Checks and balances for quality engineering education in Nepal

Checks and Balances for Quality Engineering Education

Prof. Dr. Hari Krishna ShresthaNepal Engineering College

Nepal Engineering CouncilAssociation of Engineering Colleges of Nepal

February 23, 2015

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Some Key factors of Quality Engineering Education

• Full Autonomy of Institutions (full right and full accountability): Accreditation, not affiliation

• Outcome based education: Curriculum (design, content and delivery) and student performance directly linked to Intended Learning Objectives/Outcomes (ILOs)

• Learning/Student centered curriculum delivery• Industry-employer linked curriculum for relevancy • Industry-employer led research for impact• Performance based Human Resources Management• External and Internal Quality Maintenance and Assurance

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Lists of Inputs

What to Check-1

Input: This is where the current focus is.• Hardware part: Physical Infrastructure (land, access road,

building, room, desk, bench, laboratory, equipments, reading materials, electrical connections, WATSAN, internet, safety equipments, emergency preparation, …)

• Software Part: Number of fulltime, part time, contract teachers, qualification of teachers, hours of teaching, professional development

• NEC/UGC has list of inputs to check• University has list of inputs to check

Focus is on What’s being Taught.Important, but bare minimum.

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Relevant Outputs

What to Check-2 Process and Output: Where the focus should be.

Process:• Software part:– Curriculum delivery methods: student/learning centric– Relevance of curriculum and student evaluation with ILOs– Labor Market Studies/Tracer Studies and regular curriculum updating• Human Resources Management: – Work load distribution: lecture, tutorial, practical, research, curriculum development, extra-

curricular activities, promotional activities, industry linkage, academic networking, training– Full time commitment, Approved outside engagement with shared income– Implementation of objective performance criteria– Regular Pedagogic training– Performance of academic staff: effective network expansion, research revenue generation,

general revenue generation, expansion of industrial linkage,

Output:– Student performance: pass rate, awards in co- and extracurricular activities, presentations

& publications of technical/research papers, performance in PG studies – Employability of graduates: within 6 months, at least for 6 months, in the field of expertise

Focus should be on What is being Learnt.

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Who Checks

• Nepal Engineering Council• University Grants Commission• Higher Technical Education Promotion and

Monitoring Committee, MoE/GoN• University’s Quality Assurance Unit

– Planning and Programs Division• National Accreditation Board?• Stakeholders: students? parents? • External: ISO, Regional Accreditation?

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Balance between:• Theoretical knowledge and practical application• Knowledge, Skill and Attitude• Knowledge transfer and skill development• Class load and research engagement• Young energetic teachers and experienced teachers• Access balance (Regional, Gender, Community)• Political awareness and Use of political connections• Quantity and quality• Expectation and commitment• Teaching and Learning

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• Increase in access to higher engineering education• Increase in availability of types of courses in undergraduate and

graduate engineering programs • Increase in number of engineering graduates going abroad for higher

education• Increase in engineering graduates engaged in international jobs• Increase in links between Gos/NGOs and academic institutes• Increase in national/international level research sharing• Increase in frequency of compliance monitoring by NEC

Current Situation-1NEC Regd. Engineers2006-2012

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BE Students in NepalApproved and Enrolled

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Current Situation-2(Very few seem to care why we’re

teaching what we’re teaching)

• Lack of autonomy (like Clause 33A of TU Act)• Confused/overlapping responsibility of QA body: conflicting

approvals and requirements, Conflict of Interest in QA body• Misuse of political connections• Low relevance of curriculum and No ILOs

(design, content and delivery) to market demands• High Knowledge Transfer/Low Skill Development• Outdated student performance evaluation• Ineffective Human Resources Management• Crisis of confidence between industry & academia

129th out of 142 in terms of industry & academia cooperation in R&D.And, rather than coordinating to solve the problem, we blame each other.Result: low quality and students suffer.

Way forward• Switch from Input based criteria to Outcome based criteria

– Attitudinal change oriented curriculum delivery• Increase relevance of engineering curriculum with clearly stated ILOs• Student evaluation to be linked with ILOs:

– Assess skill level, not memory power• Quality not to be compromised for quantity

– Strengthen quality monitoring mechanism (internal and external)• Clarify roles of NEC, UGC, MOE, University in QA• Full autonomy of academic institutes, else: no accountability, “blame game” continues• Pedagogic trainings to be required for hiring and promotion• Objective performance criteria of academic staff and management staff• Break the nexus of politics and academia• International Recognition:

– Washington Accord (signatories and members include India and Sri Lanka)– Sydney Accord, ― Dublin Accord, …

• National Qualification Framework for higher engineering education

9Two specific examples to follow:

10http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/Leadership_Training_-_New/BOK2E_(ASCE_2008)_ebook.pdf

Outcome Rubric: 24 Outcomes expected in a PE (civil)

From Bloom’s Taxonomy, 1956

For those who want to know the details, check it out.

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COGNITIVE SKILL HIERARCHY From Bloom’s Taxonomy

Category Example and Key Words Knowledge: Recall data or information. Examples: Recite a policy. Quote prices from memory to a customer. Knows the

safety rules. Key Words: defines, describes, identifies, knows, labels, lists, matches, names, outlines, recalls, recognizes, reproduces, selects, states.

Comprehension: Understand the meaning, translation, interpolation, and interpretation of instructions and problems. State a problem in one's own words.

Examples: Rewrites the principles of test writing. Explain in one’s own words the steps for performing a complex task. Translates an equation into a computer spreadsheet. Key Words: comprehends, converts, defends, distinguishes, estimates, explains, extends, generalizes, gives

Application: Use a concept in a new situation or unprompted use of an abstraction. Applies what was learned in the classroom into novel situations in the work place.

Examples: Use a manual to calculate an employee’s vacation time. Apply laws of statistics to evaluate the reliability of a written test. Key Words: applies, changes, computes, constructs, demonstrates, discovers, manipulates, modifies, operates, predicts, prepares, produces, relates, shows, solves, uses.

Analysis: Separates material or concepts into component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. Distinguishes between facts and inferences.

Examples: Troubleshoot a piece of equipment by using logical deduction. Recognize logical fallacies in reasoning. Gathers information from a department and selects the required tasks for training. Key Words: analyzes, breaks down, compares, contrasts, diagrams, deconstructs, differentiates, discriminates, distinguishes, identifies, illustrates, infers, outlines, relates, selects, separates.

Synthesis: Builds a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure.

Examples: Write a company operations or process manual. Design a machine to perform a specific task. Integrates training from several sources to solve a problem. Revises and process to improve the outcome. Key Words: categorizes, combines, compiles, composes, creates, devises, designs, explains, generates, modifies, organizes, plans, rearranges, reconstructs, relates, reorganizes, revises, rewrites, summarizes, tells, writes.

Evaluation: Make judgments about the value of ideas or materials.

Examples: Select the most effective solution. Hire the most qualified candidate. Explain and justify a new budget. Key Words: appraises, compares, concludes, contrasts, criticizes, critiques, defends, describes, discriminates, evaluates, explains, interprets, justifies, relates, summarizes, supports.

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Some useful• http://www.washingtonaccord.org/• http://www.university-autonomy.eu/• http://www.washingtonaccord.org/IEA-Grad-Attr-Prof-Competencies-v2.pdf• http://www.engc.org.uk/education--skills/international-recognition-agreements • http://www.engc.org.uk/ecukdocuments/internet/document%20library/UK-SPEC.pdf• http://www.engc.org.uk/ecukdocuments/internet/document%20library/Sydney%20Accord

%20HN%20qualifications%20assessment%20form%20Jan%202011.pdf• http://www.asce.org/uploadedFiles/Leadership_Training_-_New/

BOK2E_(ASCE_2008)_ebook.pdf

Thank you.This talk: Useful, Useless, Doubtful, Nothing New, Not Practical, Too Theoretical, Will not work in Nepal, Need More Info to comment, …

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