The Department of Bioengineering and its Curriculum and Committee, SEAS Academic Programs Office (APO) and SEAS Undergraduate Affairs Committee (UAC) and the University’s Career  Service Center (CS) obtain input from program constituents within their purview.  Inputs from the constituencies are obtained as follows

Core Constituencies:

Bioengineering Students: The Educational Objectives are posted on the Departmental Web site. Input is welcomed by the Bioengineering Department either directly from students, through the Student Societies and by dedicated focus groups and surveys.

(i) Bioengineering Students Focus Groups: Seven dedicated and extensive focus groups were conducted during the Spring 2005 semester to gather feedback. Input and comments were solicited about all program aspects, but concentrated this year on problem solving methods. Because the BE freshmen do not take a BE course during their Spring semester, their focus groups will be scheduled in the Fall.  Each focus group consisted of a brief presentation given by a BE faculty member about the BE department’s mission, objectives, and outcomes.  Following the presentation, the students discussed the problem solving methods they learned, where they learned them, which methods they would like to learn more, and how well the BE curriculum integrates problem solving methods in the curriculum.

 (ii) BE Senior exit questionnaire: Input from BE senior students is solicited annually through the Bioengineering Exit Survey. The results are disseminated to the BE faculty and Advisory Board for analysis and discussion. The questionnaire is designed to survey program outcomes, solicit data about program experiences, career choices as well as suggestions and comments.

(iii) Student input at the school level:  The Engineering Students Activities Council and Engineering Dean Advisory Board provide input through representatives on SEAS UAC.

(iv) Student stakeholder survey: SEAS APO conducts a biannual comprehensive student stakeholder survey. The stakeholder survey is outsourced to an independent contractor and covers every area of the school education, advising and academic services. Yearly and multiyear analyses are disseminated by APO to SEAS UAC and the programs.

(v) Career Services: Penn’s Career Services Center (CS) conducts routine yearly surveys among students. CS has a dedicated advisor for engineering students. CS yearly reports are disseminated to the programs via APO and UAC. SEAS APO and CS prepare multiyear trends and analyses.

(vi) Student teaching and course evaluation: SEAS APO routinely conducts end-semester course and teacher evaluations as part of the university-wide course evaluation process. While these evaluations are not geared to directly evaluate overall programmatic objectives and outcomes, they serve as an important assessment mechanism of courses, labs and teaching performance, which are central to fulfilling the program mission and objectives. Teaching quality is an important factor in faculty promotion and compensation, thereby contributing to instruction and program quality and improvement.

Alumni: SEAS APO with the help of SEAS Alumni Relations Office and an outside firm contacts alumni at different phases of their careers, asking them to participate in a survey seeking input on the Program Objectives and Learning Outcomes based on their experience after graduation. This survey is disseminated by APO to SEAS UAC and programs. .

Bioengineering Industry and Services: Input from the biomedical engineering industry and services is solicited through a survey. SEAS APO with the help of Penn’s Career Services Center (CS), and an outside firm contacts corporate affiliates for their input. This survey is carried out every three to five years and disseminated by SEAS APO to SEAS UAC and programs. CS compiles detailed statistics. .

Graduate and Professional Schools

Graduate Programs in Bioengineering:

Medical Schools: Penn’s Career Services Center (CS) has a dedicated advisor for students interested in medical or veterinary school and graduate schools in other health professions. CS compiles and organizes requirements and expectations from medical and veterinary schools and advises interested students. CS also follows up on the application process and compiles statistics on the success rate of medical school acceptance.

Faculty and staff: Faculty input is ongoing. Programmatic Mission, Objectives and Outcomes as well as specific details of the curriculum and courses are discussed and approved at Bioengineering faculty meetings and by the Bioengineering Curriculum Committee, as needed. Major programmatic changes and new courses also require discussion and approval by SEAS UAC.

Extended Constituencies

By virtue of their profound influence on the program Mission, Objectives and Outcomes the following are important constituents. The Department of Bioengineering does not have a direct survey or programmatic input mechanism from them. Their interaction with the program is accomplished by other mechanisms that are described below.

The University of Pennsylvania: The University is the intellectual environment where our students learn. The Bioengineering program supports the University and SEAS mission and strategic plan. The University has a comprehensive strategic planning process and individual programs participate in it through the schools. SEAS Dean and SEAS Faculty Council are the responsible bodies for the overall strategic planning process.

The University and its 12 schools support program objectives and outcomes through teaching of subjects not offered in SEAS, including natural sciences and mathematics, social sciences and humanities, business and other areas. Assessment of required subjects that are common to all engineering programs and are not taught in SEAS, such as Physics, Math, Chemistry, Biology and social sciences and humanities is carried out by SEAS APO and reported to SEAS UAC and the individual programs.

ABET: Input from ABET is obtained through published documents, available on their web site that describe current requirements for accreditation and by faculty participation in ABET and engineering education workshops. Input is also solicited through the formal process of Program Evaluation for Accreditation. The ABET periodic Self Study process is, in and of itself, a mechanism for program review and improvement.

Review Boards:

(i) Bioengineering Departmental Advisory Board: The Bioengineering Advisory Board includes a diverse group of experts from academe and industry, as well as alumni representation. The Advisory Board meets annually, or as needed, for a comprehensive review of the Bioengineering Department strategic planning and programs. The Advisory Board meets with SEAS administration, faculty and students and prepares a report, which is presented to SEAS Dean. In each visit, the Department of Bioengineering responds to the report indicating improvements and amendments to the program.

(ii) The Whitaker Foundation: In recent years the Department of Bioengineering also had the benefit of site visits by the Whitaker Foundation, which are conducted in an approximately semiannual frequency. One of the yearly visits is dedicated to review of academic programs and includes members from other bioengineering programs and various experts selected by the Whitaker Foundation. The other yearly visit is by Foundation officers and includes a review of the academic program as well as administration of the Department’s Whitaker Leadership Development Award and progress in the planning and construction of the new facilities for the Bioengineering program. The Department prepares a comprehensive progress report prior to each site visit indicating programmatic improvements.

(iii) School Board of Overseers: This is not a direct BE constituency. The Department provides input as part of the school annual review and strategic plan process.

Federal and State Funding Agencies: The influence of agencies funding bioengineering research such as NSF, NIH, CDC and other is very profound. Our faculty responds to requests for proposals to advance national priorities in the areas of bioengineering, medicine, and life sciences in general. Grants from these agencies and foundations enable the important intellectual environment and infrastructure in numerous laboratories and facilities, where our students carry out design and research projects, thereby supporting program outcomes. The funding agency input is reflected in the direction of research in many of our laboratories and supports the training of students in areas of societal need and national priorities. By virtue of the public nature of the appropriations for these agencies and the determination of national priorities by Congress, the public interest has a strong input to our program. The Bioengineering Department does not have a direct mechanism to solicit programmatic educational input from funding agencies. However, research grants and other awards are an indirect measure of providing our students a training environment and research and design outcomes in current areas supporting the public interest in contemporary needs.

Professional Societies: The role of professional societies in introducing our students to technical, entrepreneurial and societal aspects of the field and in providing outstanding opportunities for life long learning makes them important constituencies.  Penn Bioengineering supports a student chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and encourages student participation as a means for service, enhancing the profession, networking and leadership skills. The BMES chapter interacts continually with the faculty and is engaged in many school activities including peer mentoring of new BE students.

General Public: There is no formal mechanism to obtain input from the General Public. Indirect input is obtained through the faculty keeping informed of current societal trends and expectations. In addition, the ranking of bioengineering programs by the public media (e.g., U.S. News and World Report) provides an indicator of the reputation of the Department of Bioengineering, and thus an indirect assessment of the Educational Objectives.

Professional Schools (not bioengineering or medical professions)

(i) Business Schools: The Department of Bioengineering does not have a formal mechanism to solicit input from business schools. Graduates usually apply to business schools after several years of career and specialization, beyond their formal Bioengineering education.  Interested current students are exposed to business aspects of engineering through SEAS Engineering Entrepreneurship Program, which offers courses that can be included in the Bioengineering curriculum.  In addition, direct input from Penn’s Wharton Business School is provided through joint inter-school SEAS-Wharton degree programs such as the Management and Technology Program (M & T) in which numerous Bioengineering students participate. The M & T program is administered by SEAS APO. 

(ii) Law schools: SEAS has a joint program with Penn’s School of Law that prepares students for careers in areas of law such as patent and intellectual property law. The program is managed by SEAS APO. Input from the School of Law is available to this program. The number of BE students reported by CS is small, they usually apply several years after graduation and direct follow up by the Bioengineering department is simply not practical. Interested current students have a special advisor in SEAS APO to help plan their program. CS follows up and compiles statistics, which will be available at the visit.

2. Determine and Evaluate Objectives and Program Improvements

Input from constituents is evaluated by the Bioengineering Faculty and the Curriculum Committee, where amendments to the program and their implementation is discussed and approved. The undergraduate program and curriculum are virtually on the agenda of every BE faculty meeting. New courses and substantive programmatic revisions are also discussed and require approval in SEAS UAC. School-wide matters that affect all programs are discussed in SEAS UAC, which solicits inputs from the programs.

3. Implement and Disseminate

The Bioengineering faculty and Curriculum Committee incorporate the approved amendments to the Educational Objectives and Outcomes. The amendments are disseminated, as appropriate, through

(i) Penn General Catalog and other publications, which are updated periodically,

(ii) The Department of Bioengineering internet site, to which the faculty, students and other constituents are directed,

(iii) SEAS comprehensive internet-based Undergraduate Student Handbook managed by SEAS APO, and

(iv) Direct communication with students.