Program Planning Committee Report to the Provost
Industrial and Systems Engineering
2006-2007
April 14, 2008
The department offers a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering, a Master of Science
in Industrial and Systems Engineering and an interdisciplinary Master of Science in Human
Factors/Ergonomics. While enrollment in both masters programs has been growing, undergraduate
enrollment has dropped in recent years.
The department is commended for offering excellent programs in Industrial and Systems Engineering for
many years and for the growth of its new Human Factors/Ergonomics program.
The department should note that Program Planning Guidelines adopted in fall 2006 limit the number of
pages in the self-study. The next program plan should focus on the meaning of reported data in planning
for the future of the department.
The department has made some important progress toward program assessment. However, it appears
that direct assessment of student learning has not been fully implemented in any of the degree programs.
The WASC team in their March 2007 visit encouraged all programs to put greater focus on program
(rather than course) assessment and use data (course and other sources) to evaluate the achievement of
student learning outcomes at graduation. The department reports extensively on surveys administered,
response rates, and numerical outcomes, without discussing what the numbers mean. In the next selfstudy it will be necessary to include discussion of the outcome scale and the meaning of results.
Descriptions of processes are not sufficient. WASC is particularly interested in understanding how
assessment results are used for program improvement. The self studies must report specific changes to
the program or pedagogy and the resulting improvement (or not) in student learning.
Should the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department need help with assessment activities, College
Assessment Facilitators, Ahmed Hambaba and Minnie Patel, and the Director of Assessment, Jackie
Snell are available to provide suggestions and support. In accordance with the 2006 Program Planning
Guidelines, in the next program cycle, the self study should include program assessment plans, the
university assessment reports, and an evaluation of the results of assessment efforts with particular
attention to modifications that have been made to improve student achievement of learning goals and
outcomes.
The final step in the program planning process is a meeting with the Provost (or her designee), the Vice
Provost for Academic Budgets and Planning, the AVP of Undergraduate Studies, the AVP of Graduate
Studies, the Dean, and the Department Chair. The department should contact Janette Pamintuan in the
Office of Undergraduate Studies to schedule the final meeting. The following topics for discussion are
summarized from the reports:
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Review of curriculum and assessment, including laboratory classes, and better linkage of
curriculum changes with assessment of student learning.
o
ABET considered assessment of PEOs a weakness
o
The PPC is concerned about direct assessment of program outcomes (SLOs) in light of
WASC requirements
o
The external reviewer, the ABET report, and the College Committee report all mention
the need for a laboratory technician.
Development of an active outreach program to supplement declining enrollment from transfers.
Need for additional faculty in light of decreasing student enrollment.
Industrial & Systems Engineering
PPC Report
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Housing of the Engineering Management program
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The external reviewer thought the program too narrowly focused on local needs. What are the
College and Department perspectives on this?
If the Department would like to propose other issues for the meeting, please discuss the appropriateness
of the topics with your Dean.
The Program Planning Committee recommends acceptance of the self-study. It provided a good
examination of the issues for review by the other groups. The next program review for all programs in the
Industrial and Systems Engineering department is scheduled for AY 2012-2013, following the
completion of ABET accreditation review.
Program Planning Committee:
Marina Aminy
Arlene Asuncion
Mary Calegari
Peter Chua
Elaine Collins
Bob Cooper
Thuy Le
Bill Nance
Dan Perales
Jacqueline Snell
Pam Stacks
Gary Stebbins
Patricia Stroh
Marlene Turner
Ashwini Wagle
cc:
Louis Freund, Chair, Industrial & Systems Engineering
Belle Wei, Dean, College of Engineering
Ahmed Hambaba, Assoc Dean, College of Engineering
Pam Stacks, AVP Graduate Studies
Bob Cooper, AVP Undergraduate Studies
Michael Kaufman, Chair, Curriculum and Research
Bill Nance, Vice-Provost
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Appendix: Summary of Program Planning Reports for
Industrial and Systems Engineering
Self-Study – dated November 17, 2006
The department offers both a BS and MS in Industrial & Systems Engineering. The undergraduate
program is accredited by ABET. An interdisciplinary MS in Human Factors/Ergonomics was added to the
department responsibilities in spring 2006.
Curriculum and Assessment of Student Learning
The faculty has mapped direct assessment of learning objectives onto courses for both ISE programs, but
not yet for the Human Factors/Ergonomics program.
Undergraduate enrollment rose rapidly from fall 2001 to fall 2004, but declined by nearly 25% in 2005-6.
The department is predicting growth of about 4% per year from 2006-7 through 2010-11 despite the fact
that enrollment declined again in fall 2006, the semester the self-study was completed.
Graduate student enrollment in both ISE and Human Factors/Ergonomics showed gradual increases
each semester but one from 2001 to 2006. The department expects continued growth of about 4-5% per
year in ISE and 10% in Human Factors.
Most students transfer into the ISE programs from other programs in the University, usually other
engineering programs, but a few students transfer into ISE from other colleges. An orientation session is
provided every semester for graduate students. Undergrads are encouraged to join the Institute of
Industrial Engineers club which has its own computer lab for homework and team assignments.
Participation in the club is effective in creating esprit de corps among undergraduates.
The College of Engineering supports the Engineering Student Advising Center. The College also supports
the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program designed specifically to encourage
members of historically underrepresented groups to major in engineering. ABET has strong advising
requirements and the department has met those requirements. In addition to University’s minimum overall
grade-point requirement, most courses in ISE require a minimum grade of C to graduate or to progress to
courses requiring it as a prerequisite.
ABET requires Program Educational Objectives (PEOs) in addition to Program Outcomes (POs are
equivalent to SJSU SLOs). PEOs are assessed by surveying employers and alumni who are a few years
out of the program while PO/SLOs are assessed in the classroom. The department has traditionally
focused on the employer surveys because of ABET’s focus on PEOs. Response rates from alumni have
been low, so these surveys were dropped after the 2000 survey, however the department mails
newsletters to 750 alumni. ISE PEOs were revised based on Department Advisory Council
recommendations at the October 2004 meeting.
In addition to the college computer laboratory, the department has a lab for use only by ISE students.
Silicon Valley has high demand for Industrial Engineers, as evidenced by, among other things, the fact
that Cal State East Bay recently began an engineering department with Industrial Engineering as it’s first
degree. “Over the past few decades, human factors and ergonomics practitioners have increasingly been
called upon early in the system design and development process.”
Undergraduate PO/SLOs match ABET’s criterion 3. Most ISE courses are offered once each academic
year, a few are offered either each semester or every third semester.
The outcome mapping matrix shows no SLOs are addressed or assessed in the capstone courses (page
62).
A course journal and outcome binder is kept for each required and elective course in the curriculum.
These keep track of such things as syllabi and assignments as well as survey results and course
modifications. In fall 2004 the department instituted a senior exit exam to directly assess student learning.
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There is also a senior exit interview conducted by Department Advisory Council after senior projects
presentations.
The self-study provides 23 pages of (mostly) tables showing that students perceive course topics to be
important and their own achievement of learning objectives to be good.
Senior exit exams have been given twice, as of completion of the self-study. The department set a high
goal for itself, and was disappointed in the results
% of students who score higher than 75%
Average score across students
Expected
f04
sp05
100%
5.9%
33%
85%
57%
66%
Faculty made an attempt to assess senior projects on SLOs. The major result of this effort appears to be
recognition of the need for an agreed-upon rubric.
The Department Advisory Council administers the senior surveys. Students rate their own knowledge and
abilities higher than they rate the value of courses. They rate the value of labs lower than the value of “all
courses”.
Figure B.6.1.1 gives the number of course modifications for each course during the current review period.
Pages 134-138 give the same information in graph form. The significance and results of course
modifications would be a more useful analysis.
Faculty
The department has four tenured/tenure track faculty. The department mentions a “group” of part-time
lecturers.
Over the previous 5 years, the faculty as a whole has:
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funded research projects of $2,390,000
“numerous” COE faculty development and research grants
14 refereed journal publications
14 chapters or articles in edited book
12 refereed conference proceeding
1 invited plenary speech
18 conference presentations
“numerous” peer reviews for manuscripts.
The college gives reduced teaching loads to new tenure-track faculty, and partially matches external
grants.
The department regularly participates in 6 college committees. Service to the University is listed as
consistent over the review period in the following:
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Founder & Director of Interdisciplinary Studies Master’s Degree Program in Human
Factors/Ergonomics
Founder & Director, Silicon Valley Ergonomics Institute
Senior Design Committee
Committee on Graduate Studies and Research.
The department’s strongest contribution seems to be in the area of professional organizations and
consulting.
Facilities
The self-study gives a five page summary of facilities and where money comes from, mostly at the college
level, with no analysis of strong or weak points.
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Planning
Expand and market existing area of excellence – supply chain
Three new courses were added between 2003 and 2006. A new concentration in supply chain
engineering has been offered since fall 2004. Design of supply chain software/modules has remained in
its infancy. They plan to seek federal funding to develop this.
Enhance focus in lean manufacturing and six sigma
The department is exploring development of a new concentration leading to professional certification in
six sigma and lean manufacturing. They plan to have 5-10 masters theses in this area by 2011.
Expand the ISE program
The department proposed a minor in Engineering Management. They wish to incorporate the MSE
Engineering Management into their department. They cite three other CSU campuses which house
Engineering Management in ISE.
Establish a Human Factors and Ergonomics teaching laboratory
Formalize the Human Factors & Ergonomics Internship
They plan to develop an internship coordinator who will set up a communication and performance
monitoring process. The goal is to have 3 theses completed by 2008.
Increase diversity of Human Factors faculty
Hire at least two adjunct instructors with cutting edge specializations.
Five Year Hiring Plan
The department plans the following tenure-track hires:
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Lean Enterprise 2007-08
Engineering Mfg/Systems 2008-09
Work Design/Measurement 2009-10
However, the table following that list has only two tenure-track searches proposed.
External Reviewer’s Report Dated March 2007
Quality of Instruction
Dr. Kamran Abedini, Professor of Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering visited the department in
February, 2007. Dr. Abedini notes that the undergraduate program in ISE has changed dramatically from
a traditional program to one focused on supplying the Silicon Valley with graduates. This means fewer
courses in manufacturing and more focus on systems analysis or service industries. Dr. Abedini believes
students would be served better by including at least some plant tours, so that they feel comfortable in a
production facility.
The department is ranked highly among public masters-granting institutions. Undergraduate students
think highly of the professors and like the “family” atmosphere. Student advising is considered important
by the faculty.
The department focuses assessment on the senior year. Dr. Abedini suggests adding assessment at the
junior level to measure progress.
Dr. Abedini praises the MS in Human Factors. He says it “is a well planned, managed and staffed
program at ISE. It is the only program of its kind in California and as such is highly demanded. The HAIL
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Laboratory, is supported by external research funds and is active in both applied and basic research. The
capacity is the ultimate factor in growth of this program.”
The widely varying preparation of graduate student in ISE is a challenge shared by most ISE
departments. Some students arrive with an undergraduate degree in ISE and some with other degrees.
This sometimes leads to classes which are largely a review for those with the ISE degree. Many
prerequisite courses are offered only in the fall semester, creating a problem for students entering in
spring.
The MS in Engineering Management is housed on the College at this institution. The reviewer reiterates
the department’s contention that housing it in ISE is most common and recommends it be moved there.
Student Demand
Since most students transfer into the department SJSU does not devote enough attention to recruiting
from high schools and community colleges. In many countries outside of the United States, enrollment in
ISE exceeds the enrollment in all other departments of engineering combined. Industry executives say
that engineers are expected to multitask and be less specialized than previously.
Dr. Abedini recommends the department, the university, and the CSU system recognize this fact and
promote ISE more vigorously so that supply can better match demand.
Financial Resources
Engineering laboratories must be designed for specific specialties, making them more expensive per
student than laboratories in most of the sciences. ISE is supporting the Human Engineering laboratory
through external research, but it needs constant maintenance by a technician.
Dr. Abedini recommends hiring more tenure/tenure track faculty, based on the student/faculty ratio.
Availability of instructional alternatives
There are no close competitors in the San Francisco Bay Area. CSU East Bay has a new program and
has far fewer resources. Stanford and Berkeley are focused on graduate work and Operations Research,
and do not offer the practical training to undergraduates that the SJSU ISE program does.
Department Response to ABET Report dated June 28, 2007
The ABET report specifies a weakness (with seven specific points to be addressed) and two concerns.
The following shows the ABET concerns in bold followed by the department responses.
Weakness: Program Educational Objectives
1. No clear description of an assessment process
The department reinstituted a yearly survey of recent graduates. Recent grads surveyed include current
graduate students. The department is instituting an annual alumni meeting, where alumni will be
“required’ to complete the survey.
The annual survey of employers was previously given to Human Resources departments. In future it will
be provided to supervisors of the graduates. Responses are difficult to obtain, possibly because of
confidentiality concerns.
Data Summarization & Evaluation
Survey results are summarized and tabulated over winter break. The department disseminates results to
faculty and the Department Advisory Council. At this stage results are used to fill in gaps in collection and
to modify the form.
Program Enhancement
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Following dissemination, “faculty members develop and implement changes to the curriculum and
courses …. Each course change is documented in the course’s Course Change Summary Log. Curricular
changes resulting from the assessment of PEO’s are documented in the Department’s Curriculum
Change Log.”
Assessment Process Cycle
The process for each step, by month and lead person is summarized.
2. While a set of tools is identified to be used (TABLE 3) only two are primarily used (Alumni
Survey and Feedback from DAC) others do not appear to have been used.
The department responds that three are now used since the DAC focus group has been instituted since
the ABET visit. This is confusing because the self-study says that the alumni surveys were dropped after
2000 because of low response rate, but that they were using DAC input.
3. Not clear what process is in place to evaluate the results.
Little PEO assessment data had been collected to evaluate. The process described in #1 will be in place
next year (2007-8).
4. Show what role students have in the processes.
The Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) club will be asked to participate in out-reach to recent grads.
The focus will be getting grads to join the department’s alumni website community, promoting alumni
meetings, employer surveys, and alumni mentoring of student projects. DAC will be consulted in fall 2007
for more ideas on student involvement.
5. Process to ensure achievement not clearly defined.
Outlined in #1. Difficulty is that achievement of objectives by graduates cannot be assessed for 5 to 6
years.
6. No clear measures of achievement; how would you know you are doing well or changes need to
be made?
The department developed a detailed table of measurements indicating achievement. Each of six PEOs
have three to six measurements.
7. Show what action has been taken to review, revise or update the objectives based on results.
The five to six year cycle between a student’s taking the courses and responding as an alum has hardly
had time to elapse since the PEOs were established for the last self-study.
Some changes that have been implemented include:
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A course in services engineering and management is now a requirement rather than elective, due
to feedback from the DAC that many of our students would be entering the services sector.
Likewise, a course in supply chain engineering is now required rather than an elective in
response to DAC and other recent alumni comments
Comments from current and recent students result in Linear Algebra and Differential Equations
courses being combined into one specially designed course for ISE students.
…. Three other changes, similar in substance are delineated.
Concern: Packaging concentration is entirely dependent on adjuncts; regular
faculty not involved in program development or delivery.
The Packaging Concentration and Packaging Minor were transferred out of the College of Engineering to
the Department of Nutrition and Food Science in spring 2006.
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Concern: The department’s two main labs (CIM and packaging) have added
equipment recently and have plans to add more. There is no technician to
maintain and upkeep the labs and their machineries. Two adjuncts currently help
run the labs but it is not a sustainable arrangement.
The packaging lab transferred with the minor and concentration to Nutrition and Food Science. The
department is discussing shared funding of a technician for the CIM lab with another department. The lab
will be substantially upgraded in summer 2007 to a “current level of software and integration”.
College Committee Report - not dated
The committee notes that the department has provided excellent and unique programs for years. A
systematic assessment process has been established for the undergraduate degree and a timeline is
established for the masters’ degrees. The department has a five year plan with six goals. The committee
considers the BS and MS programs to be achieving the program outcomes.
Committee Recommendations:
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Acquire a part-time lab technician for the undergraduate lab
Allocate necessary resources to support the Human Factor Laboratory and its needs for growth
Jointly work with COE to evaluate required resources and responsibility for MS Engineering
Management
Acquire additional faculty members
Dean’s Letter dated September 4, 2007
Dean Wei agrees with Dr. Abedini that the ISE department has offered an excellent program for years.
The department is noted for its talented and dedicated faculty.
Dean Wei recommends the department implement an effective student outreach/recruitment plan with
annual assessments. “The department should also consult with constituent groups and industry leaders to
develop programs that are responsive to meeting industry needs and attracting a sufficient number of
students.”
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