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Experiences in Transforming an Engineering Technology Capstone Senior Design Course

Abstract Until recently, the Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) program at Georgia Southern University (GSU) offered a comprehensive engineering design course (TEET4630) which was a three-credit single semester course that all EET majors were required to take as a capstone course for the EET program. The main goal of the comprehensive course was for the students to apply their theoretical and practical knowledge for the solution of an actual engineering problem. However, although the department has offered this course for many years and students have developed successful and interesting projects, in its original format, the capstone course was too short and did not afford the students time to truly demonstrate their capabilities.

Also, in order for the EET program to fullfill more strongly the ABET outcomes related to demonstrate that students are able to function on multi-disciplinary teams (outcome d), that they show a strong ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems (outcome e) and are able to understand professional and ethical responsibility (outcome f). Based on these goals, the EET faculty and its Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) agreed to modify and expand the EET Senior Project Course into two courses. TEET4610 is a 1-credit course offered in the fall semester, and a TEET4620 is a 2-credits course offered in the spring. Prerequisites for taking these courses were also expanded to include Microcontrollers and advanced Electronics courses that are needed for successful completion of the capstone project.

This paper describes the faculty effort required to make the appropriate changes in preparation for the new format of this course, the particulars of the implementation, how the course evolved and the improvement in student performances are described. We also present the methods, mechanisms, and lessons learned during the process and how they can be helpful to others contemplating a similar course, or those anticipating a revision to an existing engineering technology program.

Introduction Most four-year engineering technology programs culminate in a capstone senior design course or workshop. The objective of the capstone design course is for the students to demonstrate their understanding and application of the theoretical concepts they have learned throughout their degree program. Though the goal of these courses is the same, the extent and quality of the end result varies substantially from different schools or programs. Some senior project courses involve only some kind of design, simulation or research in a particular topic, while others involve the design and development of an actual working prototype1.

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Rios-Gutierrez, F. (2009, June), Experiences In Transforming An Engineering Technology Capstone Senior Design Course Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--4652