Assessment and Continuous Improvement of an Undergraduate Data Science Program.

In recent years, there has been an explosion in the growth of undergraduate statistics and data science programs across the US. Simultaneously, there has been clear guidance written on curriculum development for both data science (De Veaux et al.) and statistics (Carver et al.) programs. While this...

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Published in:American Statistician Vol. 79; no. 1; pp. 102 - 122
Main Authors: Clark, Nicholas, Morrell, Christopher, Powell, Mike
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Feb2025
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Feb2025
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        10.1080/00031305.2024.2365673
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        atl: Assessment and Continuous Improvement of an Undergraduate Data Science Program.
      aug:
        au:
          Clark, Nicholas
          Morrell, Christopher
          Powell, Mike
        affil:
          Department of Mathematical Sciences, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY
          Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY
      su:
        Continuous improvement process
        Data science
        Statistical association
        Curriculum evaluation
        Curriculum planning
      sug:
        subj:
          Continuous improvement process
          Data science
          Statistical association
          Curriculum evaluation
          Curriculum planning
      keyword:
        Accreditation
        Curriculum
        Program evaluation
        Accreditation
        Curriculum
        Program evaluation
      ab: In recent years, there has been an explosion in the growth of undergraduate statistics and data science programs across the US. Simultaneously, there has been clear guidance written on curriculum development for both data science (De Veaux et al.) and statistics (Carver et al.) programs. While this was occurring, ABET (now simply an acronym, but previously standing for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology), in coordination with organizations such as the American Statistical Association, developed accreditation criteria for Data Science programs. In this article, we discuss our journey through ABET accreditation and discuss how adopting ABET processes for continuous improvement strengthens a program's assessment process. We share best practices for working across multiple departments to collect data not only on individual courses, but also on the program as a whole. While the framework presented was initially established to support ABET accreditation, we argue that a properly executed program assessment should occur regardless of whether or not an institution is seeking ABET accreditation for their data science program. Throughout this article, we also discuss the extent to which ABET requirements naturally fit within our program's existing goals, including an assessment of how ABET requirements align with major ideas in the field of data science education.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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