National Board of

Accreditation
Course Outcome and Program
Outcome Calculations
(New method Based on Attainment Level)
-By Ravikumar Tiwari,
Assistant Professor,
G.H.Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur
e- rravik.tiwari@gmail.com
@RaviTiwari90
Terminology (Abbreviations)

Course Outcomes (CO)

Program Outcomes (PO)
Program Educational Objectives (PEO)
Program Specific Outcomes (PSO)
 Few definitions
Mapping Factor(Correlation Level) Level of Attainment:
 It indicates to what extent a  This is just discretization of
certain component(either percent attainment
assessment method to CO or
 To not get confused with
CO to PO or PO to PEO & PSO)
mapping factor, will indicate
 3-indicates Substantial (high) this by labels as
mapping (high contribution
 HH(3)- High level of
towards attainment)
attainment
 2-indicates Moderate
 MM(2)- Medium level of
(medium) mapping (medium
attainment
contribution towards
attainment)  LL(1)- Low level of
attainment
 1-indicates Slight (low)
mapping (some contribution  NA(0)- No attainment
towards attainment)
 CO-PO mapping (example)
1: Slight (Low) 2: Moderate (Medium) 3: Substantial (High) “-” : no correlation
PO PO PO PO PO PO PO
PO 1 PO 2 PO 3 PO 4 PO 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
COURSE COURSE OUTCOMES
NBA
SUB OUTCO Statement
SEM COD Course
CODE MES
E

C203.1 3 3 2 2 - - 3 3 2 2 1 -
.

BEXX2
01 C203.2 - - - - - - 3 3 3 2 1 -

Thir Course
C203
d name C203.3 - - - - - - 3 2 2 2 1 -

C203.4 - - - - - - 3 2 2 2 1 -

C203.5 - - - - - - 2 2 2 2 1 -

C203.6 - - - - - - 2 2 2 2 1 -
This is example for one course, the same to be done for all course of
program including courses taught in first year
Level of attainment
 Scale of levels can be defined by program coordinator or
Head of department
 Here 3 levels of attainment is taken as 1-Low; 2-medium; 3-
High
 3 levels of attainment can be defined as
 HH(3) :- 70% students scoring more than average marks or set
target marks in an assessment method
 MM(3):- 60% students scoring more than average marks or set
target marks in an assessment method
 LL (1) :- 50% students scoring more than average marks or set
target marks in an assessment method
 NA(0):- Less than 50% students scoring more than average
marks or set target marks in an assessment method
Course Outcome Calculations
 If targets are achieved then all the course outcomes are attained
for that year Program is expected to set higher targets for the
following years as a part of continuous improvement
 Also if scale of 3 levels is used in one year, and if higher level is
attained then scale of 5 levels can be used following year. Scale of
5 level may be defined as follows:
HH(5) :- 80% students scoring more than average marks or set target
marks in an assessment method
HM(4):- 70% students scoring more than average marks or set target
marks in an assessment method
MM (3) :- 60% students scoring more than average marks or set target
marks in an assessment method
ML (2) :- 50% students scoring more than average marks or set target
marks in an assessment method
LL (1) :- 40% students scoring more than average marks or set target
marks in an assessment method
NA(0):- Less than 40% students scoring more than average marks or set
target marks in an assessment method
 If targets are not achieved then instead of lowering target; program
should put in place an action plan to attain the target in
subsequent years
 Target Setting for each
assessment method
 For setting up target average; average marks of last
three exam must be taken into consideration and it
should be kept as target average marks
 If average marks of last exams are not available then
current average marks can also be considered as
target attainment
 This would be different for each assessment method
(e.g. Internal assessment: assignment1, assignment2,
class test1, class test2 etc. External assessment: End sem
exam/university exam, Practical external exam)
 To be noted here last three exam should be taken into
account i.e. to say one course may be offered in even
and odd both sem as under CBCS
 Mapping of CO with Assessment
methods (example)
External
Internal Component
Component

Teacher Assignment Class Test Practical End Sem

examination Exam
(if there for
Course Course T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 C1 C2 C3
the course)
Name Outcome
Course: C301.1
C301 2 - - - - 3 - - 3 3
(Course
C301.2
Name)
1 - - 2 - 3 - - 3 3
C301.3
- 3 1 - 2 - 3 - 3 3
C301.4

3 - - - 1 - 3 - 3 3

C301.5
- 1 - - - - - 3 3 3
C301.6
- - 3 - 3 - - 3 3 3
1: Slight (Low) 2: Moderate (Medium) 3: Substantial (High) “-” : no correlation
 Justification of Mapping
 Proper justification for course outcomes with assessment must be
provided.
 For internal assessment like teacher assignment and class test,
one can design the assessment based on Course Outcomes
 For example, Class Test-1 is based on CO1 and CO2 with equal
weightage given to both COs and that is why CO1 & CO2 both
mapped with C1 with mapping factor of 3 (refer previous slide).
Same for Class Test-2(C2) & C3 is done.
 While in practical examination, if you have practical's based on
COs and assessment is available practical-wise then mapping
can be done CO-wise or else equal contribution to all COs can
be considered as done here (mapping factor 3 with all COs)
 Same for end semester/University exam, if questions are based
on COs and also evaluation is available question-wise then COs
to be mapped question-wise or else equal contribution to all
COs can be considered as done here (mapping factor 3 with all
COs)
 CO based practical's and
end sem questions (for TIER-I)
 For TIER-I category institutes (Autonomous college and deemed
university), where all exams are taken by institute; they can
have list of practical's designed keeping Course Outcome in
mind. Also evaluation should be done CO-wise.
 Same with End-Sem(term) exam, questions should be so
deigned based to assess Course Outcome
 For example, (considering six CO), Six practical's each
specifically for each CO. Also the internal ERP software can be
so designed where marks for each CO to be inserted and then it
can be converted out of (25/50)
 For end sem too, marks of each CO based question should be
inserted and then total marks can be calculated
 This will really helpful for assessing Course Outcomes when all
marks of COs are available separately
 Definition of attainment
 Attainment can be defined as what percentage of students
have above set target marks
 Example, if 140 students appeared in an end semester exam
(60 marks) and you have set target marks as 30 (last three
exam average to be considered while deciding target marks)
THEN attainment can be calculated as:
 % Attainment= (No. of students scoring 30 or above marks /
140)*100
 Let’s say 104 students scored 30 or above marks Then %
attainment would be
 % Attainment= (104/140)*100 =74.28%
 Therefore, level of attainment for end sem exam is “3” as
scale is defined
 Assigning levels to assessment
method
Teacher Assignment(4) Class Test(20) Pr(25) ESE
Marks
(60)
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 C1 C2 C3 Practical

Average
(current 3 4 4 3 4 9.2 11.9 10.5 21 28.0
exam)
Target
average(avg
. of last 3 4 4 4 4 4 10 9 10 20 25
exam)
%
Attainment
51 76.1 77.5 55.1 74 51 74.6 61 78 55

Level
LL HH HH LL HH LL HH MM HH LL

Levels
HH(3) :- Above 70% NA (0) :- less than 50%
MM(2):- Above 60%
**This are actual calculation done
LL (1) :- Above 50%
for my subject
 Course Outcome Calculation
Teacher Assignment Class Test End Sem
Exam
Cours T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 C1 C2 C3 PR (Externa
e l
compone
Course Outco nt)
Name me

Levels LL HH HH LL HH LL HH MM HH LL
Course:C C301.
301 1 2 - - - - 3 - - 3 3
(Course
C301.
Name)
2 1 - - 2 - 3 - - 3 3
C301.
3 - 3 1 - 2 - 3 - 3 3
C301.
4
3 - - - 1 - 3 - 3 3

C301.
5 - 1 - - - - - 3 3 3
C301.
6 - - 3 - 3 - - 3 3 3
 Course Outcome Calculation

Practi
[*ext]
Teacher Assignment Class Test cal [*int] Attainme
Course Attainme End nt Level Overall
Course Outco T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 C1 C2 C3 Pr nt Level Sem (External Attain
Name me (Internal) Exam ) ment
Levels LL HH HH LL HH LL HH MM HH LL
int*0.
4+
1 3 3 1 3 1 3 2 3 1 ext*0.
Level Point 6
Course:
C301
2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 *1.75 3 1 1.30
C301.1
C301.2 1 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 3 1.67 3 1 1.27
(Cours C301.3 0 3 1 0 2 0 3 0 3 2.67 3 1 1.67
e C301.4 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 3 2.20 3 1 1.48
Name)
C301.5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 2.57 3 1 1.63
C301.6 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 3 3 2.25 3 1 1.50
*Calculation explained in next slide
For calculation purpose ‘-’ is replaced by ‘0’
 Course Outcome
Calculation Explained
Practi
[*ext]
Teacher Assignment Class Test cal [*int] Attainme
Course Attainme End nt Level Overall
Course Outco T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 C1 C2 C3 Pr nt Level Sem (External Attain
Name me (Internal) Exam ) ment
Levels LL HH HH LL HH LL HH MM HH LL
int*0.
4+
1 3 3 1 3 1 3 2 3 1 ext*0.
Level Point 6
Course:
C301
2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 1.75 3 1 1.30
C301.1
Attainment Level(internal)= Σ (Mapping factor*Level Points)/ Σ Mapping factor
= (2*1+0*3+0*3+0*1+ 0*3+3*1+0*3+0*2+3*3)/ (2+3+3)
=1.75
Attainment Level (external)= (3*1)/3=1
Overall Attainment CO1(C301.1) (considering 40% contribution from internal assessment
and 60% from external assessment) = 1.75*0.4+1*0.6= 1.30
Summary and Remarks on
attainment
Course Attainment Remarks
Outcome Level
C301.1 1.30 Attained
C301.2 1.27 Attained
C301.3 1.67 Attained
C301.4 1.48 Attained
C301.5 1.63 Attained
C301.6 1.50 Attained
 Analogy to Credit Grade
System
 It is just like the Grading system where we defined cut-off of
marks
 Here cut-off are nothing but the Target level of attainment
which we have defined as
HH(3) :- 70% students scoring more than average marks or set
target marks in an assessment method
MM(3):- 60% students scoring more than average marks or set
target marks in an assessment method
LL (1) :- 50% students scoring more than average marks or set
target marks in an assessment method
NA(0):- Less than 50% students scoring more than average marks
or set target marks in an assessment method
 Analogy to Credit Grade
System
 Students who just gets more than cut-off marks pass
the exam but with lower grades
 Same in this method too, even if the level of
attainment is just “1” , we can say that Course
Outcome is attained
 If Level of attainment is less than “1” then Course
Outcome is not attained and then proper Gap
Analysis to be done
 If similar method is used for Outcome calculation of
previous exam then we can set the Target for Level
Attainment or else during mid of term seeing
performance of students in internal component,
Teacher can set target
 Target for Level Attainment
and Gap Analysis
Couse Attainmen Target Attainment Gap Gap Analysis
Outcome t Level for for Level of
last exam current current
exam exam
C301.1 1.2 2 1.30 0.70 Performance of
students in end
C301.2 1.4 2 1.27 0.73 semester exam is
not as expected
C301.3 1.5 2 1.67 0.33
C301.4 1.8 2 1.48 0.52
C301.5 1.4 2 1.63 0.37
C301.6 1.3 2 1.50 0.50

*Target should be kept based on the performance of students in first and

second Class Test but before term ends, so that Teacher will have sufficient
time to work on delivery (if performance is on lower side)
Program Outcome
Calculations
 Program Articulation Matrix with Program
Outcomes & PSO (to be done for all
courses) [3.1 point in NBA SAR]
Course

PSO1
PSO2

PSO3
PO12
PO11
PO10
PO5
PO3
PO2

PO7
PO6
PO1

PO9
PO4

PO8
C101
3 3 - - - - - - - - - 2 - - -
C102
3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
C103
3 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - -
C104
3 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - -
C105
3 3 3 - - - - - - - - - - - -
C107
3 3 - - - - - - - - - 3 - - -
C108
 Course Articulation Matrix [to be
done for all courses of program]

PSO1
PSO2
PSO3
PO10
PO11
PO12
PO1
PO2
PO3
PO4
PO5
PO6
PO7
PO8
PO9
COURSE OUTCOMES [Statement]
Course

C301
C301.1 1 1 3 2 2 - - - 1 - - - 2 2 1

C301.2 1 1 3 2 3 - - - 1 - - - 2 2 1

C301.3 1 1 3 3 3 - - - 1 - - - 3 3 1

C301.4 1 1 3 3 3 - - - 1 - - - 3 3 1

C301.5 1 2 3 3 3 - - - 1 - - 1 3 3 1

C301.6 1 2 3 3 3 - - - 1 - - 1 3 3 1
 Program Outcome
Calculation
 For Calculation of Program Outcome, we can use two method:
(i)Direct Method (ii)Indirect Method
 Direct Method: In direct method, we take CO attainment of all
courses contributing to particular Program Outcomes and then
calculate the attainment based on mapping (as per course
articulation matrix)
 Indirect Method: In indirect method, surveys from current passing out
students (program exit survey), survey from employer (during
placement), survey from industry person (if students are working as
intern for some industry) to be taken.
All this survey needs to be quantified [put questions like rate our students
in the scale of 5 (5-excellent, 1-not satisfactory)]
Indirect method too should be based on predefined levels
Example; Level-3: 80% or above survey takers giving 4 or 5 marks
Level-2: 70% or above survey takers giving 4 or 5 marks
Level-1: 60% or above survey takers giving 4 or 5 marks
 Program Outcome Calculation
[Direct Method]
Course Attainmen PO1
Co Outco t Level colum PO2 PO3 PO4 PO5 PO6 PO7 PO8 PO9 PO10 PO11 PO12 PSO1 PSO2 PSO3
urse mes Column A nB
C301.1 1.5 1 1 3 2 2 1 - 1 1 - - - 2 2 1
C301.2 2.1 1 1 3 2 3 1 - - 1 - - - 2 2 1
C301.3 2.4 1 1 3 3 3 - - - 1 2 - - 3 3 1
C301.4 2.5 1 1 3 3 3 2 - - 1 - - - 3 3 1
C301.5 2.4 1 2 3 3 3 - - 1 1 - - 1 3 3 1
C3
01 C301.6 2.7 1 2 3 3 3 2 - - 1 2 - 1 3 3 1
C302.1 1.8 - - - - - - 1 - 2 1 3 - - - -
C302.2 1.9 - - - - - - 1 - 2 - 3 - - - -
C302.3 1.7 - - - - - - 1 - 2 - 3 - - - -
C302.4 2.7 - - - - - - 1 - 2 - 3 - - - -
C302.5 2.1 - - - - - - 1 - 2 - 3 - - - -
C3
02 C302.6 1.4 - - - - - - 1 - 2 - 3 - - - -

Program
Outcome
Attainmen
t 2.27 2.34 2.27 2.33 2.31 2.33 1.93 1.95 2.04 2.40 1.93 2.55 2.33 2.33 2.27

Here only 2 course are taken but for actual calculations all courses needs to be taken
Calculation: PO1= (column A* Column B)/Sum(column B)
This can be easily done in excel
 Program Outcome Calculation
[Indirect Method]
Attainment levels

Mappin PO1 PO2 PO3 PO4 PO5 PO6 PO7 PO8 PO9 PO1 PO1 PO1 PSO PSO PSO
Survey g ColA ColB 0 1 2 1 2 3
Program
Exit
Survey 1 3 2 3 2 3 1 3 3 1 3 3 2 3 2 3
Employe
r Survey 2 2 3 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 1 2 2
External
Guide
Survey 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3

Program
Outcome
Attainme
nt 2.2 2.8 2.2 2.4 2.6 1.8 2.6 2.6 1.8 2.6 2.2 2.8 2.2 2.4 2.6

Calculation: PO1= ColA*ColB/5

 Program Outcome Attainment
[Indirect Method]
Program Outcomes Attainment (Indirect Method)
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3

2.5

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2

1.5

1 1 1 1
1

0.5

0
PO1 PO2 PO3 PO4 PO5 PO6 PO7 PO8 PO9 PO10 PO11 PO12 PSO1 PSO2 PSO3

Program Exit Survey Employer Survey External Guide Survey

 Program Outcome
Calculation [Overall]

Method PO1 PO2 PO3 PO4 PO5 PO6 PO7 PO8 PO9 PO10 PO11 PO12 PSO1 PSO2 PSO3

Direct
Method 2.27 2.34 2.27 2.33 2.31 2.33 1.93 1.95 2.04 2.40 1.93 2.55 2.33 2.33 2.27

Indirect
Method 2.2 2.8 2.2 2.4 2.6 1.8 2.6 2.6 1.8 2.6 2.2 2.8 2.2 2.4 2.6

Overall
Attainm
ent
(Direct*
0.6+indi
rect*0.4
) 2.24 2.52 2.24 2.36 2.43 2.12 2.20 2.21 1.94 2.48 2.04 2.65 2.28 2.36 2.40

Here Direct method is considered to have 60% contribution

and indirect method as 40% contribution
Calculation: Overall Attainment= direct*0.6+indirect*0.4
 Graphs and Charts
Program Outcome and Program Specific Outcome Attainment
3.00
2.8 2.8

2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6

2.55
2.50 2.4 2.40 2.4
2.34 2.33 2.31 2.33 2.33 2.33
2.27 2.27 2.27
2.2 2.2 2.2 2.2
2.04
1.93 1.95 1.93
2.00
1.8 1.8

1.50

1.00

0.50

0.00
PO1 PO2 PO3 PO4 PO5 PO6 PO7 PO8 PO9 PO10 PO11 PO12 PSO1 PSO2 PSO3

Direct Method Indirect Method

 Graphs and Charts

Overall Attainment: Program Outcomes and Program Specific

Outcomes
3.00

2.65
2.52 2.48
2.50 2.43 2.40
2.36 2.36
2.24 2.24 2.28
2.20 2.21
2.12
2.04
2.00 1.94

1.50

1.00

0.50

0.00
PO1 PO2 PO3 PO4 PO5 PO6 PO7 PO8 PO9 PO10 PO11 PO12 PSO1 PSO2 PSO3
Few points to remember

 Outcome calculation can not be rigid, that is to say one

can have ‘n’ number of methods to calculate
 Only thing to remember is method should be properly
justified

 Also the method described in this presentation is

completely based on my understanding. I have tried to
addressed all explanation of calculation with proper
justification.
 Also if someone disagrees with the method, I am up for
suggestion but no debate

 For workshop or session on NBA outcome accreditation,

send me e-mail on rravik.tiwari@gmail.com
Consultancy for Software
firm/company
 The software companies who are into education
software business , if wants to develops a software/
web portal for Course Outcome and Program
Outcome Calculation, I can consult for developing
algorithm and method
 Write an e-mail to me(on title slide) for such work.
Thanking You