Student Learning Outcomes
Olin’s Added Learning Outcomes (ALOs)
Olin College of Engineering is committed to preparing graduates who recognize the complexity of the world, appreciate the relationship of their work to individuals, to society and to sustainability, expect to work in diverse and inclusive environments, and are ready to engineer a better future for the world. Olin has for its graduates a vision of the key abilities, skills, and mindsets necessary for success, both in engineering and beyond. The vision has been constructed through careful research and consideration of the engineering practice and competencies necessary to approach emerging technical, environmental, and societal challenges in a global context. This vision is captured in our set of learning outcomes.
What follows are the learning outcomes that are standard for an ABET accredited engineering program, along with added learning outcomes (ALOs) developed at Olin College that help define our curricular vision. Through intentional educational design, the Olin community supports the development of graduates with:
Student Outcome 1
ABET: an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
An Interdisciplinary Approach to Solving Problems: an ability to integrate approaches from the social sciences, arts, humanities, math, the natural sciences and engineering to holistically understand and address complex problems.
Student Outcome 2
ABET: an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
Foregrounding Needs of Primary Parties: an ability and inclination to utilize human-centered design techniques to investigate and collaboratively identify needs of primary parties by integrating diverse perspectives, ethics, beliefs, and values when pursuing personal and professional endeavors.
Student Outcome 3
ABET: an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
Empathic Listening: an ability to actively listen to others to comprehend the meaning, emotions, and perspective of others.
Student Outcome 4
ABET: an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
Drawing on the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences: an ability to draw on the arts, humanities, and social sciences to shape, reflect on, and critique one’s own values, priorities, and ethics.
Student Outcome 5
ABET: an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
Team Health: an ability to assess and foster team health by creating and maintaining successful working relationships and identifying & resolving conflict.
Adopting Processes to Handle Uncertainty and Adversity: an ability to structure and sequence tasks to derisk and reduce uncertainty, continuously evaluate project progress, replan when faced with adversity, and iterate as needed.
Student Outcome 6
ABET: an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
Additional Modes of Analysis: an ability to select and use appropriate methods of analysis, such as qualitative/mixed methods or secondary source evaluation
Student Outcome 7
ABET: an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.
Self-Regulated Learning: an ability to diagnose learning needs, set learning goals, identify learning resources, select learning strategies, and self-evaluate and reflect on learning outcomes.
Student Outcome 8
Note: there is no corresponding ABET outcome
Identity Development and Growth: an ability and inclination to actively reflect on one’s background, personal experiences, and professional work and integrate them into one’s evolving sense of self.