A Study on Graduate Attributes Assessment for K-EP (K-Engineering Professional) Qualification

K-EP(K-Engineering Professional) 자격을 위한 졸업생역량 평가방안 연구

The present study aims to demonstrate that it is possible to objectively evaluate the competency (referred to as graduate attributes or program outcomes) of graduates of engineering education programs. To strengthen the link between engineering education accreditation and the qualification/certification system of engineering professionals, referred to as K-Engineering Professional (K-EP), individually assuring the quality of accredited graduates using multiple-choice test as main assessment tool is proposed. Test questions related to the basic vocational skills of NCS are developed for seven of the 10 program outcomes of the ABEEK KEC2015. The three program outcomes, PO1, PO3, and PO5, which need to fully accommodate the characteristics of each disciplinary field, are excluded. A pilot test involving graduates of eight accredited programs is conducted. Applying on Rasch model based on Item Response Theory (IRT), the item difficulty, fit and discrimination of multiple choice test are demonstrated. The pilot study strongly suggests that individual competency evaluation is possible at a certain level for seven program outcomes tested. For PO1, PO3, and PO5, however, questions that address the characteristics of each disciplinary field need to be devised. If a suitable pool of questions is built, it can be used as a program outcomes assessment tool by the accredited programs.