What are Course Goals and Instructional Objectives?

In accordance with the criteria established by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), ECE requires that the following be kept current for every undergraduate course:

• Course Goals that state succinctly the purpose of the course and its linkage, if any, to other courses
• Instructional Objectives, a list of specific statements that together describe what the student is able to do as the course progresses, with each objective linked to a subset of the Outcomes 1 through 7 (attributes of an engineer) as deemed appropriate by the faculty responsible for the course.

Each set of Course Goals and Instructional Objectives is prepared by the course director with the involvement of other faculty teaching the course and is posted and updated in the course information area of the My.ECE portal.

If no Course Goals and Instructional Objectives exist for the course you direct, please browse the existing ones, consider the background offered here, and develop a set for your course. Recommended, exemplary Course Goals and Instructional Objectives are those for ECE 446 and ECE 453.

Courses that may not be required to maintain Course Goals and Instructional Objectives include the following: (1) certain courses for which a list of specific goals and objectives for all students enrolled may not be appropriate (undergrad thesis, individual study), (2) cross-listed courses that are directed by other departments, (3) experimental courses that do not yet have permanent course numbers, and (4) 500-level courses.