Accreditation and Outcome Based Learning

Prof. Shyamal Kumar Das Mandal

Centre for Educational Technology
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Lecture – 04
Accreditation (Contd.)

So, discussing about the PO of a Accreditation of engineering graduate. So, domain

specific I have already done. So, domain independent, first one is call individual and
team work. Number 6th PO which is domain independent is call individual and team
work. So, a student not only know domain kind of skill, but they also have a skill, so that
they can work as an individual and they can effectively work in a team, so integrity of
the skill tools.

(Refer Slide Time: 00:56)

Communication skill, communicate effectively on complex engineering activity with the

engineering community and with society at large, such as being able to comprehend and
write effective report, design documentation make effective presentation give and receive
clear instruction. So, in one word I can say this is call effective communication. A
engineer what is required? He must able to communicate on its fellow worker or he must
able to communicate with the society, he must able to communicate with the client, he
must able to communicate with his higher boss. So, all communication effective
communication required. And what is else required? He should able to write effective
technical report. Not only spoken written communication also required, so spoken and
written form.

So, it is never said a engineer if you say the B.Tech, most of the thing as you say the
B.Tech engineer must spoken English was very good. It is not that he has to speak as a
British accent; he has to speak as a British American accent, he has to communicate
effectively. So, how do you develop the effective communication? I am not saying
engineer will write a report which is like a Shakespeare, I do not require Shakespeare. I
required a engineer who will has an proficiency in the communication for effective
communication regarding the technical matter. So, how do you develop communication
skill? I will come later on that part.

Next one, engineering and society. Demonstrate understanding of the social, health,
safety, legal and cultural issue and the consequent responsibility relevant to the
engineering practices. Just read out it, then I will explain what is required here.

(Refer Slide Time: 03:01)

Next one if you say ethics; understand and commit to personal ethics and responsibility
and norms of engineering practices. The problem is how can I develop ethics? It is not
ethics means major term only engineering ethics.

Next one, environment and sustainability, understand the impact of engineering solution.
So, understand is the not ultimate goal; goal is demonstrate, knowledge of and need of
sustainable development, this would able to demonstrate. Here also ethics understand
and commit, so commit to professional ethics and responsibility and, so they should able
to commit to professional ethics not only understanding is sufficient.

Project management and finance, demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of

management and business practices, such as risk and change management and
understand their limitation.

(Refer Slide Time: 04:17)

(Refer Slide Time: 04:31)

Next, long lifelong learning, they have to have a skill of self learning. Now, challenges is
that, domain dependent skill I can develop offering a different kinds of subject, because
yes, you are studying B.Tech engineering in electronics. So, to design of a electronic
circuits, analogue circuits I offer a course; to design AC machine in electrical I offer a
course; to design an antenna I offer a course. But how do I develop the domain
independent skill which is required?

So, domain independent skill individual and team work, how it is same individual and
team work? Should I offer a course on individual and team work? How do you develop
their communication skill? Only single course in English for communication, is it
sufficient to develop the communication skill. One semester course English for
communication, may be two semester course whatever you do is sufficient for their
communication development. What you do for engineering society? Should we offer a
subject? What you do for ethics? Can ethics be developed by offering a course, project
management and finance, lifelong learning. Can I offer a course for lifelong learning?

So, problem is that as a teacher my challenge is can I say while I am developing their
domain dependent skill, their domain independent skill is developed. So, my challenge is
that every teacher, not ethics is taught by some other teacher subject not like that, while I
am developing domain dependent skill, analyzing ability, solving ability, design ability,
testing ability, synthesis ability, can I say that I am follow a teaching learning process by
which I also developing the domain independent skill like that team work, individual,
ethics, communication skill, lifelong learning all those things.

So, for example, suppose I teaching a course on AC machine design let us for example.
Can I ensure while I am teaching a AC machine design in the class I am developing their
communication skill, I am developing their ethics, I am developing their lifelong
learning and I am developing their team work and individual, program sustainability and
environment all those things.

So, teaching in analogue electronics if I teach I cannot say I only teach analogue
electronics, I may teach analogue electronics, I have to take care about the domain
independent skill also. Many time we say, how many of ask say story in the class which
is very essential. Ethical story in the class related to my domain; engineering ethics not
that general kind of ethics. So, whatever the subject I teach, can I say that my teaching
learning process is such that that while I am developing domain dependent skill
something, I am developing also ethics.

Engineering and society, I may talk about a course on chemical process plan. Can I say
while I am teaching a chemical process plan I also provide or I also teaching learning
process fascinated them to develop their domains on health, safety, legal and cultural
issues. Lifelong learning, how do I develop? I may teach in a course on may be a
mathematics, can I say that I am developing lifelong learning. Yes, it is very much
importance.

So, assignment is one of the important part for teaching and learning. If I provide
assignment I can ensure their developing their lifelong learning ability. So, without
giving assignment can I say I am developed their lifelong learning ability. So, I can say
while I am teaching a domain dependent course, the domain independent skill is
developed because of my teaching learning process. So, what is the correct pedagogy or
correct teaching learning process, so that I can claim these thing.

While I am teaching a course on AC machine design, I am ensuring their communication

skill developed, their ethics developed, their self learning ability developed, their team
work developed, all kinds of development happened. May not be all domain independent
skill is not possible by every courses. Some courses may say, sir project management
finance how can I say. Yes, not possible. For that may be there is a particular engineering
course where that part is included or if it is not included, I can weight by a another inter
disciplinary course also.

But ethics lifelong learning, communication skill, team work, those cannot be offer by a
course those should be integral part of every domain dependent course. Very simple.
Lifelong learning, somebody has taking in a class whatever the problem is solve in the
board give the exam. What is up learning ability were developing? Without any
assignment; without any problem given to the student to solve by themselves, how their
self-learning ability is developed?

Communication skill, can I say offering a course in English for communication may be
one or two semester course, develop their communication ability. So, there may be a 8
semester 5 into 8, 40 courses let say 40 approximate, 40 courses. So, out of forty courses
only two courses are there which is English for communication. Can English for
communication skill is developed? No. Communication skill will develop if every course
is taken care on this; that means, my teaching learning process demand interaction
between the teacher and students, instead of teacher talking student must talk in the class.
So, if student start talking their communication skill is developed.

Lab report, if you see that lab report, this year lab report and last 5 year back lab report
all are same what technical writing are developing. So, every year lab report you have to
design laboratory experiment such a way, the student should able to write their own lab
report not copying from last year or last (Refer Time: 12:19) lab report. Most of the cases
if you find their lab reports are same from the beginning of the colleges. So, if I taken
care those kind of little bit of things, I can say that domain dependent independent skill is
also developed.

Ethics, so ethics can learn by practices if I cannot ensure that students are not copying
the result from previous lab. What kind of ethics I am developing? How can I say the
engineering ethics is developed? So, as a teacher the main we can say the main challenge
for the teacher is that while I am teaching a domain dependent course, I have to take care
about the domain independent course, sorry domain independent skills.

So, I am taking the taking the course on domain for developing domain dependent skill,
but I have to ensure I also touch down the domain independent skill. So, every course
must be two of the development of communication skill, self-learning, ethics, team work,
individual some courses will go for engineering and society and project management and
finance. So, these 12 parameters has to be acquired by the students. So, who require the
acridities? Accreditation actually required to be implemented in the class room, unless
student acquire those skill my accreditation is not successful. So, that is why that is call
attainment of PO, Program Outcome attainment, how do we measure the attainment. So,
all are link together I will explain, development CO PO mapping, program matrix,
attainment, all kinds of thing which are very much scientifical.

So, in a summary I can say accreditation is a process by which I can measure the quality
of an educational program or I can say objectively quality of an educational program, not
subjective quality. To measure the objective quality, I required certain parameter those
parameters are called PO in case of Washington Accords. So, Washington Accords define
12 PO or 12 skill set which are essential for a or say the graduate or undergraduate in
these outside is graduate, here is undergraduate engineers. So, after 10 plus 2, 4 year
study they must acquire these 12 skill. And if I can say that this program has been enable
the students to acquire those 12 skill, then I can say the program is accreditates.

So, there may be a certain parameter which are directly measurement is not possible we
measure it indirectly. So, it is not about that how many bench are there, how many lights
are there in the room, how many black boards are there, not that. It is that ultimately
whether the skill is developed or not. So, now, the question is accreditation produce
better graduate? May be say my program is NBA accredited. Is accreditation produce
better graduate? Answer is no. Accreditation guaranteed the minimum quality required
for a B.Tech engineer, if it is Washington Accords.

So, if it is accreditation; accreditation process developed for let us general education the
physics one ask chemistry, then that process will guaranteed that all the pass out students
maintain the minimum quality which is required. There may be exceptional students who
can achieve higher than the accreditation requirement, but accreditation says that this is
the minimum scale of requirement.

So, accreditation never says that if it is program is accredited is produce better graduate,
no, straightaway no. May be very good program which is already established, brand
name is already establish, accreditation may not required. But yes, if I want to measure
the objective quality of the program accreditation is essential. So, in whole accreditation
process, accreditation is a process for measuring the quality of a program, and these does
not guaranteed the better quality, it only guaranteed that it maintain the minimum quality.
(Refer Slide Time: 18:00)

Now, in India if you say we have also accreditation process we call NBA, National
Board of Accreditation and their parameter is same as Washington Accords which I
already explained.

(Refer Slide Time: 18:10)

They have a 5 domain dependent PO, then there is a 7 domain independent PO, ok.
(Refer Slide Time: 18:17)

(Refer Slide Time: 18:19)

So, same thing same whatever is there in Washington Accords because India also a
signatory of Washington Accords. So, what is Washington Accords I have never said it. It
is nothing call a group of people sit together and define those are the minimum skill
required for this kind of program. So, they said after 10 plus 2, more than 4 year program
must have those skill.

So, accreditation, I think you have understand, so PO, PSO Program Specific Outcome,
PO Program Outcome. So, 12, all 12 together is call PO. If I say domain dependent 5
written on a particular program is call PSO. So, PO is skill, PSO when it is those 5 is
adapt a for a particular program; as I given the example some electronics B.Tech
program may be very good on microwave, if they have written that they are PSO towards
microwave, but all those 5 dimension solving ability, analyzing ability, design ability,
testing ability and mood on tools uses ability.

Now, those PO can be attain by offering a different course. So, all those course will
towards the development of required PO. So, domain depend while; so, I have do not
have a flexibility to the offer a so many course for project management, finance, ethics
those cannot be developed by course also. So, sometime; so the challenge of the teacher
is that while you teaching a domain dependent skill can you develop their domain
independent ability or I can say how I will implement accreditation in the classroom.

So, the question is how can I implement accreditation in the classroom? What is the
methodology to implement accreditation in the classroom? So, next lecture I will start
OBE, I will explain how OBE is the methodology to implement NBA in the or
implement accreditation, not NBA is a one kind of accreditation, so accreditation in the
classroom. Accreditation can be done for any program and you have to only define that
parameters by which you want to accredited the program, ok.

(Refer Slide Time: 21:18)

So, now I will show you some slide which is may not be your; so, it is already say that is
accreditation program produce better graduate, no. Accreditation often statement of
meeting minimum requirement.

(Refer Slide Time: 21:28)

(Refer Slide Time: 21:33)

Then if you say value of accreditation, I am not reading the slides, you can read it. Then I
will show you the list of country who are already part of signatory of Washington
Accords, India is also signatory of Washington Accords.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:42)

The advantage of accreditation is that if the program is accreditates, then I can ensure the
program maintain the minimum quality. And also, if you see that, industries says that our
graduates are not employable because we never develop the skill, but if I develop those
12 skill and if we ensure those skill are acquired by the students, then industry will
definitely say they are employable. So, how do you ensure or how do you implement
accreditation in the class room is an important factors. And I will next few lectures I will
describe how you implement accreditation in the class room, ok.

Thank you.