The CDIO Syllabus and Outcomes-Based Assessment: A Case Study of a Canadian Mechanical Engineering Program

This paper presents the results of a pilot study on using the CDIO syllabus as a starting point for Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) graduate attribute assessment. The CDIO syllabus provides a comprehensive set of engineering learning outcomes that can be used to move from general performance objectives (i.e., CEAB graduate attributes) to specific learning outcomes (i.e., CDIO syllabus). In this paper, the authors use this mapping in combination with an introduce-teach-utilize (ITU) analysis as a basis for in-program graduate attribute assessment of the Schulich School of Engineering’s B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering program. The results of the case study show that the ITU analysis provides an effective tool to align learning outcomes to a specific engineering curriculum.