students would receive a meaningful laboratory experience. Complete the other items planned for Sunday per the visit schedule and be prepared for the Sunday evening team meeting. 15. Monday morning – be on time! The Evaluator should explain to the Observer what to expect at the Monday morning meeting. 16. Monday evening team meeting – be on time! The Evaluator should explain to the Observer what to expect at the Monday evening team meeting. After the Monday night meeting, the Evaluator and Observer should meet to polish the Draft Exit Statement to the Institution, complete the Program Evaluator Worksheet, and the Program Audit form. When completing the Exit Statement to the Institution and the Program Audit Form (E‐61) please follow the ABET’s guidance which states: In the shortcoming discussion, it is extremely important to cite the relevant part of the criterion, then clearly explain the current situation of the program relative to the criterion, using language that is appropriate to the level of the shortcoming. If the criterion has several parts and the shortcoming affects more than one part, discuss each part separately and in the order they are introduced in the criterion. In each discussion, cite the requirement of the criterion, and follow with the program’s situation, as determined from the self‐study and during the visit. Your conclusions about the status of the shortcoming will be based on this summary, so be sure to stay on point. 17. The Evaluator should explain to the Observer how the Tuesday activities are likely to proceed. The Evaluator should emphasize that the exit interview with the Department Chair must cover every point that will be mentioned in the Exit Statement to the Institution. 18. Tuesday morning – final check and exit interview with the Department Chair. There is usually a working lunch for the evaluation team after the Department Chair interview. At this time finalize the Exit Statement to the Institution, Program Evaluator Worksheet, and Program Audit Form. Complete all of these so they can be reviewed by the Team Chair well before the deadline. 19. The Evaluator should explain to the Observer how the meeting with the Institution President is likely to go. The Evaluator should emphasize that the institution did not have to accept an Observer. The Team Chair may ask the Observer to make a comment at the President’s meeting. The Evaluator should emphasize to the Observer that any comments made by the Observer should be related to his/her appreciation for the institution accepting an observer. All substantive issues must be addressed by the Evaluator alone. 20. The Evaluator should explain the “due process” response and the EAC review process. 21. The Observer must complete the entire Program Evaluator Report and submit it to the Evaluator, preferably before the visit is terminated, but certainly no later than two weeks after the visit. In particular, note that the Program Evaluator Worksheet includes an entry on every line of the form. Your Team Chair will probably not require this, because ABET only expects narrative comments for concerns, weaknesses, and deficiencies. ASCE requires, however, that you provide a comment on every line of this form. This requirement is an integral part of ASCE’s process for training and assessing Program Evaluators. Worksheet entries need not be lengthy. One or two sentences are generally EAC Evaluator and Observer Checklist 3 August 2015 adequate for each item. However, your comments must provide enough detail for the reader to understand the basis for your evaluation of each criterion. Cite specific facts. Avoid generalizations and unsubstantiated opinions, such as, “In the opinion of the evaluator, requirements of the criteria are met.” 22. The Evaluator should explain the ASCE COAO review process and the response from COAO on improvements that he/she should consider. 23. The Observer should promptly complete the ASCE Observer Report form and the Evaluator should complete the ASCE Observer Assessment form. 24. No later than 3 weeks after the visit, the Observer must submit an electronic copy of the completed Program Evaluator Report, the Observer Report and the completed Expense Authorization and Reimbursement Request form to Dion Coward at [email protected] (Phone: 703‐295‐6267). 25. A good reference is Guide for Observers on Accreditation Visits which is available on ABET’s website abet.org. If you have any questions about your responsibilities as an EAC Program Evaluator or Observer, please contact: Michael Hagenberger, Ph.D., P.E. Chair, Committee on Accreditation Operations (COAO) [email protected] 614‐‐488‐1203 EAC Evaluator and Observer Checklist 4 August 2015