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INTRODUCTION OF OUTCOME-BASE
EDUCATION (OBE)

Outcome‐Based Educa on (OBE) had
been implemented in the Faculty of
Engineering since 2004, in accordance
with the direc ves of the Ministry of
Higher Educa on and the Board of
Engineers, Malaysia (BEM). This is also
one of the requirements for Malaysia to
become a full member of the
Washington Accord, an interna onal
agreement to mutually recognize
Bachelor degrees in engineering. The
implementa on of OBE, as outlined
below, is based on guidelines prescribed
by the Engineering Accredita on Council
(EAC) of Malaysia.
Unlike the tradi onal teacher‐centred
method, OBE is an educa onal approach
that is more concerned about the
outcome (what students can do) rather
than the process (what instructors did). Programme Educational Objectives (Peo)
This is believed to enhance learning, and
hence produce be er graduates. For The PEO is a set of objectives that the academic programme aspires that
OBE to be successful, it is cri cal to
prescribe the expected outcomes, to To guide the formation and fine-tuning of these outcomes, the
measure them objec vely, and to take Department has formulated the Programme Educational Objectives
correc ve ac ons where required. (PEO). These are aspirations for graduates to attain 3 to 5 years upon
graduation. The POs are designed to produce graduates who are well-
prepared to achieve these PEOs.
The outcomes are prescribed at two l
The PEOs and POs had been formulated in consultation with all major
evels: stakeholders (employers, alumni and students), to meet the demands
of a challenging and globalized workplace. Any material changes will
(a) Course Outcomes (CO) ‐‐‐ what also require their views.
students should be able to A critical component of OBE is the objective measurement of the
perform at the end of each course outcomes. This is done via multiple channels and methods. At the
course level, there is formative assessment via discussion, assignment,
(b) Programme outcomes (PO) ‐‐‐ a quizzes etc., in addition to the summative assessment in the final
composite set of abili es a er examination. Students also have the opportunity to provide feedback
students finished all courses through course evaluation, meetings with their academic advisors,
annual surveys, and student-lecturer meetings. Opinions and
feedback from external parties, e.g. employers, alumni, Industrial
Advisory Panel, are also routinely sought to further calibrate the
outcome measurements.
All COs will contribute to some of the
POs. This is to ensure that upon Based on the input and trends received, the Department will take the
comple on of the courses, all POs are necessary corrective actions, and the results monitored. In short, OBE
is a dynamic, student-centred educational process which incorporates
sufficiently covered. continuous improvement.