Plastics Engineering Technology
Program Educational Objectives
The educational objectives of the Penn State Behrend Plastics Engineering Technology Program are to produce graduates who, within three years of graduation are able to:
- Be employed in fields of engineering such as design, research, development, applications, testing, manufacturing, processing, safety, quality, and technical sales or service as an engineer or engineering technologist.
- Achieve positions of increased responsibility (technical and/or supervisory) within an organization;
- Progress through advanced degree or certificate programs or participate in continuing education in engineering, business, and/or other professionally related fields.
Student Outcomes
- an ability to apply knowledge, techniques, skills and modern tools of mathematics, science, engineering, and technology to solve broadly-defined engineering problems appropriate to the discipline;
- an ability to design systems, components, or processes meeting specified needs for broadly-defined engineering problems appropriate to the discipline;
- an ability to apply written, oral, and graphical communication in broadly-defined technical and non-technical environments; and an ability to identify and use appropriate technical literature;
- an ability to conduct standard tests, measurements, and experiments and to analyze and interpret the results to improve processes; and
- an ability to function effectively as a member as well as a leader on technical teams.
(Broadly-defined activities or problems are practical, broad in scope, relatively complex, and involve a variety of resources; use new processes, materials, or techniques in innovative ways; and may require extension of standard operating procedures.)
According the ABET accreditation agency, “Program Educational Objectives are broad statements that describe the career and professional accomplishments that the program is preparing graduate to achieve. Program Educational Outcomes are narrower statements that describe what students are to know and be able to do by the time of graduation.”
The Program Educational Objectives were established through the input from employers of our students, alumni, and industrial constitutes of the program. The achievement of Program Educational Objectives is assessed through the use of alumni and employer surveys, as well as employer focus groups. The Program Educational Outcomes are assessed using a combination of the following instruments:
- Direct assessment of Student work. Each year faculty members in the program assess graded examples of student work to determine the level of achievement. The examples of student work are linked directly the Program Educational Outcomes.
- Senior Exit Surveys. This assessment survey is completed by all graduating seniors in which they are asked to rate how well the Educational Outcomes were achieved.
- Internship Employer Surveys. This assessment survey is completed by supervisors of students who receive internship credit. Employers are asked to rate how well the Educational Objectives were achieved.
- Senior Design Industrial Sponsor Surveys. This assessment survey is completed by supervisors of senior design projects to measure how well the outcomes of the senior design experience were achieved.
- Fundamentals of Engineering Exam reports from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. This nationally administered exam provides a national benchmark for assessing achievement of the Program Educational Outcomes.
The Program Educational Outcomes are assessed annually and each academic program employs at least three of the measurement tools above. More detailed information for each program is available upon request.