Assessment of Engineering Design Theses
Year: 2012
Editor: Lyndon Buck, Geert Frateur, William Ion, Chris McMahon, Chris Baelus, Guido De Grande, Stijn Verwulgen
Author: Watty, Robert; Kreimeyer, Matthias
Series: E&PDE
Institution: 1: University of Applied Sciences Ulm, Germany, 2: MAN Truck & Bus AG
Section: Assessment
Page(s): 328-333
ISBN: 978-1-904670-36-0
Abstract
To evaluate a student’s work best possible, the assessment of theses written as part of the curriculum has to meet certain standards from both an academic and an industrial perspective to fully embrace the goals of engineering education. Most universities usually use standard forms for the evaluation of theses. For the purpose of this research, available assessment forms within the WiGeP, a German-speaking network of university institutions active in design education and research, were collected, compared and analyzed to find common evaluation criteria and to judge the current state of how theses in design education are evaluated. From this analysis, a proposal of a comprehensive evaluation form for theses was deduced that could be adapted to special needs of evaluating institutions. This paper shortly describes the theoretical background of evaluation of engineering theses and the results of the study on evaluation procedures and criteria. It presents criteria and a proposal for an assessment form for the evaluation of theses in universities.
Keywords: Design education, assessment, thesis, evaluation criteria