Accreditation
Accreditation; It refers to the evaluation and external quality assurance process that measures whether a higher education program meets the academic and field-specific standards predetermined by an accreditation body in a certain field.
Engineering Education Programs Evaluation and Accreditation Association (MÜDEK) is an independent organization that operates to contribute to improving the quality of engineering education by conducting accreditation, evaluation and information studies for engineering education programs in various disciplines.
PURPOSE
The aim of MÜDEK is to contribute to improving the quality of engineering education by carrying out accreditation, evaluation and information studies for engineering education programs in different disciplines, thus improving the welfare of society by training better educated and more qualified engineers who understand current and developing technologies.
Turkish Aeronautical Association University Faculty of Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering applied for MÜDEK Accreditation on January 25,2024.
The following criteria are taken into consideration during the MÜDEK inspection process:
MÜDEK Criterias
Criterion 1. Students
Criterion 2. Program Educational Objectives
Criterion 3. Program Outcomes
Criterion 4. Continuous Improvement
Criterion 5. Training Plan
Criterion 6. Teaching Staff
Criterion 7. Infrastructure
Criterion 8. Institutional Support and Financial Resources
Criterion 9. Organization and Decision-Making Processes
Criterion 10. Discipline-Specific Criteria
Details of these headings are as follows:
Criterion 1. Students
Students who are at least a high school graduate or equivalent are accepted through the central exam conducted by THK University Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM). Admission procedures at THK University are carried out by the Registrar's Office, and information about the regulations and instructions can be accessed at https://oim.thk.edu.tr/. Additionally, under the Undergraduate Education tab of our department's website; There is detailed information about course schedules, course contents, Internship, Laboratories, Occupational Health and Safety, Double Major, Minor, Examination Rules, and student exchange programs such as Erasmus (https://mec.thk.edu.tr/).
Criterion 2. Program Educational Objectives
THK University Mechanical Engineering Department Program Educational Objectives (PEA):
Able to identify and solve the problems they encounter by using their science, mathematics and engineering knowledge and the learning skills they have acquired throughout their PEA-1 Education,
PEA-2 In the fields of research, product development and production; As analytically thinking, creative and entrepreneurial engineers who can work in public and private organizations, especially in the energy, manufacturing, automotive, aerospace and defense industries,
PEA-3 is to train Mechanical Engineers who ensure that the solutions they produce are sustainable and take ethical values into consideration in this process.
Internal and external stakeholders are taken into consideration when determining the Program Educational Objectives.
Internal stakeholders of the program
• Students
• Teaching staff
External stakeholders of the program
• Graduates
• Employers
• Professional Chambers and Non-Governmental Organizations
Criterion 3. Program Outcomes
There are 11 program outputs in this criterion. The defined program outputs are as follows. These outcomes are measured through courses, internships, final design projects, and mandatory seminars.
1. Uses mathematics, science and basic engineering knowledge in engineering applications.
2. Designs and carries out experiments, analyzes and interprets the results.
3. Designs a complex system, system component and process to meet certain requirements under realistic constraints and conditions such as economy, environmental problems, continuity, manufacturability.
4. Identify and solve mechanical engineering problems.
5. Works effectively individually and in multidisciplinary teams
6. Becomes aware of professional and ethical responsibility.
7. Communicates verbally and in writing in both Turkish and English.
8. Criticizes the impact of national and global size characteristics with mechanical engineering knowledge.
9. Being aware of the importance of lifelong learning and applying lifelong learning
10. Have knowledge about contemporary and current issues of mechanical engineering.
11. Uses modern engineering methods (such as collecting data with the help of tools and mechanisms in laboratories and workshops, preparing technical drawings, preparing technical reports, making technical presentations, taking active notes, writing computer programs, using calculation tools and package programs) in engineering design and analysis. .
Criterion 4. Continuous Improvement
Within the scope of the measurement and evaluation system established for the purpose of continuous improvement, the data and opinions obtained from internal and external stakeholders are evaluated and reported by the relevant commissions. In the light of the results obtained after the measurement and evaluation, areas open to development, especially areas related to educational objectives and program outcomes, are examined by the department academic board, and the education plan and curriculum are updated. After the changes made, the process continues in the same way.
Employer surveys, which are one of the most important feedback outputs in continuous improvement, are taken into serious consideration. SolidWorks software has been added to the content of the Computer Aided Technical Drawing course. Matlab software has also been added to the content of various courses as a curriculum. Additionally, in order to train engineers who speak English, department courses are 100 percent in English.
Criterion 5. Training Plan
Ankara, where our university is located, is physically the place where the defense industry is most concentrated. In particular, it is located very close to the important companies of the world and Turkish defense industry. In addition, it has the distinction of being a university of Ankara province, which hosts many companies operating in different sectors such as manufacturing, raw materials, energy and food and has many Organized Industrial Zones. For this reason, our department's education strategy aims to educate students who are knowledgeable, qualified, environmentally conscious and have business ethics to meet the needs of nearby companies. In addition, one of our important goals is to provide students with the infrastructure that will enable them to raise talented scientists who can increase the contributions of our university and our country to science.
With the ideas and suggestions we received from our internal and external stakeholders towards these stated goals and objectives, our education plan has been created to provide our students with the professional knowledge of mechanical engineers and the formation of basic engineering and access to information. Our program takes into account the intensity and number of courses accepted in international education systems. While the education plan basically covers the courses required by higher education norms, care has been taken to create it in a way that ensures ECTS and program-based compatibility with European universities in the "Erasmus" program.
While basic science courses are given in the first year to form an engineering foundation, compulsory vocational courses are given in the 2nd and 3rd years and mainly mechanical engineering vocational training is covered. Thanks to the fact that the elective courses in the final year form a "specialization group", the graduate student is primarily given the ability to produce and interpret engineering solutions to specialize in a field. The technical courses that make up the department program deal with the basic concepts of the subjects, perceiving the engineering problems in which these concepts are included, applying the learned methods and evaluating the solutions put forward. In addition, in the final year, all students carry out engineering applications that include engineering standards and realistic constraints in their mechanical engineering design and final assignment, using the knowledge and skills they have acquired in previous courses. There are also social elective and university elective courses that will support the general education component of the education program.
ECTS credits of courses are determined at the end of each semester by course hours, practice hours, measurement and evaluation process (exams, assignments, projects, etc.). Therefore, the balancing of course loads over the years is determined not only in terms of the total course hours, but also in terms of the total effort that the student must expend. The content of the courses in the education plan is constantly updated according to the current information that students need and need to know in their professional career, taking into account reports based on data obtained from internal and external stakeholders. According to the success achieved in the determined outcomes of the courses, continuous improvements are made in the course content to increase the success of the students in the outcomes where their success is low.
Before starting the Senior Design Project, a proposal form outlining the purpose, method and constraints of the project is prepared together with the consultant. This suggestion form is examined by the relevant commission and those that are not suitable for the program outputs are requested to be revised. Appropriate studies are prepared within the scope specified in the Graduation Design Project Proposal Form, and relevant standards, industrial dimensions and realistic constraints are discussed in detail.
Criterion 6. Teaching Staff
In our department, there are 2 Professors, 2 Associate Professors, 3 Drs. There are a total of 10 faculty members, including a faculty member, 1 lecturer and 2 research assistants. All faculty members are full-time and permanent staff. There is only one main branch of science in our department, Mechanical Engineering, but we have faculty members who have expertise in construction and manufacturing, automotive, thermodynamics and heat technique, fluid mechanics, machine theory, system dynamics and control and materials as their special field of study.
Criterion 7. Infrastructure
The subheadings of this section consist of areas and equipment used for education, classrooms, laboratories, libraries and special precautions taken in working environments.
Criterion 8. Institutional Support and Financial Resources
In this criterion, the adequacy of the budget in terms of teaching staff, infrastructure and equipment support, technical, administrative and service staff support are examined.
Criterion 9. Organization and Decision-Making Processes
If the issues brought to the Department Head by students or faculty members can be resolved within the Department Board within the framework of the regulations, the decision-making process is terminated at this stage. If the issue is within the authority of a higher authority (Deanship of the Faculty of Engineering),