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SESSION 2109

INTERPRETATION OF ENGINEERING AND NON-ENGINEERING SKILLS DURING TRANSITION FROM BEING A FRESHMAN TO A GRADUATING ENGINEER

Devdas Shetty* and Susan Coleman**

University of Hartford, West Hartford CT 06117, Tel : (860) 768 – 4615

* College of Engineering ** Barney School of Business

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the results of student skill assessment as students gradually progress from freshman to senior year. The curriculum chosen was a revised engineering curriculum involving all the four years of the program. The curriculum change was necessitated by the implementation of a NSF- Action Agenda Grant, “ Integrating Engineering Design with Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences and Mathematics”. The major curriculum change involved the following courses and instructional blocks. At the freshman year, the students were introduced to integrated learning blocks; at the sophomore year, the students were exposed to a new course on Engineering by Design with ethical component; at the junior year, the students are exposed to engineering practice; and at the senior year, the students undertake capstone projects from the industry. The assessment was done using a set of questionnaires that considered the groups of “Skill Clusters”: Engineering Skills, Computer Skills, Communication Skills, and Management Skills. The students were exposed to different skill levels depending on their progression into the engineering curriculum. The results provided some insight into the student’s systematic self-assessment of skill levels, as he / she progresses from first year to the final year. Based on the results, a feedback and continuous improvement mechanism is being developed.

Background

Curriculum Restructuring – Freshman Level: In the last decade, there have been nationwide efforts in restructuring freshman curricula. Accordingly, the University of Hartford had redesigned the freshman program in engineering. This has helped the students to be exposed to fundamental engineering concepts in their freshman year side by side with science and humanities courses. Although the assessment of this first year program showed positive impact on student performance, the fragmented structure of the first –year curriculum still created problems in terms of student learning. Students seldom relate engineering topics to math, science, social science or writing.

“Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright Ó 2002, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Shetty, D. (2002, June), Interpretation Of Engineering And Non Engineering Skills During Transition From Being A Freshman To A Graduating Engineer Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10717