Capstone Advisor Valuation of a Multidisciplinary Capstone Program
- Conference
- Location
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New Orleans, Louisiana
- Publication Date
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June 26, 2016
- Start Date
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June 26, 2016
- End Date
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June 29, 2016
- ISBN
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978-0-692-68565-5
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Design in Engineering Education
- Tagged Topic
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Diversity
- Page Count
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12
- DOI
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10.18260/p.26440
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/26440
- Download Count
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437
Paper Authors
Krista M Kecskemety Ohio State University
Krista Kecskemety is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University. Krista received her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering at The Ohio State University in 2006 and received her M.S. from Ohio State in 2007. In 2012, Krista completed her Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering at Ohio State. Her engineering education research interests include investigating first-year engineering student experiences, faculty experiences, and the connection between the two.
Bob Rhoads Ohio State University
Robert B. Rhoads currently functions as the Multidisciplinary Capstone Program Coordinator for the Engineering Education Innovation Center at Ohio State University. He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University and Masters in Business Administration from Regis University. Prior to his involvement as the program coordinator, he had over 12 years of experience in industry with roles that varied from process engineering to sales engineering to design engineering. He has also functioned as an engineering technology faculty for three years at Zane State College in Zanesville, Ohio, where he developed and taught courses that included CAD, solid modeling, statics, strength of materials, machine design, and statistical process control. He is currently active in curriculum development and education research focused on design.
Clifford A. Whitfield Ohio State University
Clifford Whitfield currently functions as an Assistant Professor of Practice for the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department and Engineering Education Innovation Center at Ohio State University, and senior engineer for Whitfield Aerospace LLC. He received his doctorate in aeronautical and astronautical engineering, and teaches aerospace engineering courses, and teaches and advises capstone design teams for the Multidisciplinary Capstone Program. He is an engineering practitioner in the areas of aerospace systems design and test engineering, with a background that includes unmanned and manned aircraft and aircraft component design and testing, jet engine test cell facility design and testing, and curriculum development and education research focused on design.
Jacob T. Allenstein Ohio State University
Jacob T Allenstein is a graduate student in Aerospace Engineering at The Ohio State University in the process of a Ph.D. Jacob received his B. Sci in Aerospace Engineering in June of 2011 and a Master of Science (Aerospace Engineering) in December 2013. Currently, he is a graduate teaching associate (GTA) for the Engineering Education Innovation Center (EEIC) at The Ohio State University where he multi-manages both first year engineering students in the First Year Experience Program and senior capstone students going through the Multidisciplinary Capstone Program. Outside teaching, he is also a graduate research associate (GRA) with a research focus on the aerodynamics of jet engines, jet engine simulators, and jet engine testing facilities.
Abstract
Capstone Advisor Valuation of a Multidisciplinary Capstone Program
The university offers students, through its Multidisciplinary Capstone Program (MDC), a broad range of opportunities for both engineering and non-engineering students to work directly with industry personnel on company-sponsored product and process design projects. The university provides students an opportunity to apply their academics and professional and practical skills to real-world problems as a member of a multidisciplinary team. The program is a two-semester project design sequence. Based on the project scope, the coordinators form teams and assign a faculty advisor to ensure project success. The sponsor is vested in the program by assigning an industry liaison to participate in weekly student meetings, design reviews and coordinate student visits to the company. The program began in 2009 and has included over 20 disciplines, over 650 students and over 50 companies through the spring of 2015. Non-engineering students are involved through an engineering sciences minor program. This promotes discipline diversity in the program while giving students academic credit.
The objectives of the research were to gather information from faculty advisors of the MDC to assess the educational effectiveness to prepare its students for their professional careers. To do this, the authors distributed a survey to 13 of its current and past faculty advisors. The survey focused on the ABET Criteria 3 (a-k) program objectives and a breakdown of life-long learning skills. This paper addresses the quantitative results of the survey and compares student preparedness prior to starting MDC, importance to completing MDC and MDC’s contribution to meet program objectives. Preliminary results show that faculty advisors see students being less prepared to design and conduct experiments; analyze and interpret data; design a system, component or process to meet a desired need with realistic constraints; function in a multidisciplinary team; manage a project; identify, formulate and solve engineering problems; communicate effectively; and recognize the need for and engage in life-long learning. The advisors indicated that the MDC had strong contributions in the ability to design a system, component or process; function in a multidisciplinary team; identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems; and communicate effectively. Conversely, advisors indicated the ability to recognize the need for and engage in life-long learning as less important to complete MDC and as less contribution from MDC. In addition to analyzing the faculty advisors’ results, the authors compared these results to a previous survey given to MDC’s industry sponsors. The results of the industry sponsors were presented at a previous ASEE conference. The comparison included industry sponsor and faculty advisor responses to the contribution of MDC to meet the program objectives. Initial results indicate a difference in the ability to design and conduct experiments; analyze and interpret data; manage a project; use modern techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools; and recognize the need for and engage in life-long learning.
This paper reviews the faculty advisor research results and identifies key differences between faculty advisors’ and industry sponsors’ perspectives related to MDC program objectives and life-long learning skills. The paper also identifies keys areas of improvement for the MDC program.
Kecskemety, K. M., & Rhoads, B., & Whitfield, C. A., & Allenstein, J. T. (2016, June), Capstone Advisor Valuation of a Multidisciplinary Capstone Program Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.26440
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