Closing the loop: industry site visits for program outcomes assessment

The Electrical & Electronic Engineering department at California State University, Sacramento, USA, formed an Industry Liaison Council in 1998 to assist in evaluating program educational objectives, and their outcomes assessment process. With the help of the Council, they have successfully used site visits to industry to validate program outcomes and improve their program. A team of department faculty visits a selected site where several of their alumni are employed. A set of open-ended questions is distributed to the participants prior to the visit, allowing them sufficient time to reflect on the issues and to take an active part in the group discussions. In this paper, the authors report on the structure and format of the site visits and how the data from the visits has been used to make program improvements. The broader educational partnerships that have resulted from these visits have been an unexpected, but welcome benefit