Assessing Distinctives of the New XXXX Engineering Program in Terms of Their Impact on Recruitment, Student Satisfaction and Employment Potential

Daniel Jensen; Luke Jensen; William Allison; Adam Goodworth; Douglas Fontes

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Mechanical Engineering: Student Growth
Page Count: 18
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--40931
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/40931
Download Count: 428

Paper Authors

biography

Daniel Jensen United States Air Force Academy

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Dr Jensen received a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering Science from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is currently the Westmont Endowed Professor of Engineering and the Director for the Westmont College Engineering Program. He was a Professor of Engineering Mechanics at the US Air Force Academy for 21 years (now retired) where he ran the mechanical engineering design program. He has been a Scholar in Residence at the University of Colorado in Denver and a Fellow at the International Design Center which is the largest design research center in the world. This center is located at both the Singapore University of Technology and Design and at MIT. He also runs an engineering consulting company (Creo Consulting) which specializes in training in innovation enhancements for engineering design. Dr Jensen regularly teaches courses in “Innovation in Product/Systems Design”. He has trained hundreds of design teams in “Innovation in Design of Products, Processes and Services” and has overseen the creation of dozens of patents. He has written over 135 peer-reviewed publications and has secured foundation, research and consulting grants for approximately $7 million.

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Abstract

XXXX college is a small Christian liberal arts college in XXXX California. In 2019 XXXX started an engineering program. XXXX Engineering grants a General Engineering degree with an emphasis on Mechanical Engineering. The engineering program incorporates the XXXX liberal arts core set of classes such that each engineering student is required to take the full liberal arts general education curriculum in addition to the engineering curriculum. The program has had a successful start, with great interest from students and also from prospective employers. XXXX engineering is built on three “pillars:” a Christian liberal arts foundation, excellence in technical competence, and integration of a Design Innovation thread throughout the curriculum. This paper will provide details of the three pillars and then proceed to show the impact of these pillars in three areas: impact on student recruitment, student satisfaction during the program and employment potential (from the perspective of prospective employers). Some additional aspects of the XXXX engineering experience are also evaluated including small class size, access to faculty, and geographic location. Assessment of the variables is ongoing, but initial results indicate that students choose XXXX engineering for a wide variety of reasons. This includes significant value placed in XXXX’s overall academic quality and XXXX’s liberal arts foundation. Student value in the Design Innovation aspect of the program has grown as the program has matured. Current students indicate that their experience in the engineering program is positive. Their positive experience is based significantly on small class size, engaged faculty, and aspects of Design Innovation such as group design projects, hands-on learning experiences and focus on innovation. Employers tell us that their likelihood for hiring XXXX engineering graduates is very high. This is based on their belief in the program’s technical rigor and their perception that the students will have good “soft skills”. They also indicated that the student’s exposure to the Design Innovation process and methods was seen in a very positive light.

Citation
Format

Jensen, D., & Jensen, L., & Allison, W., & Goodworth, A., & Fontes, D. (2022, August), Assessing Distinctives of the New XXXX Engineering Program in Terms of Their Impact on Recruitment, Student Satisfaction and Employment Potential Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40931

TY - CPAPER
AB - XXXX college is a small Christian liberal arts college in XXXX California. In 2019 XXXX started an engineering program. XXXX Engineering grants a General Engineering degree with an emphasis on Mechanical Engineering. The engineering program incorporates the XXXX liberal arts core set of classes such that each engineering student is required to take the full liberal arts general education curriculum in addition to the engineering curriculum. The program has had a successful start, with great interest from students and also from prospective employers. XXXX engineering is built on three “pillars:” a Christian liberal arts foundation, excellence in technical competence, and integration of a Design Innovation thread throughout the curriculum. This paper will provide details of the three pillars and then proceed to show the impact of these pillars in three areas: impact on student recruitment, student satisfaction during the program and employment potential (from the perspective of prospective employers). Some additional aspects of the XXXX engineering experience are also evaluated including small class size, access to faculty, and geographic location. Assessment of the variables is ongoing, but initial results indicate that students choose XXXX engineering for a wide variety of reasons. This includes significant value placed in XXXX’s overall academic quality and XXXX’s liberal arts foundation. Student value in the Design Innovation aspect of the program has grown as the program has matured. Current students indicate that their experience in the engineering program is positive. Their positive experience is based significantly on small class size, engaged faculty, and aspects of Design Innovation such as group design projects, hands-on learning experiences and focus on innovation. Employers tell us that their likelihood for hiring XXXX engineering graduates is very high. This is based on their belief in the program’s technical rigor and their perception that the students will have good “soft skills”. They also indicated that the student’s exposure to the Design Innovation process and methods was seen in a very positive light.
AU - Daniel Jensen
AU - Luke Jensen
AU - William Allison
AU - Adam Goodworth
AU - Douglas Fontes
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Assessing Distinctives of the New XXXX Engineering Program in Terms of Their Impact on Recruitment, Student Satisfaction and Employment Potential
UR - https://peer.asee.org/40931
DO - 10.18260/1-2--40931
ER -