Leveraging the ASCE ExCEEd Model to Design a Course on Sustainable Infrastructure Development

Matthew Glavin; Robert Hume; Scott M. Katalenich; William Graves

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL) Technical Session - Professional Practice 2
Tagged Division: Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL)
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/47745

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Paper Authors

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Matthew Glavin United States Military Academy

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Matthew T. Glavin is an Instructor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point and an active duty Army Engineer Officer. He is a graduate of West Point (B.S. in Civil Engineering), Missouri S&T (M.S. in Engineering Management), and Northeastern University (M.S. in Sustainable Building Systems). He is a Project Management Professional, LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction, and Envision Sustainability Professional. His research interests include sustainable infrastructure design, energy efficiency, and engineering education.

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Robert Hume United States Military Academy orcid.org/0000-0002-2097-4297

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Robert A. Hume an Instructor of Civil Engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point and an active duty Army Engineer Officer. He is a graduate of West Point (B.S. in Civil Engineering) and the University of Cambridge (MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development). His research interests include sustainable infrastructure design, energy efficiency, and engineering education. He is also a licensed professional engineer in Missouri.

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Scott M. Katalenich United States Military Academy orcid.org/0000-0002-3300-6922

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Lieutenant Colonel Scott M. Katalenich is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY. He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy, M.Phil. in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer (Alaska), Project Management Professional, LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction, and Envision Sustainability Professional. His research interests include engineering education; infrastructure; sustainable design; and clean, renewable energy.

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William Graves United States Military Academy orcid.org/0000-0001-9094-7334

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William Graves, PhD, PE is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.

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Abstract

Social, economic, and environmental considerations, commonly called the “triple bottom line” of sustainability, are critical components of a civil engineering education. In fact, civil engineering programs seeking accreditation by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET are required to include application of such considerations. Criterion Three of the EAC General Criteria requires seven Student Outcomes, describing expectations for students’ abilities at the time of graduation from an accredited engineering program. Student Outcome #2 requires “an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors” and Student Outcome #4 requires “an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.” Clearly embedded within these two outcomes are the triple bottom line of sustainability. Furthermore, Program Criteria from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) requires that curriculum include application of the “principles of sustainability, risk, resilience, diversity, equity, and inclusion to civil engineering problems,” application of “an engineering code of ethics,” and application of “professional attitudes and responsibilities of a civil engineer.”  The importance of these criteria are reflected directly within the preamble to ASCE’s Code of Ethics, which provides four fundamental principles for engineers to govern their professional careers, the first being to “create safe, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure.” Currently, civil engineering programs typically teach sustainability indirectly, generally as a theme accompanying more conventional disciplines or through select embedded lessons within traditional courses. Some universities employ upper-level electives, clubs, or even independent study experiences to teach sustainability principles to undergraduates. Most courses dedicated to sustainable development are limited to graduate programs. In this paper, we present the results of a faculty team’s efforts to design a new course on sustainable infrastructure development as a part of undergraduate civil engineering curricula. We conduct benchmarking with existing programs that teach infrastructure and sustainable development as explicit courses within civil engineering. We crosswalk the pedagogical framework within ASCE’s Excellence in Civil Engineering Education (ExCEEd) Model to the draft syllabus and specific elements of the new course, to include a structured organization with appropriate learning objectives for each lesson, demonstrations and other in-class activities, and proposed out-of-class assignments. We further map specific learning objectives and learning activities to requirements for program accreditation by ABET. The resulting course syllabus, learning objectives, and crosswalk to accreditation criteria can serve as a model for faculty seeking to expand their course offerings within the civil engineering program.

Citation
Format

Glavin, M., & Hume, R., & Katalenich, S. M., & Graves, W. (2024, June), Leveraging the ASCE ExCEEd Model to Design a Course on Sustainable Infrastructure Development Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47745

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Social, economic, and environmental considerations, commonly called the “triple bottom line” of sustainability, are critical components of a civil engineering education.  In fact, civil engineering programs seeking accreditation by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET are required to include application of such considerations.  Criterion Three of the EAC General Criteria requires seven Student Outcomes, describing expectations for students’ abilities at the time of graduation from an accredited engineering program.  Student Outcome #2 requires “an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors” and Student Outcome #4 requires “an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.”  Clearly embedded within these two outcomes are the triple bottom line of sustainability.  Furthermore, Program Criteria from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) requires that curriculum include application of the “principles of sustainability, risk, resilience, diversity, equity, and inclusion to civil engineering problems,” application of “an engineering code of ethics,” and application of “professional attitudes and responsibilities of a civil engineer.”  The importance of these criteria are reflected directly within the preamble to ASCE’s Code of Ethics, which provides four fundamental principles for engineers to govern their professional careers, the first being to “create safe, resilient, and sustainable infrastructure.”  Currently, civil engineering programs typically teach sustainability indirectly, generally as a theme accompanying more conventional disciplines or through select embedded lessons within traditional courses.  Some universities employ upper-level electives, clubs, or even independent study experiences to teach sustainability principles to undergraduates.  Most courses dedicated to sustainable development are limited to graduate programs.  In this paper, we present the results of a faculty team’s efforts to design a new course on sustainable infrastructure development as a part of undergraduate civil engineering curricula.  We conduct benchmarking with existing programs that teach infrastructure and sustainable development as explicit courses within civil engineering.  We crosswalk the pedagogical framework within ASCE’s Excellence in Civil Engineering Education (ExCEEd) Model to the draft syllabus and specific elements of the new course, to include a structured organization with appropriate learning objectives for each lesson, demonstrations and other in-class activities, and proposed out-of-class assignments. We further map specific learning objectives and learning activities to requirements for program accreditation by ABET.  The resulting course syllabus, learning objectives, and crosswalk to accreditation criteria can serve as a model for faculty seeking to expand their course offerings within the civil engineering program.
AU  - Matthew Glavin
AU  - Robert Hume
AU  - Scott M. Katalenich
AU  - William Graves
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Leveraging the ASCE ExCEEd Model to Design a Course on Sustainable Infrastructure Development  
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/47745
ER  -