Addressing the issues and challenges in ensuring quality engineering graduates using the outcome based approach (OBA): the UTM experience

Abstract

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), being the largest producer of engineering graduates in Malaysia, is firm in its effort to ensure the continuance of excellence to produce quality graduates. UTM engineering graduates are not only sought by local and multinational industries, but they are also successful in pursing post‐graduate studies locally or abroad. Currently UTM offers 28 undergraduate and 47 postgraduate engineering programmes, making it one of the top universities in Malaysia offering engineering programmes. As part of the commitment to excellence, UTM continues to enhance the graduates using the outcome-based approach (OBA). This paper describes the insight into the experiences of implementing the outcome-based approach in teaching and learning at UTM. The issues and challenges in ensuring quality engineering graduates will also be elaborated. Finally, this paper makes some recommendations on how the outcome-based approach can be carried out to ensure further improvement on the quality of the graduates.