A study of students core-competence evaluation in engineering education quality assurance: The perspectives of faculty members, program chairpersons, and deans

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the impact of engineering education accreditation on evaluations of students' core competences in Taiwan. The data were collected using a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews. 471 valid questionnaires were analyzed and twenty engineering faculties, program chairpersons, and deans were interviewed afterwards. The results indicated that engineering faculties are unfamiliar with methods of core-competence evaluation. Therefore, the outcomes-based teaching and assessment approach of one university was used to demonstrate how rubrics can be implemented to maintain continuous improvement in curriculum planning and to minimize the workloads of teachers while they prepared for the self-study report during the accreditation process. This study is the pioneer to explore a best practice for the outcome-based accreditation approach in Taiwan. Finally, the implications and future directions of this study are discussed.