Analysis of Graduates Performance Based on Programme Educational Objective Assessment for an Electrical Engineering Degree

Abstract

Programme Educational Objectives (PEOs) are specific goals that are aligned with the vision and mission of an institution of higher learning. The PEOs describe the expected achievements of the graduates in their career and professional accomplishment after graduation. At Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, the PEOs of undergraduate programmes are particularly designed to ensure that the graduates are well-equipped with a broad foundation of theoretical and practical knowledge in various electrical engineering areas of interest and to prepare them for the rapidly changing engineering technology. These PEOs are carefully aligned with the vision and mission of the university and faculty and should be achieved by the graduates 3 to 4 years after graduating. These PEOs must be assessed and evaluated to determine the PEOs’ attainment of the programme. Therefore, assessment and evaluation activities must be available to plan and organize the process of obtaining the PEOs’ attainment. Surveys on graduate attributes need to be conducted to gain feedbacks from stakeholders 3 to 4 years after graduation. In this study, anonymous online questionnaire survey was created to obtain the feedbacks from the alumni. These feedbacks are then analysed to assess the PEOs’ attainment. In order to evaluate the performance of the PEOs, performance indicators are developed and used in the evaluation. Outcomes from this study are used to determine the achievement of PEOs and to propose the improvement as part of continuous quality improvement (CQI).

Analysis of program outcomes attainment for diploma in civil engineering at Universiti Teknologi MARA Pahang

“…The POs are specific statements that explain the qualities that engineering program graduates should be able to have while the COs are statements about what outcomes a course should expect students to achieve [10]. Pramono et al [11] stated that the CO is evaluated at the end of the course, the PO are evaluated upon graduation, and the PEO results are evaluated after three to five years from the date of graduation.…”

Forensic Investigation on The High Failure Rate of Civil Engineering Solid Mechanics Course

“…In Malaysia (Kadir et al, 2020), the professional body for accreditation the engineering technician programs is the Engineering Technology Accreditation Council (ETAC), Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM). Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) was established to monitor and oversee the quality assurance practices and accreditation of national higher education in Malaysia (Rahimullah et al, 2020). The objective of accreditation is to ensure that graduates of the accredited engineering technician education programmes satisfy the minimum academic and practical requirements for registration as engineering technicians or inspector of works with the BEM (Standard, 2019).…”

Student Attainment Measurement System in Civil Engineering Undergraduate Programme:

“…The OBE implementation process encompasses the establishment of Programme Educational Objectives (PEOs), followed by Programme Outcomes (POs), designing curriculum, teaching and learning (T&L) methods, assessment, Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and monitoring. POs which consist of aptitudes to be achieved by students before they graduate are expressed based on the PEOs (Sheikh Rahimullah et al, 2020). The characteristics of an effective PEO such as being a distinct, particular, quantifiable, attainable, direct consequence, and possessing a time frame.…”