FAQs

CLOSO software is good news for whom?

CLOSO is good news for you if your department is in the process of obtaining or maintaining ABET accreditation and you as a faculty member of the department, are experiencing the pains of providing data to the department for the Self Study Report (SSR) and preparing course folders for the subjects you teach.

How does CLOSO help the faculty members of the department in ABET accreditation related tasks?

CLOSO saves faculty member’s time and makes the tedious and time-consuming tasks easy, efficient, and enjoyable.

Why is the name of the software CLOSO?

The name “CLOSO” has CLO for Course Learning Outcomes and SO for ABET Student Outcomes.

Who developed CLOSO software?

CLOSO software has been developed by Smart-Accredit.com, based in the state of Washington, USA. Senior professors with ABET experience and software experts contributed to the development of this unique software.

Can we try it before purchasing?

YesSmart-Accredit team is offering free download of a fully functional version for evaluating the software. Download it from https://www.smart-accredit.com/free-demo.php

What is ABET?

ABET, incorporated as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., is a non-governmental organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. Wikipedia

What is SSR (Self Study Report)?

ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology) requires that a self-study report (SSR) provides the data to prove that the standards set by ABET are met. ABET website describes it as: “The Self-Study Report is the primary document your program uses to demonstrate its compliance with all applicable ABET criteria and policies. The Self-Study is the foundation for the review team’s judgment of whether the program meets our criteria for accreditation. It addresses all paths to completion of the degree, all methods of instructional delivery used for the program, and all remote location offerings.”

https://www.abet.org/accreditation/get-accredited/accreditation-step-by-step/self-study-report/

What are Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)?

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) of a course are the abilities to be attained by the students through various topics taught to them in a course. The CLOs for each course of an academic program are pre-specified and are included in the syllabus of each course.

An example of the CLOs for a typical course of Hydraulics is shown in Table below:

CLO ID CLOs
CLO 1 Ability to calculate flow in water distribution systems & design networks
CLO 2 Ability to analyze flow in different types of open channels
CLO 3 Ability to conduct flow measurement experiments in pipes/open channels
CLO 4 Ability to use computer software in network design
CLO 5 Ability to design and select different types of pumps

What are Student Outcomes (SOs)?

Student outcomes describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation. These relate to the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that students acquire as they progress through the program.

Link for more Information:
ABET accreditation criteria

How the Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) may serve as the performance indicators of the SOs?

CLOs are the basis of all direct assessments of SOs. The CLOs also serve as the performance indicators for the SOs

The focus of the instructor teaching a course is on the CLOs or SOs?

The focus of instructor is always on the subject matter as prescribed in the syllabus of the course and therefore on the CLOs

Why are Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) important for ABET accreditation?

In an academic program, students enroll in a set of courses prescribed in the curriculum. The students attain the required abilities mainly through what they learn in these courses i.e., the course learning outcomes (CLOs) of these courses.

The instructor, teaching a course, primarily focuses on the subject matter and strives to ensure that at the end of the course the students attain the abilities as required by the set of CLOs pre-specified in the curriculum. Consequently, the curriculum design must include courses with appropriate CLOs that also help in attaining the required SOs in an integrative manner.

It is noteworthy that assessing the SOs through SO based questions, and not through CLOs, often defeats the purpose of having both an integrated and an encompassing curriculum.

For example, in a course of Circuit Theory, CLOs would require the students to attain an ability to analyze circuits. Whereas, in a course of Hydraulics, CLOs would require the students to attain the ability to analyze the flow in pipes and channels. These are two courses of different programs. The abilities attained in these courses, in turn, facilitate the learners attain the broad higher-level ability “to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems…”, which is ABET specified SO 1 for Engineering program. However, if an instructor just assesses the SO directly and disregards the subject matter then the whole idea of an integrated curriculum is defeated.(Imam et al., 2017).

What is CQI?

Accreditation of an academic program requires processes to ensure continuous improvement of the quality of education to attain a certain level of satisfaction of the learning outcomes. Such processes are called Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) processes.

How ABET ensures a program has effective CQI processes?

ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology) requires that a self-study report (SSR) provides the data to prove that CQI processes exist and are effective.

What types of assessments are used to get an effective CQI plan for an academic program?

An effective CQI plan is based on two types of assessments: direct assessment and indirect assessment.

What is direct assessment?

Direct assessment involves assessment of students’ abilities through examinations, assignments, projects, presentations etc.

What is indirect assessment?

Indirect assessment is based on surveys and interviews like student surveys at the end of a course, faculty surveys, exit interviews etc.

What is done with the assessment data?

The data from direct and indirect assessments in various courses must be collected and evaluated. Data collection and evaluation processes are time consuming and laborious if done manually. These processes involving data collection and evaluation need to be automated to save the time of instructors, accreditation coordinators and chairpersons of the academic program.

How CLOSO helps in assessment data collection and evaluation for ABET accreditation?

CLOSO automates the assessment data collection and evaluation of learning outcomes. It automates the evaluation of CLO and SO satisfaction and produces complete course folders for instructors. It produces error-free evaluation and generates data for the reports required for accreditation.

How reliable is data generated by CLOSO for ABET accreditation?

CLOSO produces error-free data for the SSR to be submitted to ABET. It is a highly reliable system that produces the critically required data for academic accreditation.

Does CLOSO help in decision making to improve the learning outcomes?

CLOSO software plays a key role in the critical decision-making required to improve the learning outcomes of students.

What motivated the development of CLOSO software?

Development of CLOSO software was motivated by a clear demand of a software that automates the CQI processes for accreditation of academic programs and reduces the workload on the faculty in preparing the course folders.

What does CLOSO aims to do for academic programs?

CLOSO aims to achieve drastic time saving for instructors and accreditation coordinators and to provide the department with a user-friendly decision support system.

Comparing to other software for ABET accreditation support, what is remarkable in CLOSO?

One of the biggest achievements of CLOSO is the drastic time saving for the instructors. The whole course folder can be finished within 2-3 hours at the end of the academic term providing all data, analyses, and evaluation required for accreditation.

Does CLOSO save the time of the accreditation coordinators and department chairpersons?

The time saving for the accreditation coordinators and the chairpersons is drastic as compared to same tasks done without CLOSO. Data from all course folders are gathered automatically with a click of the mouse. All analyses and comparisons are done automatically from the set of as many course folders as you want to include in the evaluation and analysis.

How is the user interface of CLOSO? Do we need to read a manual to learn it?

CLOSO has a remarkably user-friendly interface and works as a self-learning tool with easy data entry mostly with mouse-clicks.User’s manual helps a lot. There is also a “Quick Start Guide” for the CLOSO administrator.

What is unique in CLOSO that no other software offers?

CLOSO produces a complete course folder for each course of the syllabus and saves the instructor's time. CLOSO produces SO “Satisfaction Data” to help the department in the continuous improvement process.

Does CLOSO analyse students’ opinions on the learning outcomes attainment?

CLOSO produces “Student Survey” form, analyses the students’ survey data and presents the outcome satisfaction results.

Does CLOSO allow the user to normalize the students’ scores in the assessments?

Yes, CLOSO has an option to apply outcome-based curve-up or down of the grades for normalization with graphic visualization of grade distribution.

What if the department wants the instructors to submit grades normalized to Bell-shaped distribution?

CLOSO has the option of converting the final grades to bell-shape grade distribution with a click of the mouse without affecting the relative standing of students in a class.

Does CLOSO produce “Loop-Closing” data for the SOs?

Yes, “Loop-Closing” analysis is an integral part of CLOSO.

Does the course folder generated by CLOSO have the student work samples as required by ABET?

Yes, Scanned copies of student work samples for each course are integrated in the course folders produced by CLOSO.

Is technical support available to the users of CLOSO?

Yes, technical support is available to all users of CLOSO. They are encouraged to reach us out whenever they need any assistance or have any questions.

How can we purchase CLOSO software for the whole department?

CLOSO license is sold to academic departments and not to the individuals.

To purchase the license for an academic department, go to the following page: https://www.smart-accredit.com/price-quote.php Fill in the form on this page. Based on the information you provided, we will send you a proforma invoice/price quote with payment information. As soon as the quoted price is transferred to our bank account, we will set up the license on the web and you will receive instructions to activate the license and use the software

How can one buy the CLOSO software license?

CLOSO license is sold to academic departments and not to the individuals.

To purchase the license for an academic department, go to the following page: https://www.smart-accredit.com/price-quote.php Fill in the form on this page. Based on the information you provided, we will send you a proforma invoice/price quote with payment information. As soon as the quoted price is transferred to our bank account, we will set up the license on the web and you will receive instructions to activate the license and using the software.

How many PCs can CLOSO work on, with a single license purchase?

CLOSO Software license does not put any limit on the number of users or PCs. The license allows installation of CLOSO software on an unlimited number of PCs and may be used by the faculty, staff and consultants of the department on or off campus.

Do the users need a login and a password to access the software?

The instructors of the department have to activate the license on their PCs by providing the department user ID. Once the license is activated, the instructor can use the software on the PC. NO user ID or PW is required. The license file for CLOSO administrator of the department is sent to the administrator by email. Once the administrator activates the Admin license, no user ID or Password are required for using the software on the Administrator’s PC.

Is CLOSO available on the web and accessible from anywhere?

CLOSO software resides mostly on the user’s PC. However, the syllabus and customization data are on the web. So, all users get the updated syllabus and customization data.

For how long is the license valid? What is the time duration of a single license purchase?

At the time of buying the license, the user has to specify the duration of the license. The price quote is based on the required license duration.

Does the customer need to renew the license every year or month?

No. The license has to be renewed only after it expires. At the time of buying the license, the user has to specify the required duration of the license.

Does CLOSO have any specific system or internet requirements to run?

CLOSO runs on Windows. No other specific requirements.

What can a user do with the CLOSO Admin Panel?

Admin Panel of CLOSO does two major tasks:

  • Sets up CLOSO for the instructors so they can input data and generate complete course folders and view the outcomes satisfaction data.
  • Analyses the faculty course folders collectively to generate outcome attainment and faculty opinion data for the ABET SSR.

What are the functions of the CLOSO Instructor Panel?

The Instructor Panel of CLOSO does the following major tasks:

  • Data input about the course, instructor, students, instruction & assessment plan, assessment design, students score
  • Display of grades distribution for each question set, final grades
  • Curveup and normalization of grades
  • Input of students work samples
  • Faculty survey (faculty opinion is recorded on important issues)
  • Student Survey data entry and analysis
  • CLO wise students score analysis
  • SO wise students’ score analysis
  • Analysis of assessment tools used
  • Output of course syllabus, first week handout for students, course folder for ABET, cover sheets for students work samples, student survey form