2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

ABET requires continuous improvement of programs based on the results of program-level assessment of ABET Criterion 3 Student Outcomes (SO). Based on observations by one of the authors during more than 20 years as an ABET Program Evaluator and/or Team Chair, programs engaged in the assessment process often encounter challenges in the areas of sufficiency, consistency, and efficiency. In terms of sufficiency, programs may be cited for shortcomings due to inadequate assessment of each element of a given SO. In terms of consistency, programs may lack a meaningful systematic process for determining program-level assessment of the SOs to be used for program-level continuous improvement and may also struggle to support faculty in the development of appropriate assessment tools that dovetail with the respective curricular and pedagogical approaches of individual faculty. Finally, in terms of efficiency, while it is possible for programs to collect assessment data effectively, it may have come at the cost of an unnecessarily overburdened faculty that may struggle to understand ABET assessment and more specifically, what is needed from them.
In this paper we present a holistic, systematic methodology that allows programs to design a higher resolution assessment process that places more minimal and more clearer requirements on faculty that allows assessment committees to compile program-level metrics easily from myriad assessment tools provided by faculty. The methodology revolves around an initial faculty assessment tool template that efficiently helps faculty understand SO assessment and how to choose an effective assessment tool. This is then followed by a faculty assessment rubric in the form of an Excel scorecard provided to the faculty for scoring their assessment tool. Excel scorecards from all faculty are collected by the program, and the process concludes with an easy compilation of data from many courses and faculty for program-level assessment. The methodology was first developed for the Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering (VTME) program that is a large program (70 faculty and 1166 students) in an R1 research institute. The new approach significantly contributed to a successful 2025 ABET review with no shortcomings. It is expected that the methodology is general enough that it will be easily applicable to programs of all types and sizes, including smaller engineering programs. Anecdotal evidence indicates that faculty appreciate how the approach is clear and straightforward and helps them better understand both ABET SO assessment and what the program needs from them in an efficient manner.