A multi-perspective framework for evaluating software engineering education by assessing students' competencies: SECAT — A software engineering competency assessment tool

Education invariably aims at developing competencies, technical as well as non-technical ones. As a consequence, there is also a need for methods that can be used to assess the quality of education faithfully. One possible approach is an assessment of whether intended learning outcomes are achieved, i.e. an investigation if the target audience possesses the desired competencies. Assessment of competencies, however, is tricky since competencies are often only vaguely defined. This paper presents SECAT, an approach to assess competencies, and particularly those needed for proper software engineering. To that end, SECAT builds on Rauner's approach for competency assessment in vocational education. Rauner's approach uses nine competency criteria, which are further refined by suitable issues that indicate to which extent a competency is, or should be, present. The main contribution of this paper lies in the adaptation and enhancement of this framework in order to make it useable in software engineering education. Adaptation and enhancements encompass issues such as team and individual assessments, integration of multiple perspectives from various groups of stakeholders, and product- and process-orientation. The paper also presents first insights from using SECAT in a pilot university course in software engineering.