Program Assessment

Team Visit Exit Meeting

Mechanical Engineering Program

Dr. Ahmet S. YigitKuwait University

Dr. Ramazan KahramanChemical Eng. Dept, KFUPM

Dr. Syed M. ZubairMech. Eng., KFUPM

Dr. Necar MerahMech. Eng., KFUPMProgram Team Representative

AT Members for Mechanical Engineering

Program Overall Assessment

Well established program Appears to be fulfilling its mission Administration is effective and

supportive of the goals Excellent collegial environment Excellent preparation

Program Strengths

Faculty Outstanding credentialsDedicated and hard workingCover all the required areas of ME

StudentsSome of the brightest in the KingdomArticulate with good command of EnglishConfident about their abilities and job prospectsProud to be a KFUPM student, and pleased with their education

Program Strengths

FacilitiesState of the art laboratoriesExcellent library and IT facilitiesModern classrooms

Adequate funding To maintain and upgrade facilitiesFor researchFor faculty development

Program Areas for Improvement

Objectives and outcomes

Improve the process of evaluating program educational objectives and involve all constituents Need to develop and implement a detailed assessment plan for the program outcomes – surveys are not sufficient

Program Areas for Improvement

Curriculum and instructionQuality of major design experience can be improved A cornerstone design course may be usefulNeed to provide awareness of professional and ethical responsibilities Communication and teamwork skills need some more emphasis Educational value of some Arabic courses may be enhancedNeed more flexible and broad general education component (e.g., management, leadership, international relations, history etc)Need more real world applications in coursework

Program Areas for Improvement

Laboratories and facilitiesNeed to maintain quality technical support staff (technicians and lab engineers)Need additional space for new labs and for expansion of existing onesNeed study space for students (learning center)

Student support and advisingWork on a two-year plan for elective course offerings

Program Areas for Improvement

Process controlProcessing time for promotion cases vary greatly- consider requiring periodic reports on the progress of promotion casesNo written feedback is provided to faculty on their evaluation once the process is complete

FacultyFaculty salaries and fringe benefits (health care) are not satisfactorySome faculty view committee work as excessiveNo consulting is allowed for expatriate faculty

Summary

The programs offered by ME department are very good, but they

can be made even better.

Thank You