CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

         The institution offers quality education through an innovative curriculum developed based on the current technological developments. A competent curriculum is given to the students considering the guidelines from the statutory bodies like AICTE, UGC, NBA, Anna University and Autonomy regulations of the Institution. Curriculum and Syllabus are prepared based on the recommendations and suggestions from all the stakeholders and reviewed in the Board of Studies (BoS) meeting, Department Academic Advisory Committee meeting and Governing Council Meeting.

        Outcome Based Education (OBE) is an educational model that forms the base of a quality education system. There is no single specified style of teaching or assessment in OBE. All educational activities carried out in OBE should help the students to achieve the set goals. The faculty may adapt the role of instructor, trainer, facilitator, and/or mentor, based on the outcomes targeted.

       OBE enhances the traditional methods and focuses on what the Institute provides to students. It shows the success by making or demonstrating outcomes using statements “able to do” in favor of students. OBE provides clear standards for observable and measurable outcomes.

        An Outcome Based curriculum is adapted with required curricular components catering the needs of the current industry scenario through Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) since 2016. The Programme Educational Objectives (PEOs), Programme Outcomes (POs), Programme Specific Outcomes (PSOs) are framed based on the Graduate Attributes (GA) prescribed by NBA and other professional societies such as ACM, IEEE, IET, ASME etc., Course Outcomes (COs) for each course are framed at the commencement of the course and the same are assessed after the end semester examination.

 Benefits of OBE

• Clarity: The focus on outcome creates a clear expectation of what needs to be accomplished by the end of the course.
• Flexibility: With a clear sense of what needs to be accomplished, instructors will be able to structure their lessons around the students’ needs.
• Comparison: OBE can be compared across the individual, class, batch, program and institute levels.
• Involvement: Students are expected to do their own learning. Increased student involvement allows them to feel responsible for their own learning, and they should learn more through this individual learning.

OBE Framework

        The Outcome Based Curriculum is designed based on the feedback from all stakeholders including Students, Alumni, Academic experts, Industry experts and Parents which aligns with the Institution’s Mission. The design process includes the points gathered after carefully assessing the opportunities for enhancement, industrial needs, suitable employability, innovation, research and development of entrepreneurship skills among the students. Courses developed focus mainly on employability, entrepreneurship and skill development. Many new courses are developed to satisfy the requirements of the current industry.

Course Outcomes (COs)

        Course Outcomes (COs) are central to the course’s curriculum. They articulate to students, faculty, and other stakeholders what students will achieve in each course and how their learning will be measured. It clearly indicates what a student should know and be able to do as a result of learning. An effective CO is student-centered, measurable, concise, meaningful, achievable and outcome-based. They inform both the way students are evaluated in a course and the way a course will be organized. Course outcomes will specify what expectations an instructor has for the course, which are related to one or more program outcomes. Course Outcomes help teachers to describe to students what is expected of them, plan appropriate teaching strategies, materials and assessments, learn from and make changes to curriculum to improve student learning and assess how the outcomes of a single course align with larger outcomes for an entire program. It will be useful for students to anticipate what they will gain from an educational experience, track their progress and know where they stand and to know in advance how they’ll be assessed. Cos for each course is framed along with the syllabus, and the same are assessed after the end semester examination to assess the performance of the student learning that course.

CO PO Mapping Guidelines

        Tips for Assigning the values while mapping COs to POs

        Mapping of COs POs, PEOs, and PSOs: It is important that all courses together must contribute towards attainment of all the POs, PEOs, and PSOs to achieve Outcome Based Education (OBE) System.

The mapping must be in following matrixes:

1. COs to POs mapping
2. COs to PSOs Mapping
3. PSOs to PEOs Mapping
4. POs to PEOs Mapping

The above said matrixes uses following correlation mapping:

1. “1” as low (minimum) Correlation
2. “2” as medium (Moderate/average) correlation
3. “3” as High (Substantial) Correlation

Values to CO-PO (technical POs in particular) matrix can be assigned by

1. Judging the importance of the particular CO in relation to the POs. If the CO matches strongly with a particular PO criterion then assign 3, if it matches moderately then assign 2 or if the match is low then assign 1 else mark with ” – ” symbol.
2. If an action verb used in a CO is repeated at multiple Bloom’s levels, then you need to judge which Bloom’s level is the best fit for that action verb.

Blooms Taxonomy

        Bloom’s Taxonomy based on six levels of Cognitive Learning Dimensions (Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating) is used to deliver course content. High and Low order thinking is distinguished perceptively. A variety of pedagogical programs and instructional approaches including seminars, tutorials, laboratory classes, project work, value added courses & Continuous Assessment Test for theory Courses are used to enhance and ensure the effectiveness of course delivery.

Program Outcomes (POs)

        POs are statements about the knowledge, skills and attitudes (attributes) the graduate of a formal engineering program should have. POs deal with the general aspect of graduation for a particular program, and the competencies and expertise a graduate will possess after completion of the program. These are broad and cover a wider area than of COs. the NBA has set 12 Program Outcomes or Graduate Attributes for the sake of unity and quality assurance. The Program Outcomes set by the institution reflect on these.

        The Mission, PEOs of the Department along with the 12 Graduate Attributes (GAs) given by the NBA are used in defining the POs which are listed below

List of program outcomes and program specific outcomes

Program Specific Outcomes (PSOs)

        The PSOs are program specific. These are statements that define outcomes of a program which make students realize the fact that the knowledge and techniques learnt in this course has direct implication for the betterment of society and its sustainability.

Program Educational Objectives (PEOs)

        Program Educational Objectives (PEOs) are statements that describe the career and professional accomplishments that the program is preparing the graduates to achieve. PEO’s are measured 4–5 years after graduation. They are set in order to measure the effectiveness of the program, and to check whether it has prepared the students to deal with the real world, where they could apply and use the skills and knowledge they’ve learned to good use.

Board of Studies (BoS)

        BoS consists of members including internal faculty members, students, alumni, academic experts, and industry experts. Revision of curriculum and syllabus are done once in four years. However, minor revisions as and when required, recommended by the Quality Improvement Committee (QIC), Program Assessment Committee (PAC) and Board of Studies (BoS) are incorporated in the regulations/curricula/course content. The overall curriculum is prepared through a consultative process among various stake holders. Initially a brainstorming meeting is arranged with all the stakeholders by carefully considering the important parameters such as Department Vision, Mission, Program Educational Objectives (PEOs), Program Outcomes (POs), Program Specific Outcomes(PSOs), inputs from external stakeholders and benchmarking of curriculum against similar programs run by leading educational institutions in India and abroad. The drafted curriculum and the syllabi is reviewed in Board of Studies meeting by the BoS members and the recommendations suggested in Board of Studies meeting by the BoS members are incorporated in the curriculum and syllabi.

Program Assessment Committee (PAC) & Department Advisory Academic Committee (DAAC)

        The PAC is composed of members from renowned institutions as well as members from industry, alumni and members of faculty of the department, Head of the Department and student representatives. It receives the report of the QIC and monitors the progress of the program. The board discusses on current and future issues related to programs. It develops and recommends new or revised program goals and objectives. The main objective of PAC is making up to date with the latest requirements of the industry and incorporating necessary components in the curriculum as much as possible. The committee also reviews and analyzes the gap between curriculum and Industry requirement and gives necessary feedback or advice actions. PAC encourages for industry-institute interactions to bridge up curriculum/industry gap and suggest quality improvement initiatives to enhance employability. It also proposes necessary action plan for skill development of students, required for entrepreneurship development and quality improvement. PAC also identifies and suggests thrust areas to conduct various activities (final year projects, training courses and additional experiments to meet PEOs. PAC members assist in redefining existing PEO’s, aligning of PEO’s to the mission statements and defining program specific outcomes. PAC meets once in a year to review the programs. Programme Assessment Committee (PAC) of each programme existing in each department is another mechanism in place to monitor and evaluates the course outcomes, programme outcomes and programme specific outcomes in a continuous manner.

        In order to ensure the quality, attainment of outcome-based education, DAAC (Department Academic Advisory Committee) within the Department is in place to suggest various steps for improving the Content Beyond Syllabus, Value Added Courses, Industrial Visits, Internships and Projects etc. for bridging the gap in the curriculum towards attainment of programme outcomes and programme specific outcomes.

        The institution monitors and periodically reviews its teaching learning processes and methodologies/practices through various operations and expected outcomes. This process was monitored on continual basis by Institutional Quality Assurance (IQAC) through Programme Assessment Committee (PAC) and Department Advisory Academic Committee (DAAC). In addition, the IQAC also initiates necessary steps to measure the quality of education through regular and continuous follow-up actions. The roles and responsibilities of the IQAC committee are the same as defined by the NAAC.