Leland, R. P. (2017, June), Enriching the Engineering Economics Class  Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--28284

\bibitem{asee_peer_28284}
  Leland, R. P. (2017, June), \emph{Enriching the Engineering Economics Class}
  Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Columbus, Ohio.
  10.18260/1-2--28284

Robert P. Leland.  "Enriching the Engineering Economics Class".  2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio, 2017, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2017.  https://peer.asee.org/28284 Internet.  11 Jan, 2025

\bibitem{asee_peer_28284}
  Robert P. Leland.
  "Enriching the Engineering Economics Class".
  \emph{2017 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Columbus, Ohio, 2017, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2017.
  https://peer.asee.org/28284 Internet.  11 Jan, 2025

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_28284
author = "Robert P. Leland"
title = "Enriching the Engineering Economics Class"
booktitle = "2017 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2017"
month = "June"
address = "Columbus, Ohio"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/28284}
number = {10.18260/1-2--28284}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Enriching the Engineering Economics Class

The majority of Engineering Economics textbooks cover the numerical basis for estimating costs, evaluating and comparing projects and computing taxes. This reflects the material needed for the FE exam very directly. The typical text is lacking in giving students perspective on the broader impact of engineering and economic activity, and is in general lacking in giving a student perspective on the meaning and value of the engineering profession, including the business side. Current engineering students have a strong interest in seeing how their professional activities can benefit society. Risk and the quality movement are also important topics that are also typically not included.

It has been very helpful to enrich the course through short assigned readings and a research paper.  The readings are chosen to give the students examples of technology making a positive difference, such as wireless communication in developing countries, individuals choosing to make a difference, such as Tom Bloch, CEO of H & R Bloch teaching 8th grade algebra in an inner city school, and individuals exercising integrity, such as a whistleblower in the Citibank  mortgage department.  Students write a half page summary on these topics to ensure they actually read the assignment.  We also consider risk (Congolese Wireless Network)

Research papers have included such topics as Global Warming, One Laptop Per Child, Wireless communication in developing countries, the Grameen Bank, the quality movement, etc. These are more in depth and require the use of more than just web resources. Students have come up with their own topics as well, such as interviewing the president of an engineering company, or Baby Boxes

The research paper is used to assess students' knowledge of contemporary issues and understanding of broader impacts.
AU  - Robert P. Leland
CY  - Columbus, Ohio
DA  - 2017/06/24
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Enriching the Engineering Economics Class
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/28284
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--28284
ER  -