Mission Statement

The Department of Electrical Engineering supports the mission of the College of Engineering and of Lamar University through teaching, research and service designed to provide the very best undergraduate electrical engineering education possible. It is our goal to provide our students with a strong theoretical foundation, practical engineering skills, experience in interpersonal communication and teamwork, and a daily emphasis on ethics, professional conduct and critical thinking. We prepare our graduates for successful engagement in commercial and industrial enterprise, research and development, and graduate study. We emphasize and support the training necessary for practice as professional engineers. Our program supports and encourages advanced study and undergraduate research activities and maintains an active research and teaching program at the graduate level through the doctorate.

The EE undergraduate program of studies can be found here.

Our corresponding educational outcomes derived from Criterion 3 of Engineering Criteria 2000 from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) can be found here.

Program Objectives

The educational objectives of the Lamar University Electrical Engineering Program are that we expect our graduates a few years after graduation to attain:

... successful and productive engineering careers, with emphasis on technical competency and with attention to teamwork and effective communication.

... successful pursuit of graduate studies and life-long learning in electrical engineering and related fields.

 

... a state of professionalism with development of professional ethics, professional licensing, and active participation in the affairs of the profession.

 

Measurement of Success

The primary measure of student success is by their performance within our curriculum.  A fundamental goal of our assessment process and the assessment metrics described below is to ensure that the course outcomes are an accurate measure of mastery of relevant material.  The content and delivery of the curriculum is the responsibility of the LUEE faculty.

Student success within the curriculum is the responsibility of the student. It is not possible to make someone learn, but the faculty can strive to provide the best possible environment for learning to take place.

LUEE defines five subareas of Electrical Engineering that represent the fundamental paradigms of concentration: circuits, electronics, electromagnetics, controls and computer engineering. From these sub-disciplines of EE our students develop cross-discipline skills such as power engineering, logic design, computer interfacing, telecommunications and others.

Program Outcomes and Their Measure:

a.     An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering.

Primary metrics:  A set of required program courses serves as a primary metric for each pardigmatic area.   The LUEE faculty will specify certain quantitative measures from these - other than the course grade - that indicate the ability to apply knowledge of math, science, and engineering.  Potential measures could be things such as programming projects or standardized exams.  Course instructors will provide the necessary deliverables to the department along with a summary assessment.  At least once a year the faculty will meet and examine student performance with regards to these metrics.  Strengths and weaknesses will be identified and recommended solutions developed.

Secondary metrics:  Alumni and employer surveys  Course Assessment

b.     An ability to design and conduct experiments as well as to analyze and interpret data.

Primary metric:  ELEN2107 and ELEN3108 . The instructors for these courses will keep the lab or project reports and present them to theLUEE Faculty following course offerings with an assessment of student performance.  The LUEE faculty will further assess student performance and make recommendations for improvements to the courses, additions to the curriculum, etc.

Secondary metrics:  Alumni and employer surveys  Course Assessment

c.     An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs.

Primary metric:  Courses appropriate to this outcome will have indicators and metrics for this outcome.  The instructor will keep the lab or project reports and present them to the faculty following course offerings along with an assessment of student performance.  The area committees will further assess student performance and make recommendations for improvements to the courses, additions to the curriculum, etc.  These will be included in an annual report presented to the Curriculum Committee.

Secondary metric:  Alumni and employer surveys  Course Assessment

d.     An ability to function on multidisciplinary teams.

Primary metric:  ELEN4206/4207  Written evaluation from senior design instructor and design teammates.  The instructor will collect these and present them to the LUEE Faculty.

Secondary metrics:  Feedback from student design team partners and industry and faculty mentors for senior design project.  Alumni and employer surveys

e.     An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems.

Primary metric: ELEN4206/4207  Industry feedback on senior design projects. Senior design instructor will also collect relevant information (e.g., project reports), summarize the findings and present to theLUEE Faculty.

Secondary metric:  Alumni and employer surveys

f.      An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility.

Primary metric: ELEN4101/4102 The instructor will provide information documenting the degree to which students meet this outcome.

Secondary metric:  Surveys and Advisory Alumni and employer surveys

g.     An ability to communicate effectively.

Primary metric: ELEN4101/4102  Evaluations of a technical paper and presentation by faculty and IEEE. 

Secondary metric:  Alumni and employer surveys.

h.     The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global/societal context.

Primary metric:  Surveys and Advisory.  (ELEN4101/4102)

Secondary metrics:  Grades in general education courses.  Alumni and employer surveys

i.       A recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in lifelong learning. (ELEN4101/4102)

Primary metrics:  Surveys and Advisory. Alumni and employer surveys

Secondary metrics: Assessment in ELEN4101/4102

j.       A knowledge of contemporary issues.

Primary metrics:  Surveys and Advisory. Alumni and employer surveys

Secondary metrics:  Assessment in ELEN4101/4102

k.     An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.

Primary metrics:  ELEN4206/4207  Written evaluation of senior design projects by industry and faculty mentors.

Secondary metric:   None.

Mapping of outcomes to objectives:

Curriculum

The LUEE Faculty is responsible for making sure that the curriculum as a whole is designed to meet and measure the goals stated above.  The process is as follows:

• A detailed list of fundamental principles, concepts, and skills required of all EE students has been be developed and is continuously scrutinized and revised as necessary.  This list will indicate in which required courses the material is to be covered. The current list for EE courses is available here.
• The LUEE Faculty will make sure that course syllabi reflect the required content and that instructors do indeed cover that material. 
• The LUEE Faculty will keep the Department Advisory Board apprised of changes and give them opportunities for review and to make recommendations.

Assessment Process

The LUEE Faculty will oversee the assessment process.  Twice a year assessment material will be collected and the LUEE Faculty will meet to evaluate this material.  Problem areas will be identified and, if needed, more data will be gathered.  This data will be shared with the Department Advisory Board during its meetings.  Additionally, the Department Advisory Board and the faculty will be asked to review annually the mission statement and educational objectives for the program.  Feedback will be collected from these and other sources and an annual report detailing any findings and courses of action will be prepared.

Closing the Loop

The assessment process is represented in the following diagram.

This chart may also be downloaded as a PDF document.

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