Weitzen, J. A., & Rashid, M. M., & Johnston, S., & Maase, E. L., & Willis, D. J. (2015, June), A Methodology for Restructuring Our First-year Introduction to Engineering Sequence at University of Massachusetts, Lowell  Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/p.23406

\bibitem{asee_peer_23406}
  Weitzen, J. A., \& Rashid, M. M., \& Johnston, S., \& Maase, E. L., \& Willis, D. J. (2015, June), \emph{A Methodology for Restructuring Our First-year Introduction to Engineering Sequence at University of Massachusetts, Lowell}
  Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Seattle, Washington.
  10.18260/p.23406

Jay A. Weitzen, Md Mamunur Rashid, Stephen Johnston, Eric L. Maase, and David J. Willis.  "A Methodology for Restructuring Our First-year Introduction to Engineering Sequence at University of Massachusetts, Lowell".  2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Seattle, Washington, 2015, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2015.  https://peer.asee.org/23406 Internet.  22 Feb, 2025

\bibitem{asee_peer_23406}
  Jay A. Weitzen, Md Mamunur Rashid, Stephen Johnston, Eric L. Maase, and David J. Willis.
  "A Methodology for Restructuring Our First-year Introduction to Engineering Sequence at University of Massachusetts, Lowell".
  \emph{2015 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Seattle, Washington, 2015, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2015.
  https://peer.asee.org/23406 Internet.  22 Feb, 2025

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_23406
author = "Jay A. Weitzen, Md Mamunur Rashid, Stephen Johnston, Eric L. Maase, and David J. Willis"
title = "A Methodology for Restructuring Our First-year Introduction to Engineering Sequence at University of Massachusetts, Lowell"
booktitle = "2015 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2015"
month = "June"
address = "Seattle, Washington"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/23406}
number = {10.18260/p.23406}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -     A Methodology for Restructuring Our first year Introduction To Engineering Program                                           ABSTRACTThis paper describes our approach to a major restructuring of our Introduction to Engineeringprogram for first year engineering students. We describe the methodology and process we usedto analyze best practices and to find a solution that fit the strategic requirements of the College ofEngineering and the specific needs our growing and changing first year engineering cohort. Much of what we did was based on results of a detailed student survey and a focus group withstudents who had already been through the introductory program. The new first year engineeringprogram was restructured to stress hands on skills building and rolled out starting in the Fallsemester of 2014. In this paper we share key learning's from this process. The charge from theDean was as follows:      1) The total credits (4) cannot increase and he would prefer a reduction.      2) Achieve significant reduction in the cost of running the first year program.      3) The new first year program should focus on teaching critical skills to help students         succeed in engineering programs (e.g. improve retention).      4) Allow students to explore different majors through hands on open ended design         activities to better understand what engineers in each major do.      5) Make use of the new "maker space" design center.      6) The program must scale to an incoming cohort of up to 1000 students.      7) Be ready with the restructured program at the beginning of the next academic year.        The process we followed is listed below.     1) Survey different types of programs at peer and peer aspirant institutions, especially those        with similar size and student body makeup.     2) Design a detailed survey for engineering students who had already taken the introductory        course sequence to better understand what they actually learned and how useful they felt        it was as they progressed through their respective programs     3) Conduct a focus group of selected senior and graduate students in each department to        survey their feelings about potential program redesigns based on their experiences with        the original program.     4) Come up with two semi-finalists for proposed course models and brief the department        chairs individually to determine their level of buy-in for the proposed designs     5) Formally brief the Dean and Chairs Council and have them select the final format for the        course from the two final recommendations and have it ready to implement in Fall 20141
AU  - Jay A. Weitzen
AU  - Md Mamunur Rashid
AU  - Stephen Johnston
AU  - Eric L. Maase
AU  - David J. Willis
CY  - Seattle, Washington
DA  - 2015/06/14
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - A Methodology for Restructuring Our First-year Introduction to Engineering Sequence at University of Massachusetts, Lowell
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/23406
DO  - 10.18260/p.23406
ER  -