An Assessment Approach to Project-Based Service Learning

Strategies for assessment are important to engineering educators and researchers as they evaluate the quality of student learning in courses and other experiences. Assessment can be particularly challenging in project-based service-learning (PBSL) experiences because the types of learning do not lend themselves to traditional modes of assessment, such as tests or quizzes. This paper describes a strategy of assessing a broad set of skills in EPICS, a well-established and recognized PBSL program where students earn academic credit for their work on community-based designs. Although the assessments presented are specific to a particular program, we present them here with sufficient detail and underlying objectives so that they can be adapted to other courses and programs as appropriate. Assessments discussed include individual learning, team and project assessments and programmatic assessments including alumni surveys.