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A case study of eradicating weakness in accreditation owing to vital role played by industrial and government leaders in academia

Kanti Prasad, Ph.D.; P.E. Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell MA 01854 Kanti_Prasad@uml.edu

Introduction In the fall of 2000, we were visited by ABET for regular accreditation for our Electrical Engineering Program. We were cited ‘weakness’ in our course 16.499 Capstone Project. Although the design content was of great quality, but it lacked in elucidating the design impact on society, its environmental implication, ethical content, and economic considerations. So we were awarded three years accreditation instead of six, and given couple of years to show how we are going to address this problem. According to the ABET’s visiting team, broader education in all four aspects for engineers is of crucial importance in modern times of global competition. So a proposal was made to the prime reviewer that we would institute a one credit course, which would be taught primarily by the industrial and government leaders addressing these issues. Such a course 16.400 Engineering Topics was initiated in the spring 2001 coordinated by the author, and is being taught each semester thereafter.

Challenges to the Engineering Educators The prime objective of the course Engineering Topics was to provide the students with various illustrations of engineering successes and/or failures by the experts from the regional Hi-Tech industries in the classroom.

Capstone Project is the most challenging experience in any student’s career. This presents an opportunity of integrating one’s design knowledge acquired through various courses and disciplines in consummating the project. In modern times, however, design expertise-only is not sufficient for engineering profession. These days one must be broadly educated in issues pertaining to environment, society, ethics, economics, and manufacturability. The course

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Prasad, K. (2005, June), A Case Study Of Eradicating Weakness In Accreditation Owing To Vital Role Played By Industrial And Government Leaders In Academia Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--15216