The BIE Department has a structured and systematic approach for data-based decision making. We have the ABET Committee, an Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, and an advisory board that was formed in the Fall of 2002, with representation from the different areas of specialization within the department.?? The following graphic (Figure 1) illustrates how the BIE department has been and will continue to collect data, perform data analysis, recommend changes, and implement changes for undergraduate curriculum improvement.

Figure 1

The above graphic describes a "standard operating procedure" for the BIE department with regard to continuous program evaluation, constituency feedback, and curriculum improvement. These items of assessment data are continuously collected. The program interfaces with constituencies to close the loop on continual program review, feedback, and improvement:

The members of the current advisory board for the BIE Department are:
1. Niel L. Allen, Natural Resources Consulting Engineers
2. Gail E. Bingham, USU Space Dynamics Laboratory
3. Spence Cornia, Becton Dickenson
4. Paula N. DeCaria, Hylcone Laboratories
5. Christian Julien, HYCLONE Laboratories, Inc.
6. Andrew Keller, Keller & Bliesner Engineering
7. Michael Mellot, Intel Corporation
8. Eric W. Stroup, Fresenius Medical Care

The BIE advisory board met twice during the first year (Fall 2002 and Spring 2003), and since then meets once per year for review of the program and proposed changes to address ABET, for meeting with graduating BIE seniors as part of the program assessment, and for discussion and evaluation of the implementation of previous board recommendations.

Student Surveys

Based on the results of the exit interviews, the BIE Department Heads meets with the BIE faculty and the College of Engineering administration to evaluate options for addressing perceived program negatives (shown above). In the Fall semester, 2004, the course BIE 3000 was restructured specifically for Biological Engineers by adding another section with a new instructor, new textbook, and course orientation more appropriate for biological engineers compared with non-life science engineers. Financial resources were provided by both the BIE Department and the College of Engineering.

In addition, the address the negative regarding the lack of biomedical engineering faculty, one faculty members was hired in June, 2002, and two additional faculty were during the 2003-2004 academic year (January, 2004). This was accomplished through dialogue between College of Engineering administration and the previous and current BIE Department Head to make this a high priority and by utilizing the resources of the Utah Governor's Engineering Initiative for hiring new faculty. Thus the student exit interview process has contributed to substantial changes in both coursework and faculty staffing within the BIE Department.

Actions Based on Results:

ABET Accreditation of the Biological Engineering program. Changes that were implemented in academic years 2003 and 2004 included the addition of two faculty members in the biomedical engineering area, more engineering coursework options as a result of the new faculty hires, creation of an department advisory board (identified above) for out reach to the professional community, and the development of a structured approach to departmental assessment (Figure 1). The ABET/EAC accreditation report is available through the College of Engineering or through the BIE Department Head. As a result of these actions, the Biological Engineering program received continued ABET/EAC accreditation through 2008, which is the next cycle for accreditation of the Biological Engineering Program. The actions implemented, described above, that resulted in a successful will continue to be used as a guide in the future.

Fundamentals of Engineering Exam evaluation. For the 2004-2005 academic year, 100% of the seniors who sat for the FE examination were successful in passing the exam. The BIE Department does not receive scores for students, however, students expressed confidence during the Exit Interview process that they are well prepared for the examination. The BIE Department will continue to monitor FE test results (pass/fail), and student input concerning preparedness for the FE exam.

Based on the results of the exit interviews, the BIE Department Head meets with the BIE faculty and the College of Engineering administration to evaluate options for addressing perceived program negatives (shown above). In the Fall semester, 2004, the course BIE 3000 was restructured specifically for Biological Engineers by adding another section in a different department (change from ECE department to ETE department) with a new instructor (Dr. Ward Belliston), new textbook, and course orientation more appropriate for biological engineers compared with non-life science engineers. Financial resources were provided by both the BIE Department and the College of Engineering.

In addition, to address the negative regarding the lack of biomedical engineering faculty, one faculty member was hired in June, 2002, and two additional faculty were during the 2003-2004 academic year (January, 2004). This was accomplished through dialogue between College of Engineering administration and the previous and current BIE Department Head to make this a high priority and by utilizing the resources of the Utah Governor's Engineering Initiative for hiring new faculty. Thus the student exit interview process has contributed to substantial changes in both coursework and faculty staffing within the BIE Department.

Placement. During the 2004 and 2005 academic years, the BIE department continues to demonstrate placement in graduate school, industry, or professional school for 100% of the graduates with the B.S. degree. We will continue to monitor the placement of B.S. graduates, as well as graduate students, with regard to type of employment. The monitoring program will help the BIE department to assess current needs and opportunities in the different sectors (graduate school, industry, professional school).

Employer Survey. The average score for those students who graduated approximately three years ago based on employer results is 4.3 on the 5.0 scale. The major problem is with the category "Demonstrated ability to communicate verbally, in writing, and using engineering media." Verbal and technical writing are the biggest problems, especially technical writing. To address this issue, the BIE department is requiring more writing experiences and assignments for students during the "Capstone Engineering/Design" experience during their Junior and Senior years. Also, the BIE Department Head in 2004 introduced a "technical writing" module into the graduate level course BIE 6860 - Research Orientation for new graduate students. Both undergraduate and graduate technical writing assignments are assessed and graded, and feedback is provided so that students can improve. Selected Capstone Design project work is maintained in a "Project Portfolio" for the BIE department.