The Automated Faculty Course Assessment Report System Spring Presentation

1. The Automated Faculty Course Assessment Report System Spring Presentation May 1, 2008 Matt Downs, Steve Garofalo, Kelly Patterson Prof. Retterer, Advisor Dr. Estell, Sponsor

2. What is an FCAR? • FCAR = Faculty Course Assessment Report • Sections • Grade Distribution • Course Modifications • Course Outcomes Assessment • Components (program-level assessment) • Design of Experiments Component • EE metric 4-b-1: students’ ability to design and conduct experiments • Proposed Actions for Improvement • Student Feedback • Reflection

3. Problem Statement • Create a web-based replacement for antiquated template-based FCAR system which requires excess man-hours. • Utilize current software technology to simplify data collection, speed up assessment and provide improved utilization of data. • Provide an effective means of standardizing processes, automate document creation and enforce document format.

4. Methodology • Create the simplest solution that accomplishes the task • “Just enough” planning—Build first, details later • Solve one piece at a time, adapt and evolve project as the problem changes • Simplify development by abstracting core functionalities into a simple interface • Create reusable, easy-to-maintain code

5. Design Process • The purpose of a three-layer architecture is to separate database transactions (the data access layer), business logic (the business layer), and the user-interface (presentation layer) Distributed System Client Server Presentation Layer Business Layer Business Layer Data Access Layer Data Layer

6. Design Process • Fall - Defined problem to solve, discussed constraints, designed data, built database • Winter – Built system through iterative process of constructing and designing • Spring – Continued development of system, improved working prototype from winter, conducted user testing

7. System Design

8. System Design • Presentation Layer Markup – ASP and AJAX .NET using XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS • Presentation Layer Code/Business Layer/Data Access Layer – C# .NET with VSTO and OpenXML API • Database – SQL Server 2005 (T/SQL)

9. Examples of AJAX Enhancements

10. Word 97-2003 Word 2007 • <w:pPr> • <w:indw:left="540” hanging="540"/> • </w:pPr> • <w:p> • <w:r> • <w:txml:space="preserve">PO-4: Be familiar with, and be able to select and use, the tools and devices available to build solutions to problems and have the skills to carry out the design and implementation</w:t> • </w:r> • </w:p> • <w:pPr> • <w:indw:left="1080” • w:firstLine="1080”/> • </w:pPr> Binary OpenXML

11. Screen Shots – Home Page

12. Screen Shots – FCAR Form

13. Screen Shots - Admin Interface

14. FCAR Component Web Form Report

15. Budget

16. Results • End result is a useful, friendly tool that saves time, provides helpful information, and automates a typically arduous task. • The system successfully: • Creates electronic FCAR documents • Manages them in a database • Generates Word 2007 documents • Compiles data into an overall assessment report

17. Future Considerations • Browser Independence • Robustness • Commercial Use (other universities) • Server state and Data redundancy • Encapsulate overall report and FCAR report • Transport-layer security for login

18. Questions?