Construction Management: Annual Report

Closing the Loop Report - 2019-2020

Program Student Learning Outcomes:

1.   The Construction Technology (CT) program has 13 SLOs which have been adopted from our accrediting organization ACCE (American Council for Construction Education). Some SLOs have two sub-SLOs. These sub-SLOs reflect "Introductory" & "Advanced" progress for that specific SLO. 

There are also three "Program Learning Outcomes" (PLO). They reflect the three main areas of the construction profession: Residential; Commercial; and Heavy/Civil. These were adopted because the ACCE SLOs do not differentiate between those three areas.  

All program SLO & PLOs were assessed. 

Note: The Construction Technology Program was re-accredited for six years by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) in 2015. ACCE accepted our Third Year Report at their February 2019 meeting. The reaccreditation site visit by ACCE is due for Fall 2021. 

Assessment Results; Responses; and Action Plans: Listed for each SLO. A summary is included. (SLOs & PLOs are based on the ACCE format.) 

Note: Results listed for percentage:  (Exceeding/Meeting/Approaching/Not Meeting) Standards for tracking.  

1. SLO 1.1: Communication/Intro: The percentages changed from (52/45/0/3) to (20/33/25/22).  There is a steep increase in the “Approaching & Not Meeting” categories.  To be sure, this freshman class did not hand in homework well. However, this data is incomplete, as the students will finish the lab portion on the course due to going online in mid-semester. Updates:  a) Industry help from Atlantic Testing on industry standards for test results, and a revised checklist for report will be used for completing the hands-on labs. That has been done for ~ 3 years and it definitely helped both with actual test results and with student interest.  Will continue this!) 

Note : SLO 1.2/Advanced Comm. Results: (15/82/3/0) to (14/73/11/3)  continues to get better results. 

2. SLO 2.1: Estimating/Intro: The percentages changed from (15/30/21/33) to (0/40/20/40). There is a big increase in the “Not Meeting” category.  This group of students did a very poor job on their homework.  Leaving in the middle of the semester didn't help things. Updates: a) Assign (still!) more estimating problems in AECT 100 & CNST 150. Continue to use "Cone of Silence" method of teaching in lab; give more quizzes to compare to HW; and try to get the students to buy the book!!! 

Note : SLO 2.2/Advanced Estimating Results: (11/73/0/16) to (34/37/14/13) shows a good increase in “Exceeding” category, but a big increase in “Approaching.”  This is not surprising, given the math skills of our students.  We will continue to find ways to help them. 

3. SLO 3.1 & 3.2: Scheduling: The percentages improved from the 3.1, Intro Scheduling results (23/45/19/13) to the 3.2, Advanced Scheduling results (38/59/3/0). 

4. SLO 4: Technology: 100% of students obtained a Procore certification for the software.  Very cool.  

5. SLO 5.1: Const. Docs-Intro: (15/56/17/12) are consistent with the SLO 5.2: Const. Docs-Advanced  (9/63/18/11).  These drawing classes are rigorous and these results are expected. Videos of lectures are being used to help the students complete their drawings when they are not in lab. 

6.  SLO 6: Accounting:  The percentages changed from to (15/50/12/23) to (38/35/11/16).  There was a good increase in “Exceeding” and these results are consistent from the previous year. Again, handing in homework is an issue. We will continue to challenge the students to do their homework.  

7. SLO 7: Surveying: The percentages were (0/63/23/14). The “Approaching & Not Meeting” categories are unacceptable.  To be sure, this freshman class did not hand in homework well. However, this data is incomplete, as the students will need to finish the extensive lab assignments in the course due to going online in mid-semester. Update:  a) More Surveying software (Civil 3d) is being added to this course to complement the field work. The software results were not great, but we feel that this will improve the students’ knowledge in the long run.  

8. SLO 8: Ethics: The percentages were (16/65/5/14). The results overall were good. “Not Meeting” categories are unacceptable.  Due to the freedom to do, or not to do, homework, many students did not complete their homework, leading to lower results than in past years. We will monitor the “Not Meeting” percentage.  

9. SLO 9.1: Contracts/Codes/Regs:  Codes: The percentages changed from (15/37/27/20) to (15/43/38/5): The “Approaching” results got worse, while the “Not Met” results greatly improved. The low scores are a reflection of students not following the requirements for the “timed” quizzes and exercises (due dates and quiz durations).  In the future, we will allow more time for students to review the documents before taking the quizzes.  

Note: SLO 9.2/Contracts & Regs Results:  (9/65/21/6) to (24/51/11/14). The “Exceeding” results got better, while the “Not Met” results were too low. The low scores, again, are a reflection of students choosing not to do their homework.  We will continue to simultaneously maintain course rigor and help the students.  

10. SLO 10.1: Const. Methods, Mat. Equipt./Intro: The percentages changed from (19/35/14/32) to (15/54/23/8). The “Approaching” is worse and “Not Met” results are much better.  Those 2 percentages are a reflection of students not doing their homework.  

Note: SLO 10.2/Advanced:  Results: (19/56/19/7) to (13/71/10/6). These data are consistent.  

11. SLO 11: Safety: Covid-19, combined with the RIT OSHA outreach program, did not make it possible to complete this course. The students will be obtaining their OSHA 30 cards via an authorized online training program sometime in the Summer or Fall 2020.  

12. SLO 12: Structural Design: The percentages were (31/56/7/6), and the results overall were better than in years past. This is a very difficult course. Half of the course was required to be online. This may be the reason for the improved results. 

13. SLO 13: MEP Systems: The percentages were (24/55/21/0), and the results overall were better than in years past. This is a very difficult course. Half of the course was required to be online. This may be the reason for the improved results. 

14. PLO 1,2,3: Residential/Commercial/Heavy-Civil Construction: The Freshman Orientation class,  AECT 100, covers these three industry project classifications.

Time Frame: 

Each Action Item to be addressed and updated in academic year 2020-2021.

Resources Requested:

See Action Item descriptions for each SLO.

Expected outcomes:

Each Action Item will hopefully be addressed to our satisfaction in the academic year 2020-2021.

Describe resources received (if applicable) to implement your action plan: 

N/A 

One year after your action plan, describe the implementation of the plan, progress and updates: 

All SLOs are updated individually in this “Closing the Loop” report. In the past, only the SLOs that showed a big change were included.  Progress and updates are included for each SLO. One continuing concern is that too many students choose not do assignments.  Importance of this has been driven home in AECT 100 Orientation, but the pattern still exists. This pattern also is evident in number of scholarship applications submitted.  Industry assistance has helped and will be continued. 

Clearly the pandemic has affected these results for the spring semester. Approximately one half of the semester was conducted online.  Two courses that have substantial hands-on activities will be completed (tentatively) the week before the fall semester starts.  This will improve a few of the SLO results.   

One positive feedback from the students this semester has been the use of recorded lectures. Students like having the unlimited access to lecture content.  The CADD drawing courses have been using this format for quite some time.  We will be working to identify lectures and labs that would benefit from this. One idea is to record the lecture highlights for student use. Hopefully, this will help increase the number of assignments actually submitted on time. 

It will be interesting to see the results in the 20/21 assessment results. The internship and job markets have definitely been affected, but there will still be excellent opportunities for students who “go to class and do their homework.”