Undergraduate Program in Bioengineering

1
Undergraduate Program in Bioengineering

• Scott C. Molitor, Ph.D.
• Undergraduate Program Director

2
Program Assessment Process

• Educational programs must be designed to achieve
  specific objectives
• Objectives are developed to satisfy needs of
  constituents (clients or customers)
• Curriculum is developed to achieve objectives
• Requires a periodic review to insure objectives
  still satisfy needs of constituents
• Requires a periodic assessment of our curriculum
  to insure objectives are achieved
• Review process requires input from all
  constituents

3
Program Assessment Process

• Educational programs must be designed to achieve
  specific objectives
• Objectives are developed to satisfy needs of
  constituents (clients or customers)
• Curriculum is developed to achieve objectives
• Requires a periodic review to insure objectives
  still satisfy needs of constituents
• Requires a periodic assessment of our curriculum
  to insure objectives are achieved
• Review process requires input from all
  constituents

4
Program Constituents

• Students that enroll in our program
• Prospective students and their parents
• Current students and alumni
• Full-time employers that hire our graduates
• Co-op employers that hire our students
• Graduate and professional schools that enroll our
  students
• Engineering, medicine, business, law and others
• Constituent representatives
• Cannot meet with everyone, need to assemble
  representative bodies for constituents
• Student Advisory Council (SAC)
• Industrial Advisory Council (IAC)

5
Bioengineering Program Objectives

• Substantial need for graduates that possess
  technical skills and training in the life
  sciences
• Entry-level positions in biomedical and
  healthcare industries
• Advanced studies to pursue careers in clinical
  medicine
• Advanced studies to pursue careers in biomedical
  research
• Advanced studies to pursue careers in other
  professional occupations such as business or law
• Bioengineering is the application of physical,
  life, chemical, and mathematical sciences to
  define and solve problems in biology, medicine,
  and healthcare
• Bioengineering provides a good background for the
  career options listed above

6
Bioengineering Program Objectives

• The educational objectives of our program will
  result in graduates that will
• Obtain positions as practicing engineers in
  various industries and government agencies that
  are involved in the development, testing,
  marketing, and regulation of medical devices,
  medical systems, diagnostic systems,
  pharmaceuticals and other therapeutic systems.
• Continue their studies in medical schools to
  pursue careers as physicians in the practice of
  clinical medicine.
• Continue their studies in graduate programs to
  pursue careers in biomedical research, business
  or law.

7
Bioengineering Program Objectives

• Developed and refined with assistance from IAC,
  SAC and others
• IAC 2001 recommended a reduction in the number of
  objectives from 12 to 3
• Goal of preparing students for industry, medical
  school and graduate school not clearly stated
• Additional objectives described skills we wanted
  students to have in preparation for these career
  options
• SAC 2002 and others recommended a reorganization
  to list industrial, medical school and graduate
  school preparation as separate objectives
• We now have concise and tangible objectives that
  can be readily assessed

8
Program Assessment Process

• Educational programs must be designed to achieve
  specific objectives
• Objectives are developed to satisfy needs of
  constituents (clients or customers)
• Curriculum is developed to achieve objectives
• Requires a periodic review to insure objectives
  still satisfy needs of constituents
• Requires a periodic assessment of our curriculum
  to insure objectives are achieved
• Review process requires input from all
  constituents

9
Bioengineering at UT

• Biomedical application of engineering principles
• 1/3 of coursework (46 hrs) is BIOE courses taught
  by BIOE faculty
• Coursework prepares students for various careers
• Technical positions in health care other
  industries
• Academic or industrial research
• Medical school or other graduate programs
• Cutting edge courses and electives
• Required Bioprocessing and Medical
  Instrumentation laboratories
• Electives in Medical Imaging, Computational
  Biomechanics, Artificial Organs and
  Nanotechnology
• One of few undergraduate Bioengineering programs
  with co-op experience

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Bioengineering Curriculum

• Humanities and Social Sciences (21 hrs)
• Composition and Technical Writing
• Humanities and Multicultural electives
• Basic Science (45 hrs)
• Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics
• Biology Physiology
• Electives in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

• Engineering (53 hrs)
• Materials Mechanics
• Electronics and Signal Processing
• Thermodynamics and Transport
• Statistical and Systems Analysis
• Design Project
• Bioengineering electives
• Engineering electives

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Pre-Med Programs

• BIOEs can graduate with a Pre-Med concentration
  by completing Organic Chemistry I II with labs
• These count as technical elective courses
• BS/MD Program with MCO
• Accept HS students with 3.8 GPA 29 ACT
• Guaranteed acceptance into MCO with 3.5 BIOE GPA,
  27 MCAT and successful interview
• Accelerated 4 year Pre-Med option
• Must maintain 3.5 overall GPA
• Complete all co-ops in summer semesters

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Additional Programs

• Minor in Business Administration
• Requires an additional 18 credit hours (6
  courses)
• Approximately 25 of our students pursue this
  option
• Combined BS/MBA program
• Cumulative GPA gt 3.0
• GMAT score gt 450
• Complete MBA program while finishing BS degree
• Guaranteed Admission to UT College of Law
• Engineering GPA gt 3.4
• LSAT score gt 50 percentile
• BS/MS program in Engineering

13
Program Assessment Process

• Educational programs must be designed to achieve
  specific objectives
• Objectives are developed to satisfy needs of
  constituents (clients or customers)
• Curriculum is developed to achieve objectives
• Requires a periodic review to insure objectives
  still satisfy needs of constituents
• Requires a periodic assessment of our curriculum
  to insure objectives are achieved
• Review process requires input from all
  constituents

14
Assessing Program Objectives

• Objectives are to prepare students for
• Biomedical and healthcare industries
• Medical school
• Graduate schools, including business and law
• Can assess by tracking what our graduates are
  currently doing
• Limited dataset for new program started in 1996
• First graduates in May 1999
• Graduating class from May 2002 was first to go
  through entire program
• 61 graduates total, 40 since May 2002

15
Placement of our Graduates

• May 1999 December 2001 (21 total)
• This cohort transferred from other engineering
  programs
• 12 went to industry (10 BIOE related)
• 9 went to graduate school (all BIOE related)
• May 2002 May 2003 (40 total)
• This cohort was admitted to BIOE directly
• 13 went to industry (11 BIOE related)
• 7 went to medical school, 8th still trying
• 15 went to graduate school (11 BIOE related, 3
  MBA)
• 4 from May 2003 still unemployed or remain
  unaccounted for

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Preparation for Graduate School

• Graduates are prepared for graduate study in
  various disciplines
• Our graduates are at various institutions
• UT, CWRU, Cincinnati, Clemson, IUPUI, Michigan
• Our graduates are pursuing degrees in various
  programs
• BIOE, CHEE, EECS, MIME, Biology, MBA
• One graduate is pursuing combined MBA/JD
• Graduates from May 1999 May 2001 have obtained
  MS and/or pursuing PhD
• Graduate from May 2002 now at University of
  Michigan received prestigious NSF Fellowship
• UT BIOE alumni enrolled in our graduate program
  have been valuable assets in teaching and research

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Preparation for Graduate School

• Graduates enrolling in the UT BIOE graduate
  program initially suggested inadequate
  preparation for graduate studies
• 3 out of 8 graduates from May 1999 May 2001
• 6 out of 8 graduates from Dec 2001 May 2002
• 4 out of 7 graduates from May 2003 pursuing
  graduate studies at other schools, remaining 3 in
  different programs at UT
• Improvement due to better dissemination of
  graduate school requirements
• 3 out of 8 graduates from Dec 2001 May 2002
  took GRE or GMAT exams
• At least 5 out of 7 graduates from May 2003 took
  GRE, GMAT or LSAT exams
• Test scores are adequate (GRE gt 1850, GMAT gt 550)

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Preparation for Medical School

• Graduates are prepared for medical school
• Eight graduates from May 2002 May 2003 are
  enrolled in medical schools
• MCO, Cincinnati, CWRU
• MCAT scores are adequate (upper 20s low 30s)
• Graduate from May 2003 scored 40 out of 45
• Two graduates from May 2003 received full tuition
  scholarships
• Quality of incoming classes improving with more
  students pursuing pre-med concentration
• National statistics show 10 15 higher
  acceptance rates for BIOEs compared to other
  pre-med majors
• Rigorous curriculum eases adjustment to medical
  school courses

19
Medical School Acceptance Rates
20
Preparation for Industry

• Graduates are prepared for careers in biomedical
  and healthcare industries
• Graduates are succeeding once they obtain
  full-time positions
• Many report salaries in excess 50k, some
  reported promotions
• Assess performance of students during their co-op
  experiences
• Co-op employer reviews have been extremely
  positive
• Requests for coursework related to specific
  duties
• Other assessment tools are professional licensing
  exams (FE and PE) for engineers
• BIOE does not have dedicated FE and PE exams as
  more traditional engineering disciplines do
• Licensing does not appear to be an issue for most
  careers in biomedical and healthcare industries

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Placement in Industry

• May 1999 May 2001 graduates went to various
  industries or graduate programs
• December 2001 - May 2002 graduates had less
  options
• 14 graduates, 4 went into industry, 2 went to
  medical school, 8 went to graduate school
• 4 out of 4 went into orthopedic biomechanics
  industry, 3 with same company
• 6 out of 8 matriculated in UT BIOE graduate
  program
• Situation improved somewhat for May 2003
  graduates
• 26 graduates, 9 went into industry, 6 went/going
  to medical school, 7 went to graduate school, 4
  unaccounted for
• 8 out of 9 went into various BIOE related
  industries
• 7 out of 7 matriculated in various graduate
  programs, not UT BIOE

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Correlation with Co-op?

• Limited data from Dec 2001 - May 2002 suggested
  correlation with co-op and full-time placement
• All four students in industry had three co-op
  experiences in industry
• Three obtained full-time positions at co-op
  employer
• Two did four co-op rotations
• Two students at other graduate schools had three
  co-op experiences in industry
• Of the six students in UT BIOE graduate program,
  only one had more than two co-op experiences in
  industry
• One had one industry co-op, another had none
• Only one industry co-op between the two graduates
  in medical school

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Correlation with Co-op?

• Additional data from May 2003 shows areas of
  improvement
• 20 out of 26 graduates had at least 2 co-op
  positions in industry
• 5 others had 1 co-op position in industry
• Remaining graduate was not required to co-op
• More industries represented medical devices and
  imaging, orthopedic biomechanics, surgical and
  healthcare products
• 5 out of 9 graduates accepted full-time positions
  with a co-op employer
• 5 out of 7 graduates enrolled in graduate
  programs had at least 2 co-op positions in
  industry
• 4 out of 6 graduates enrolled in medical schools
  had at least 2 co-op positions in industry

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Correlation with Co-op?

• Results suggest correlation between co-op
  placement and achieving program objectives
• Majority of students obtain first full-time
  position with a co-op employer
• Students with industrial co-op experience making
  more informed decisions about graduate studies
• Diversity and number of industry co-op placements
  is improving
• Placements in pharmaceutical and biotechnology
  industries
• Professional Development class added in Spring
  2002 has improved student awareness of co-op
  process
• Still need to improve a number of areas
• Increase emphasis on recruiting new co-op
  full-time employers
• Ongoing issues with co-op fee and perceived level
  of service

25
Program Assessment Process

• Educational programs must be designed to achieve
  specific objectives
• Objectives are developed to satisfy needs of
  constituents (clients or customers)
• Curriculum is developed to achieve objectives
• Requires a periodic review to insure objectives
  still satisfy needs of constituents
• Requires a periodic assessment of our curriculum
  to insure objectives are achieved
• Review process requires input from all
  constituents

26
Curriculum Assessment

• Objectives are long-range goals for graduates
• Can only assess whether objectives are achieved a
  few years after graduation
• Need a way to assess whether students will be
  able to achieve objectives as they proceed
  through the program
• One method is to assess the skills our students
  possess as they proceed through the program
• These skills should correlate to the ability of
  our graduates to achieve program objectives

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Curriculum Evaluation Process

• Required process for ABET accreditation
• Define constituents and their representatives
• Define program educational objectives to serve
  constituent needs
• Objectives are goals that you expect your
  students to achieve within a few years of
  graduation
• Define program outcomes that map to program
  objectives
• Outcomes are skills that your students should
  possess by the time they reach graduation
• Periodically assess whether outcomes and
  objectives are being achieved
• Implement changes based on evaluation results

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Curriculum Evaluation Process
29
Program Outcomes

• Must include specific ABET criteria for
  engineering and bioengineering programs
• The educational outcomes of our program will
  result in graduates that have
• The ability to apply knowledge of life sciences,
  advanced mathematics (including differential
  equations and statistics), physical sciences, and
  engineering to biological and medical systems
• The ability to design, conduct and document
  laboratory experiments involving biological or
  medical systems

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Program Outcomes

• The ability to design systems, devices and
  processes for use in medicine, health care or
  biological applications
• The ability to function on multidisciplinary
  teams consisting of engineers, clinicians,
  medical researchers, biologists and non-technical
  personnel
• An ability to identify, formulate, and solve
  problems at the interface of engineering and
  biology
• An understanding of professional and ethical
  responsibilities in biology and medicine
• The ability to communicate effectively their work
  and ideas in oral and written forms

31
Program Outcomes

• An understanding of the economics, technical
  aspects, and societal impact of biomedical
  research, process development or product
  development
• A recognition of the need for and the ability to
  engage in life-long learning
• A knowledge of contemporary issues in biology and
  medicine
• The ability to use modern techniques, skills and
  tools necessary for bioengineering practice and
  for disseminating the results of their work

32
Program Outcomes

• An understanding of biology and physiology
• The ability to obtain, analyze and interpret data
  from living systems, addressing the problems
  associated with the interaction between living
  and non-living materials and systems
• An understanding of intellectual property and
  patents, marketing, the regulatory environment
  and quality control issues for products and
  processes used in medicine and health care

33
Program Evaluation Process

• Define metrics and collect data to determine
  whether objectives and outcomes are being met
• Obtain input from various constituents
• Modify curriculum to improve ability to meet
  program outcomes
• Modify program outcomes to improve ability to
  meet program objectives
• Modify program objectives if they no longer serve
  the needs of constituents

34
Outcome Assessment Process

• Map curriculum to specific outcomes
• Course evaluation surveys to obtain student input
  on whether particular outcomes are being met
• Course instructors evaluate outcomes and provide
  supporting materials
• Syllabus, assignments, samples of student work
• Undergraduate committee evaluates data and
  reports results to entire faculty
• Faculty discuss results and determine whether any
  curriculum changes are required

35
Mapping Curriculum to Outcomes
36
Outcome Assessment Results

• Completed this process for Spring 2002 Spring
  2003 courses
• Good agreement between student, instructor and
  undergraduate committee evaluations
• Most outcomes appear to be represented in the
  curriculum as identified in the course matrix
• Potential area of weakness is the lack of
  statistics in the curriculum (outcome a)
• Statistics is being more strongly emphasized in
  existing course (Analysis of BIOE Systems)
• Additional co-op opportunities and technical
  electives strengthen self-directed learning
  (outcome i)
• Improved dissemination of information related to
  graduate school admissions also strengthens
  outcome i

37
Program Assessment Process

• Educational programs must be designed to achieve
  specific objectives
• Objectives are developed to satisfy needs of
  constituents (clients or customers)
• Curriculum is developed to achieve objectives
• Requires a periodic review to insure objectives
  still satisfy needs of constituents
• Requires a periodic assessment of our curriculum
  to insure objectives are achieved
• Review process requires input from all
  constituents