Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Engineering Experiences

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael A. Gennert, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Nima Lotfi, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville; James A. Mynderse, Lawrence Technological University; Monique Jethwani; Vikram Kapila, NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

bydesigning smart systems and processes that will improve human welfare. One’s ability tomeaningfully contribute to this field requires her/him to acquire an interdisciplinary knowledgeof mechanical, electrical, computer, software, and systems engineering to oversee the entiredesign and development process of emerging MRE systems. There have been many educationalefforts around MRE, including courses, minors, and degree programs, but they have not beenwell integrated or widely adopted. Now is the time for MRE to coalesce as a distinct andidentifiable engineering discipline. To this end, and with support from the National ScienceFoundation, the authors have planned three workshops, the first of which has concluded, on thefuture of MRE education at the

Conference Session

ABET Accreditation of Multidisciplinary Programs

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Grondin, Arizona State University; Darryl Morrell, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

West campus, the Downtown campusand the Polytechnic campus. None of these is a main campus and none of these is asatellite campus. The Polytechnic campus is located in Mesa and the enrollment there isprojected to grow from 5,000 to 15,000 over the next decade1. As part of this plan, a newengineering program has been created at the Polytechnic campus. In order to avoidduplication of degrees already taught in engineering at the Tempe campus, the newprogram will accredit through ABET as a general engineering program. An overalldescription of this “clean slate” opportunity to rethink engineering education has beendescribed elsewhere2. Here our focus will be on the development of an electricalengineering systems concentration within this multi

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Course Innovation II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Farison, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

expectation and the thirdproject (MATLAB research project) has a demonstrably higher expectation for the graduatestudents. Page 13.747.4Because of the perceived inherent value of, and the time devoted to, these three individualizedassignments and the resulting diversity that the whole class receives, very few traditionalhomework problem assignments are used. For example, in fall 2007, there were only tenhomework problems assigned during the entire course.Simulated Corporate Business EnvironmentSince the enrollment comprises mostly students who are planning to graduate that year, they arebecoming tired of the routine of lectures, homework, tests and

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Capstone Design Projects

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Josef Rojter, Victoria University of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

engineeringcourses are not based on one curriculum but are composed of many disciplinary subjectswhich form, hopefully, a network of epistemic elements constructed to unify professionalknowledge. In reality, professional engineering courses can be often seen as a collection ofsubjects in search of a unifying objective.Grunert19 distinguishes curricula in terms of style of delivery rather than knowledge contexts.He identifies 5 principle curriculum planning models outlined in table 1. Content-led,Rational and Assessment-led models largely represent a linear view of knowledge. Though,in style, the PBL curriculum model, like the Rational and Assessment-led models, isoutwardly outcome driven, nevertheless like the Fuzzy model it can also construct the non

Conference Session

Edifying Engineering Education through Multidisciplinary Efforts

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

J. Sonnenberg-Klein, Georgia Institute of Technology; Randal T. Abler, Georgia Institute of Technology; Edward J. Coyle, Georgia Institute of Technology; Ha Hang Ai

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

ability to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds; and their understanding oftechnology applications relevant to their field of study. Motivated by these findings, the VIPcoordinators conducted a retrospective study of peer evaluations, applying social networkanalysis to quantify student interactions and identify patterns across the program. Resultsindicate that within the VIP Program, students interact more often with other majors and otherraces/ethnicities than their own major and race/ethnicity. Results support the findings of theprevious study, providing evidence of VIP experiences related to working in diverse groups andin multidisciplinary teams. This paper reports the results of this analysis and plans for

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Endeavors: Engineering and Liberal Arts

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alyson Grace Eggleston, The Citadel; Robert J. Rabb P.E., The Citadel

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Multidisciplinary Engineering

to know and be able to do by the time of graduation.”One of the Student Outcomes for the 2019-2020 cycle is “(5) an ability to function effectively ona team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusiveenvironment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives ” [7]. These strategic documentsguide all engineering programs and are more than aspirational. They are meant to affect change,so implementing action to produce students with habitually effective leadership skills starts withthe faculty.BackgroundToday's students are usually very comfortable with technology, have shorter attention spans, alower threshold for boredom, resist memorization and homework and favor action to observation[8]. Learning

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Curricular Design and Assessment

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chi-Ning Chang, Texas A&M University; Courtney Lavadia, Texas A&M University; Douglas Allaire, Texas A&M University; Debra A Fowler, Texas A&M University; Raymundo Arróyave, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

asuccessful interdisciplinary program.To provide a collaborative learning platform and break down disciplinary barriers, during thetraining process, students are required to participate in a learning community, writingcommunity, coffee talks and seminar series also designed to enhance professional and technicalskills (see Table 1). Students are mentored through the use of an Individual Development Plan(IDP), which facilitates student self-reflection, goal setting, and career planning supported byannual discussions of the student and advisor [2, 3].Table 1. Desired Skills. Professional Skills Technical Skills TS1 Application of core knowledge to

Conference Session

Engaging Faculty Across Disciplines, Colleges, and Institutions

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bruce E Dunne, Grand Valley State University; Paul Keenlance, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

the process. In the second term of the capstone(EGR 486), the students begin the build phase of the project. Completion of the course isindicated by the sponsor’s signoff of the resulting prototype, which is expected to meetall specifications as agreed to earlier.The capstone process thus described has worked well at our institution for many years.Recently, however, large increases in enrollment have put a stress on our ability to locateacceptable projects that meet the criteria. Five years ago we required about a dozenprojects to handle our senior class of about 65 students; now, in the most recent cycle, wehave about 130 seniors, necessitating around 25 projects (project space is another issue,but there are plans in the works to address

Conference Session

Promoting Multidisciplinary Efforts

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Priya Manohar, Robert Morris University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

Education, Research and Faculty CollaborationABSTRACTIt has been long recognized that one of the most important aspect of delivering high qualitySTEM education is to provide the students with an educational experience that includes a widerange of knowledge including not only engineering, science, and mathematics but also liberalarts education such as ergonomics (operation, safety, usability), business (economics, marketing,management, planning, corporate identity), aesthetics (form, visualization, style), and social,environmental, and cultural issues. In response to this need, the School of Engineering,Mathematics and Science (SEMS) at Robert Morris University (RMU) formed a Research andOutreach Center (ROC) in the year 2010. The center activities

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Academic Programs

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amy S. Van Epps, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Iryna Ashby, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Colin M. Gray, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Marisa Exter, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

levels (Figure 1). While the path throughachieving the badges will be different for every student, the levels of achievement roughlyequates to the skills that would be expected for first year students (developing), second and earlythird year students (emerging), and late third year and final year students (proficient). Studentsare not expected to reach the proficient level in every one of the sub-competencies articulatedwithin the overarching eight competencies. There is room for students to determine what areasmake the most sense for their own development and career plans, allowing them to create a pathto the envisioned and desired future that fuels their desired areas of learning.Figure 1. Competency map organized by overarching competencies

Conference Session

Novel Teaching Methods in a Multidisciplinary Context

Collection

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ananda Mani Paudel, Colorado State University, Pueblo

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

withweekly progress were used to document the tasks performed by the students, and also providedformative feedback to the course. For example, remarks such as “we haven’t done this in class”or “needed a lot of revision” helped the instructor to adjust the pace of lecture instruction.3.3 Weekly ScheduleThe following rubric was provided to students to plan and schedule their work:Week 1: Design area selectionList and describe the method that is being used to select a topic and why. Present a shortdescription of how you came to the decision, which could be a literature search, personalcommunication, or other method. Page 26.1309.6Week 2: Identification

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Teamwork

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

A Zachary Trimble, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Wayne A. Shiroma, University of Hawaii at Manoa; David Garmire, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Aaron T. Ohta, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

case, allstudents take the discipline-relevant core courses in support of the project they are working on.The students interact as a cohort from start to finish - from general education and math tograduation. However, such an idealized plan is difficult to implement in the face of alreadyestablished pedagogy. Electrical Mechanical Engineering VIP Engineering Senior Design Senior Design Senior VIP Team Member Junior Project Technical Elective Sophomore Project

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Course Innovation

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lionel Craddock, Bluefield State College; Daphne Rainey, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute; Susan Faulkner, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute; Frank Hart, Bluefield State College; Martha Eborall, Bluefield State College; Lewis Foster, Bluefield State College; Stephen Cammer, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute; Betsy Tretola, Virginia Tech; Bruno Sobral, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute; Oswald Crasta, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute; Bruce Mutter, Bluefield State College

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

multidisciplinary team was good or excellent. On the post-coursesurvey 83% indicated that their comfort level was good or excellent in working on amultidisciplinary team. These findings support the effectiveness of the course in meetinglearning objectives related to communications and working within transdisciplinary teams tosolve complex scientific problems. On the pre-course survey 57% or four students agreed orstrongly agreed that they planned to pursue an advanced degree in a bioinformatics field.On the post-course survey 50% or three students indicated that they planned to pursue anadvanced degree in the bioinformatics field. In summary, the course helped students clarify their goals relative to doing CI research andseeking advanced degrees in

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Teams

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Crockett, California Polytechnic State University; Jon Whited, St. Jude Medical; Daniel Walsh, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

of Xeragen, Inc., a San Luis Obispo-based biotechnology startup company. He has also served as an Assistant Professor at Milwaukee School of Engineering and was employed by McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company, where he was a lead engineer and Principal Investigator on projects to develop technology evolution plans for the Space Station.Jon Whited, St. Jude Medical Jon Whited graduated from San Diego State University with a BS in Engineering Management. He is currently Manager, University Relations and Recruiting for St. Jude Medical, Cardiac Rhythm Management Division. He has worked as a Software Test Manager and Systems Test Manager for General Electric Space Systems and as Manager

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Teams

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Samantha Jacques; Deepti Suri, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

amongst them are(i) Assigning “tasks” to team members that tend to be outside their specialty and (ii) Creatingteams in which students of two closely related majors are placed on a capstone design team for ashort duration (typically a semester). These approaches are definitely steps in the right directionbut have limitations.This paper describes an innovative and sustainable framework to provide “multi-disciplinary”experience between the Biomedical Engineering (BE) and Software Engineering (SE) students atMSOE. The approach is neither an “after-thought”, nor an “add-on” to one of the existingcourses. It is a well-thought out plan for vertical and horizontal integration of this experiencewithin the curriculum. This interaction not only provides

Conference Session

Micro-Technology and Nanotechnology

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Maher E. Rizkalla, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; Mangilal Agarwal, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis; Sudhir Shrestha, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis; Hazim A El-Mounayri, Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis; Kody Varahramyan, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

the presenting students. The poster presentationsessions are managed and organized at the level of national and international conferences.The newly developed track provides three modules of research-based courses in three years, inaddition to the team-based capstone design project that students must pursue during their senioryear. Details on these two components are given below.Senior Capstone Design Project: In this course, all ECE and ME students are required to performa two-semester project that incorporate design components from various courses throughout thecurricula. This course assists students with design methodology, the consideration of alternativesolutions, and project planning in engineering design. Oral presentation and report

Conference Session

Capstone Projects, Design Projects, and Teamwork

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tomas Enrique Estrada, Elizabethtown College

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

throughoutvarious stages of the process and uploading them to the Internet. The contest also served as ameans of external validation for their work.The students surveyed the existing literature in solar trackers and developed their own design,with the objective of increasing tracking efficiency. Their design was a hybrid concept,combining active tracking and chronological tracking. This paper includes a detailed explanationof the design, adapted from the students’ senior project report.The Hybrid Solar Tracker ranked among the top 100 projects worldwide for the Phoenix ContactXplore Contest and won the award for Best Senior Project in the department. While there werefactors to be improved on, both in terms of planning and execution, this project was a

Conference Session

Intercollegiate and Cross-disciplinary Collaboration

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian P. Self, California Polytechnic State University; James M Widmann, California Polytechnic State University; Lynne A Slivovsky, California Polytechnic State University; J.Kevin Taylor; David W. Hey, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

3 0 1 Low-Medium17 Pop a Wheelie 2011 2* 1† 1 MediumTotals 52 9 33 NANote: Students who reported 'extensive prior experience' to people with disabilities (* = 1 male / † = 1 female)Comments that are specifically related to the Kinesiology student collaboration are providedbelow based on three themes: (a) the Etiquette Presentation (b) Planning and Scheduling, and (c)Improving Future Projects: Communication between the Disciplines. Names have been changed,but are consistent with the gender of the engineering student.Theme 1

Conference Session

Capstone and International Experiences

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rob O. Hovsapian, Florida State University; Chiang Shih, Florida A&M University/Florida State University; Juan Ordonez, Florida A&M University/Florida State University; Jose Vargas, Universidade Federal de Parana; Necesio Gomes Costa, Universidade Federal de Itajubá

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

consortium is centered on theinternational capstone senior design project course. Under this arrangement, four U.S. students,two at each Brazilian university, traveled to Brazil in the fall, which is actually the Brazilian“Spring” term, where they participated in two of the international capstone design projects that Page 25.572.4were developed during the summer before their departure. In Brazil the students joined a groupof non-FIPSE Brazilian students to undertake the planning and design phase of their projects inBrazil. Concurrently, five Brazilian exchange students traveled to the US where they

Conference Session

Capstone and International Experiences

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jacob T. Allenstein, Ohio State University; Clifford A. Whitfield, Ohio State University; Bob Rhoads, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

demonstrate professionalism by exhibiting integrity, providing leadership in a project to ensure the project success • Students are to produce quality designs that represent not only of themselves but of the industry company and the college. The designs must satisfy the performance requirements and constraints • Students are to establish team relationships with other members on the team, the advisor, the program coordinator, and the industry sponsor. • Students are to manage the project schedule and the resources by monitoring their own expenditures, their work assignments, and their course plan. • Students are to apply their prior knowledge, research, and any ideas in addressing the problem when

Conference Session

Sustainability, Service Learning, and Entreprenuership

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Northrup, Western New England College

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

15.896.3During the classes preceding the travel, students studied reading material and the course met foran hour and a half every other week for lectures followed by in-class discussions. During the 7meetings the following topics were covered: Week 1 – Syllabus, course goals, establish teams, assign literature reviews, logistics and immunizations, personal travel after the course, and planning for fundraising. Week 3 – Lecture on history of Guatemala – plantations and land tenure, civil war. Week 5 – Lecture on people, language and culture. Week 7 – Lecture on geology, climate, fuel sources, and deforestation. Week 9 – Lecture on public health related to housing conditions. Week 11 – Lecture on construction

Conference Session

The Interdisciplinary Nature of Engineering

Collection

2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alan Chong, University of Toronto; Lydia Wilkinson, University of Toronto; Deborah Tihanyi, University of Toronto

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Multidisciplinary Engineering

the pedagogical approaches and classroomstructure in their HSS lectures and tutorials. If they manage to enroll in a course withcomparatively low engineering representation, they often feel isolated from their peers, and ifthey choose to enroll in an HSS elective with high out of department enrollment they are oftenshepherded into a non-arts and science lecture section or tutorial with no change in the way thatmaterial is delivered or discussed. While they may watch different modes of thought at work, it’sunlikely that they are proficient in their use or convinced of their benefit by course’s end. Andwhile another calendar entry strongly encourages students to “plan their complementary studieselectives in accordance with their career

Conference Session

SE Capstone Design Projects, Part II

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven Corns, Missouri University of Science and Technology; Cihan H. Dagli, Missouri University of Science and Technology; Ivan G. Guardiola, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering, Systems Engineering

details of theirparticular engineering disciplines. In addition, as most of the undergraduate students weremechanical engineering majors, the instructor for the first course was able to use his backgroundin mechanical engineering to provide relatable examples to the students. One of the main difficulties with teaching this course was the pace at which the course Page 22.1279.9started to move. Although we had planned for a fast paced course, it was still a faster thananticipated and additional contingencies would have been helpful when the students moved intothe higher detail design work. A high level overview of the systems engineering

Conference Session

Assessment and Impact

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Raber, Michigan Technological University; Susan L. Amato-Henderson, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

/major and who guides you in the fulfillment of requirements of your major. This person helps you to interpret the University's requirements, select appropriate courses, and develop a suitable educational plan to help you meet your career goals.Your Enterprise Course Module(s): These are the professional skills development course modules taken to supplement your enterprise project course experience and to fulfill enterprise concentration or minor requirements. Example course modules include Teaming, Leadership, Marketing, Design for

Conference Session

History, Program Design, and even a Journal Club

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Farison, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

review (NGR) ofprograms already accredited can be determined from the ABET public website. Several othervariables that lead to the final number can only be estimated. Nonetheless, a “forecast” isimportant for the planning of ASEE’s PEV workload and therefore the anticipated number ofASEE PEVs needed each year. Further, the roster of multidisciplinary engineering programsitself is an important source of information about this set of engineering degree programs and theinstitutions that provide them.IntroductionOne of the significant distinctions of a substantial number of baccalaureate engineering programsis that they intentionally do not align naturally with the currently established major disciplineslike civil engineering, electrical engineering

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Technical Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Magdalini Z. Lagoudas, Texas A&M University; Bugrahan Yalvac, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

participants in the 2009 SEI program, eleven (11) of them indicated that they got interested in space industry because of their involvement with the SEI program activities. Below are some excerpts students provided: SEI has most definitely influenced my plans. I thought about the space industry before coming to college, but I wasn't sure if it would be of interest to me. However, after my experiences in the SEI program, the space industry has become one of my top industry choices to possible work in. SEI has shown me how many different opportunities the space industry has. SEI has provided me with the opportunity to learn more about the space industry and what it takes to

Conference Session

Multidisciplinary Technical Session

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gül E. Okudan Kremer, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Mike Murphy, Dublin Institute of Technology; Brian Bowe, Dublin Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

these existing assessment tools is that they have been developed basedon different frameworks, and hence, the integration of non-consistent assessment tools into anoverall program assessment is challenging. Beard et al.7 suggest that an assessment plan toevaluate curricular efforts to integrate professional skills into programs should includestandardized rubrics.Beyond the studies that focused on assessment of individual skills (e.g., teamwork), a few recentstudies proposed more comprehensive assessment tools targeting a larger set of professionalskills. For example, Huyk et al.23 studied engineering students enrolled in multi-disciplinaryproject team courses to investigate the impact of reflections on the service learning and otherproject

Conference Session

Robotics, Mechatronics, and Control Systems - Multidisciplinary Perspectives

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael A. Gennert, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Taskin Padir, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

curriculumFIGURE 1. The WPI Robotics Engineering program is consists of Introduction to Robotics at thestructured around a core consisting of Introduction to Robotics, 1000 level (1st year) and a four-courseUnified Robotics I-IV, and the Capstone Project [11]. Unified Robotics sequence at the 2000 and3000 levels (sophomore and junior years, respectively). Figure 1 provides a visualization of theRBE curriculum. All courses are offered in 7-week terms with 4 hours of lecture and 2 hours oflaboratory session per week. Further, in keeping with the long history of the WPI Plan, thesecourses emphasize project-based

Conference Session

Assessment in Multidisciplinary Learning Environment

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Sara A. Atwood, Elizabethtown College; Brenda Read-Daily, Elizabethtown College; Jean Carlos Batista Abreu, Elizabethtown College

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

. While the instructor did not teach this course again due to rotating instructor coverage,she implemented this approach in her Thermodynamics course.Details are presented in Appendix A.Thermodynamics (Spring 2020)While an epic finale approach was already planned, the instructor felt it was particularlyappropriate given the quick pivot online during COVID in Spring 2020. All students had beenassessed individually on partial exams and a cumulative FE-style quiz. The epic finale wasconducted virtually on Zoom and was less structured. Students were placed into random breakoutgroups and asked to figure out how a hospital ventilator works with schematics drawn,components identified, and technical considerations and related to thermodynamics and

Conference Session

Program-Level Assessments for Multidisciplinary Areas

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ming Li, Tsinghua University

Tagged Divisions

Multidisciplinary Engineering

researchercollaborated together to design scientific interview protocol and questions which attainedgood expert validity. In process of research, the researcher made some adjustments oninterview protocol and questions to improve the effectiveness. In addition, the researchercombined literature analysis and in-depth interview to improve the reliability. In order toevaluate the protocol, methods and strategies, and to clarify the interpretations and ideas, theresearcher had his advisor comment and review on the research plans, findings andconclusions as they developed. The interview protocol includes following questions: 1. External quality assurance is important at Purdue for what purposes or objectives? Why is it important for these things? 2