Program Purpose

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The primary purpose of the Technology and Engineering Studies-Technical program is prepare students to engage in a breadth of technology and engineering-related careers, become creators and builders of technology, pursue additional education through graduate studies, and provide technical training in industrial and professional settings.  These men and women are expected to lead their profession, advance technological literacy, and carry forth the mission of BYU: to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life (BYU Mission Statement). By receiving an education in a learning environment that is spiritually strengthening, intellectually enlarging, and character building. TES-Technical graduates will obtain the skills they need for lifelong learning and service (BYU Aims Document).

Program Educational Objectives

The Educational Objectives of the Technology and Engineering Studies-Technical program apply to graduates in the years following their graduation. These graduates will:

1. Remain committed to and exhibit lives of faith in Jesus Christ and service to family and community (including church);
2. Demonstrate effective reasoning and communication skills, continue to be informed about contemporary and global issues, and pursue life-long learning;
3. Be effective and innovative in developing and implementing solutions to open-ended problems (technical and/or non-technical), and thereby contribute to the improvement of society.  In doing this, graduates will draw on the foundation of a broad university education and of excellent preparation in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics);
4. Exemplify sound ethics, be professionally responsible, interact effectively with others, appreciate their contributions, and contribute to their growth and development.

Curricular Structure

TES-Technical faculty teach an integrated core of TES-Technical courses that provide students with a unified experience in conceptual knowledge and technology content.

Co-curricular activities that support the goals and aims of the TES-Technical program and University are coordinated with the BYU student chapter of the Technology and Engineering Education Collegiate Association (TEECA) and include socials, service projects, and regional and national competitions.

Learning Outcomes

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TES Technical: Learning Outcome 1

Students will demonstrate technical competency in technology and engineering studies.

TES Technical: Learning Outcome 2

Students will demonstrate creative, design, entrepreneurial, innovative, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.

TES Technical: Learning Outcome 3

Students will demonstrate effective communication skills.

TES Technical: Learning Outcome 4

Students will demonstrate lifelong learning skills.

Evidence of Learning

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Assessments include evaluations of academic performance including multimedia and video portfolios, individual and group projects, problem-solving logs, peer and self-evaluations, and other performance assessments.

 

Formative and summative assessment means are used to continually improve the TES-Technical program. All data are shared among faculty and then analyzed and discussed at each year's faculty retreat to be considered for issues of improvement in the upcoming year. 

 

Students are required to work closely with the School of Technology advisement office to ensure that they have the most current information about the program and that they are on track with graduation requirements. 

Direct Measures

Faculty use a combination of exams, quizzes, portfolios, competency-based labs, written papers, class presentations and advanced projects at the course level to evaluate and encourage student learning.

Indirect Measures

Advisory Board.  TES faculty have and will continue to use an advisory board to obtain input related to program strengths and weaknesses. The advisory board consists of current and former students and professionals from industry and education.

Senior Exit Survey. Prior to graduation, a questionnaire with items related to program strengths and weaknesses is administered to each graduating student. The responses to this questionnaire are then discussed with each student during an exit interview conducted by the program chair. 

National Survey of Student Engagement. The university has participated annually in this national assessment since its inception in 2000. The survey is viewed as an excellent process measure of the learning environment and assists in providing multifaceted measurement of institutional performance regarding the university's mission, aims, and objectives. Questions focus on areas of student engagement which empirical research has shown to be predictive of success in achieving important learning outcomes. Student engagement is at the heart of how and why students learn and is a good indicator of what is being learned.

University Student End-of-Course Survey (Student Ratings System).  Brigham Young University administers a separate end-of-course survey to students. This survey allows for more open-ended responses and provides insight into the effectiveness of teaching. Students have an opportunity to respond to the effectiveness of learning activities, fairness of grading procedures, explanation of concepts, usefulness of feedback, degree of student involvement, time spent on homework and reading assignments, etc. Students may also include free-form comments about the course. 

BYU Senior Survey. The Senior Survey was developed by a faculty led committee within BYU and measures the extent to which seniors feel their university experience fulfilled the university's stated mission, aims, and objectives in their lives. The survey is aligned to 24 constructs which operationalize these stated goals. Many of these constructs map to specific program and degree goals. Issues of student engagement such as student-faculty interaction, and active learning experiences, which are closely tied to student learning, are a prominent part of the survey. Other items ask seniors to estimate the impact of their overall experience and specific facets of their undergraduate experience on their spiritual, character and intellectual development. This survey provides a comparison between TES seniors and all BYU seniors on issues of student engagement and achieving institutional objectives, and indicates that TES students generally compare favorably with their counterparts across campus.

BYU Alumni Questionnaire. The Alumni Questionnaire is a descriptive instrument that also maps to the 24 constructs incorporated into the Senior Survey that operationalize the university's stated goals and objectives. Many of these constructs have direct linkage to program goals and intended learning objectives (e.g., communication skills, thinking habits/skills, technological skills, etc.) This questionnaire is administered to alumni three years after graduation and has been administered each year since 2000. 

Learning and Teaching Assessment and Improvement

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Semester Evaluations: At the end of each semester, the department faculty reviews all of the faculty and student course assessment documents for that semester. As part of the assessment process, instructors for the courses are also asked to provide information on how the previous year's action items were addressed during the current semester. Student and faculty evaluations are compiled in a relational database so that the analysis can take advantage of many different kinds of comparisons including trends in evaluations with time, instructor, course, etc. The department faculty also compiles a list of action items from this analysis.

Annual Evaluations: The faculty analyzes data generated from all of the direct and indirect assessment tools listed above annually. If necessary, there are, in general, two kinds of recommendations that are made. The first is a recommendation for modifications in course purpose, educational objectives, and program outcomes that require department faculty consideration. Issues generated from this analysis are added to the action items list generated from the semester evaluations. The faculty then reviews the action list before Fall Semester classes begin. The second is a recommendation for changes in program statement of purpose, goals, and/or curriculum which all require department faculty and subsequent college and university consideration.

Any recommendations for changes in program issues are submitted to the department faculty for consideration. If changes are approved, they are forwarded to the College Curriculum Committee for further consideration and then, if approved, to the University Curriculum Committee.

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