Progress of Student Competencies from Cornerstone to Capstone Design: A Longitudinal Study

Using a rubric which measures student design competencies from pre-engineer to professional engineer levels, we assessed 104 cornerstone, 96 mid-program and 97 capstone final design projects over a five-year period to monitor student performance. The competencies chosen were System Design, Implementation, Project Management and Documentation. Each competency mapped to a separate ABET student outcome. The results showed a marked improvement as students progressed through the curriculum. The greatest improvement was shown in the System Design competency, followed by the Implementation, Project Management and Documentation competencies. The results provide an overview of evolution in design skills from cornerstone to capstone design and help identify areas of improvement within the design curriculum. The data also show that over the academic years 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, the 58 students who completed all three design courses and whose final design projects were assessed, scored consistently higher in each of the competencies on the assessment rubric than the 81 students who took only the cornerstone design course or the 38 students who took just the cornerstone and mid-program design courses. This suggests that those who scored higher marks in the cornerstone design course had a higher probability of passing the capstone design course and successfully graduating from the program.