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Session 1202

Industry Expectations of New Engineers – A Survey to Assist Curriculum Designers

James D. Lang and Francis D. McVey The Boeing Company

Abstract

The ABET Criteria 2000 approach creates opportunities for universities to work closely with their key constituencies; such as industry, state regulatory agencies, parents, and students to define general and specific goals and objectives for their university - unique education programs. For example, while Criteria 2000 lists eleven student educational outcome categories, it requires each accredited institution to design its own curriculum based on its own set of outcomes objectives.

Very often surveys, such as those which attempt to capture and quantify industry expectations of the attributes (i.e., skills, knowledge, and experience) for entry level engineering employees, can provide key data useful for determining objectives and helpful in designing curricula to meet the objectives.

This paper outlines the content and results of a survey completed by fifteen companies which used 172 examples of attributes related to the eleven ABET outcome categories to gain data on the perceived importance of the attributes. The survey, current database, and some preliminary analyses are available in hard copy or electronic form. This "first" survey and dataset resulted from efforts of the Industry-University-Government Roundtable for Enhancing Engineering Education (IUGREEE) to initiate a continuing and evolving process to provide curriculum designers with important information from industry.

Introduction

The ABET Criteria 2000 approach used to accredit engineering education curricula creates opportunities for universities to redesign their curriculum but it requires a focus on achieving specific goals, objectives and outcomes. Among them is a list of eleven outcomes that engineering programs must demonstrate their graduates possess upon graduation. The student education outcomes described in the Criterion 3 section of the ABET Criteria 2000 are:

(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering (b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data (c) an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs (d) an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams (e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems (f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility (g) an ability to communicate effectively (h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context

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McVey, F. D., & Lang, J. D. (1998, June), Industry Expectations Of New Engineers … A Survey To Assist Curriculum Designers Paper presented at 1998 Annual Conference, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/1-2--7187