Introduction

            The Faculty of Engineering was established by a Royal Decree issued by His Majesty King Khaled Bin Abdulaziz on January 9th, 1974. Students started their studies in the academic year 1975/1976 in six departments, namely Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Nuclear Engineering and Mining Engineering.

            Starting from the academic year 1981/1982 several changes were introduced in the structure of the Faculty of Engineering. In that year the Department of Chemical Engineering was established as a separate Department which had been working as a division of the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1975 until 1981/1982. The University Council, in 1982, trifurcated the Department of Mechanical Engineering into three separate departments: Production Engineering and Mechanical Systems Design, Thermal Engineering and Desalination Technology and Aeronautical Engineering. Also in the same year, Sanitary Engineering was introduced as one of the main specializations of the Department of Civil Engineering and Biomedical Engineering was introduced as one of the main specializations of the Department of Electrical Engineering. In the year 1987 The University Council approved the change in the name of the Department of Electrical Engineering to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In 1990 the University Council decided to change the name of the Department of Chemical Engineering to the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering.  Finally, in 2012 the Department of Production Engineering and Mechanical Systems Design and the department of Thermal Engineering and Desalination Technology were merged in one department, namely; Mechanical Engineering Department. The female section offers two programs, namely Industrial Engineering and Electrical Engineering (Computers) which are identical to the ones taught in the male section

            The Faculty of Engineering at King Abdulaziz University is a pioneer institute in offering programs in biomedical, mining, nuclear and aeronautical engineering.

Core Values

The Faculty of Engineering embraces the following core values:

Qualities of Engineering Graduates

            The Faculty of Engineering is fully aware of its responsibilities towards its graduates as depicted in the above mentioned mission statement. In order to support the mission of the faculty as well as the mission of the university the Faculty is preparing engineering graduates who possess the following career and professional capabilities which are implicitly included in the educational objectives of different engineering programs:

·       Perform professionally: The graduates will be able to exhibit integrity, maintain ethical standards, accept responsibility, take initiative, and provide leadership.

·      Demonstrate technical competence: They will think creatively, search broadly and use state of the art engineering tools to identify and formulate safe innovative approaches.

·       Work efficiently: They are expected to act as an effective team member using project management techniques with formal and informal communication skills to ensure timely and within-budget completion of work projects with expected quality.

·       Keep commitment: The students must remain business focused, quality oriented, and committed to sustainable development of society and to ensure personal and professional development.

Student Outcomes Based on Learning Experience

            The study programs in the Faculty of Engineering are designed to give the students a learning experience to progressively build up a set of competencies that help them achieve educational objectives of their academic programs. The Faculty of Engineering has adopted ABET student outcomes a to k criteria. These student outcomes are explicitly included in the learning outcomes of all engineering programs in addition to any other outcomes stipulated by the program for the achievement of its educational objectives.

            The outcomes describe expected student competencies; what they would know and be able to do by the time of graduation. The students are expected to relate their abilities to the attitudes, skills and knowledge acquired through the engineering program. It is the responsibility of each engineering program to have one or more processes that identify, collect, and prepare data to evaluate the achievement of these outcomes by the time of graduation. Each program must also have one or more processes to interpret the data and evidences accumulated through the assessment practices to determine the extent to which the eleven outcomes are being attained, and to take decisions and actions to improve the program accordingly.

            Engineering programs in the Faculty of Engineering provide students with a learning experience that permits them to build up the following skills and abilities:

Academic Accreditation of the Faculty of Engineering Programs

            The 12 programs of the Faculty of Engineering at King Abdulaziz University have gone over years through the international accreditation process of ABET Inc., previously known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. ABET Inc. is a recognized body for college and university programs accreditation in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology in the United States. It is a federation of 30 professional and technical societies representing diverse fields of engineering education. ABET has provided leadership and quality assurance in higher education for over 75 years.  ABET currently accredits some 3,100 programs at more than 660 colleges and universities inside the United States and worldwide.

ABET Terminology Used By the Faculty of Engineering

            The current 14 programs of the faculty of Engineering adopt the following ABET terminology:

- Program Educational Objectives (PEOs):

            As defined by ABET, “Program educational objectives are broad statements that describe what graduates are expected to attain within a few years of graduation. Program educational objectives are based on the needs of the program’s constituencies”.  The program must have published program educational objectives that are consistent with the mission of the institution, the needs of the various constituencies, and the ABET criteria. There must be a documented and effective process, involving program constituencies, for the periodic review of these program educational objectives.

- Student Outcomes (SOs):

            Student outcomes describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation. skills, knowledge and behaviors that students acquire as they progress through the program. Student outcomes are outcomes a through k plus any additional outcomes that may be articulated by the program. The program must have documented student outcomes that prepare graduates to attain the program educational objectives.

- Assessment:

            Assessment is one or more processes that identify, collect, and prepare data to evaluate the attainment of student outcomes. Effective assessment uses relevant direct, indirect, quantitative and qualitative measures as appropriate to the objective or outcome being measured. Appropriate sampling methods may be used as part of an assessment process.

- Evaluation:

            Evaluation is one or more processes that interpret the data and evidence accumulated through assessment processes. Evaluation determines the extent to which student outcomes are being attained. Evaluation results in decisions and actions regarding program improvement.

ABET Outcomes versus NCAAA Domains of Learning

            The National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA) has been established in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the responsibility to determine standards and criteria for academic accreditation and assessment. The Commission is committed to  quality assurance processes of post secondary institutions. It isto ensure the quality and management of educational institutions so as to bring them at par with the highest international standards recognized both within the Kingdom and elsewhere in the world.

            The domains used in the higher education component of the National Qualifications Framework for Saudi Arabia are:

            Engineering programs in the Faculty provide the students with a learning experience that permits them to build up the skills and abilities according to ABET requirements. Student outcomes a to k and additional outcomes that may be articulated by the program must foster attainment of program educational objectives. The educational administration in the Faculty of Engineering develops an assessment and evaluation process that periodically documents and demonstrates the degree to which student outcomes are attained. as compared to the 5 domains of learning stipulated by the National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment (NCAAA), so as to notice the following:

            As a result of this discussion the four NCAAA domains of learning are mapped in the outcomes of Engineering Programs as follows:

i.     Knowledge

ii.     Cognitive Skills

iii.     Interpersonal Skills and Responsibility

iv.     Communication, IT, and Numerical Skills

            The summary of the program learning outcomes is expressed using a table in the following format:

^*1: Low level (Remembering& Understanding), 2: Medium (Applying& Analyzing),

 3: High (Producing& Evaluating)