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Assessing a Unique Engineering Undergraduate Degree Program

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Conference

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

San Antonio, Texas

Publication Date

June 10, 2012

Start Date

June 10, 2012

End Date

June 13, 2012

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Course and Curriculum Development

Tagged Division

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Page Count

9

Page Numbers

25.211.1 - 25.211.9

DOI

10.18260/1-2--20971

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/20971

Download Count

334

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Paper Authors

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AJ Hamlin Michigan Technological University

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AJ Hamlin is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Engineering Fundamentals at Michigan Technological University, where she teaches first-year engineering courses, including an Introduction to Spatial Visualization course. Her research interests include spatial visualization and educational methods. She is an active member in the Engineering Design Graphics Division of ASEE and is currently serving as the Associate Editor of the Engineering Design Graphics Journal.

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Jean-Celeste M. Kampe Michigan Technological University

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Jean-Celeste M. Kampe is currently Department Chair of Engineering Fundamentals at Michigan Technological University, where she holds an Associate Professorship in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering from Michigan Tech, a M.Ch.E. in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware, and a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Michigan Tech. She was employed as a Research Engineer for five years at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., and she held an Associate Professorship in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, working there for 10 years in first-year engineering education.

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Amy E. Monte Michigan Technological University

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Amy E. Monte has a B.S. and a M.S. in environmental engineering from Michigan Technological University.

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Brett Hamlin Michigan Technological University

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Douglas E. Oppliger Michigan Technological University

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Douglas E. Oppliger is currently a Senior Lecturer at Michigan Technological University. His work at this post was preceded by eleven years as a K-12 math/science teacher Michigan's public schools. He is a Professional Civil Engineer with several years experience working in the marine construction industry. His most recent efforts have focused on using project-based learning to recruit a diverse body of K-12 students to STEM studies beyond high school.

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Abstract

Assessing a Unique Engineering Undergraduate Degree ProgramThe ABET accredited Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) degree program at______ University allows students to customize their degree curriculum. This degreeprogram serves 1) students who have very specific career goals that are not met with atraditional engineering degree offered by the university; 2) students who want a generalengineering degree to provide a technical foundation for other advanced degrees in areassuch as law, medical field, and policy; and 3) students who want a degree in a newemerging, interdisciplinary field.The BSE degree program consists of an Engineering Fundamentals core, a technicalemphasis, and a set of directed electives, along with the required courses in math andsciences, general education, and free electives. This allows students to select up to 40%of their degree path (under the supervision of an academic advisor and the BSEGovernance Committee), allowing them to customize their engineering degree.Alternatively, students may choose from one of the predefined paths in the BSE programwhich currently include: Service Systems Engineering, Industrial Engineering, andGeospatial Engineering.Due to the flexible nature of this degree, it is challenging to assess if Program Outomes(ABET a-k) are being met as each degree may be different. Additionally, many of thecourses students take are housed outside of the department and we don’t want to tax otherdepartments with assessment of our students. In an effort to assess student learningoutcomes from the Engineering Fundamentals Core, we have implemented a corecompetency exam which must be successfully completed prior to enrollment in a seniordesign project course. This core competency exam includes material covered by theEngineering Fundamentals Core Courses. The first cohort of students will take this examin Fall 2011.This paper will discuss the BSE degree and assessment of this degree program. Specialemphasis will be given to the development, implementation, and usefulness of the BSECore Competency Exam in assessing Program Outcomes.

Hamlin, A., & Kampe, J. M., & Monte, A. E., & Hamlin, B., & Oppliger, D. E. (2012, June), Assessing a Unique Engineering Undergraduate Degree Program Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--20971

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