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Fundamentals of Engineering Exam Graduation Requirement

Abstract

For many years, the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) has required all engineering students to take a one credit Fundamentals of Engineering exam (FE exam) review class. Starting in 2005, Civil, Manufacturing and Mechanical engineering students were required to take the actual FE exam. By requiring the students to take the actual FE exam, the hopes were that UDM would give the student’s a head start on the licensure process and the exam results would give UDM a meaningful objective and direct ABET assessment measure. Under this new graduation requirement, the FE review class has evolved. Structural and informational course changes have produced a steadily increasing FE Exam passing rate each successive year. This paper will explore the strategies used in offering a FE review course to students taking a full class load and little time to devote to a one credit class.

Introduction

For many years, the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) has required that all engineering students take a one credit Fundamentals of Engineering exam (FE exam) review class. Passing the FE exam is usually the first of four steps needed to obtain a professional engineering license. The initial inception of the FE review course culminated in a mock FE exam and encouragement given to the students to take the actual FE exam. Under this course format only a small fraction of the students enrolled in the class took the real FE exam. Low exam participation was only one of many problems with this class format. The underlying problem was student motivation. The students felt that the class did not teach them anything new and with each student carrying an eighteen credit course load they felt that they had “more important” things to do. The class grade was not even a motivating factor. The course is only one credit and as long as they passed, the students were happy. The UDM engineering faculty all agreed that changes needed to be made.

Starting in 2005, the FE review class was restructured and Civil, Manufacturing and Mechanical engineering students were required to take the actual FE exam. The implementation of this new graduation requirement was motivated by two factors. First, the faculty agreed that it would be in the student’s best interest to take the FE exam because it would give them a jump start on professional licensure. Second, as it stood, the FE review class was a very poor assessment measure. The students did not care about the class and therefore, the mock FE exam given at the end of the course gave very poor results. By requiring the students to take the actual FE exam, the hopes were that the student’s motivation would increase and the exam results would give UDM a meaningful objective and direct ABET assessment measure.

Under this new graduation requirement, the FE review class has evolved. Continual changes have been made to the course based on FE exam results and comments coming out of an annually held student focus group. These structural and informational course changes have produced a steadily increasing FE Exam passing rate each successive year. This paper will explore the strategies used in offering a FE review course to students taking a full class load and little time to devote to a one credit class.

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Plantenberg, K. (2008, June), Fundamentals Of Engineering Exam Graduation Requirement Paper presented at 2008 Annual Conference & Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--3611