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Session 1360

On the Internationalization of Iowa State University’s College of Engineering

G. Ivan Maldonado and Anne M. Ahrens Iowa State University

Introduction

The importance of providing meaningful international experiences to engineering students will no longer be merely self-revealing within the global economy in which they ultimately interact. In fact, US educational programs leading to degrees in engineering will soon be subject to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology’s (ABET) new criteria known as the Engineering Criteria ABET 2000[1], which under Section II (Basic Level Accreditation Criteria), Criterion 3 (Program Outcomes and Assessment), Item (h), states:

“Engineering programs must demonstrate that their graduates have the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context.”

Furthermore, for accreditation purposes, institutions will have to demonstrate (and document) that an outcome assessment program is in place to effectively “measure” the extent to which objectives, such as that noted above, are being fulfilled. Finally, amidst the many clues, Criterion 5 of the Engineering Criteria ABET 2000[1] makes it very clear that the faculty is indeed “the heart” of the overall process.

Re-Engineering of Engineering Education at Iowa State University

In response to the rapid changes in engineering practices and to the new ABET accreditation guidelines, Dr. James L. Melsa, Dean of the College of Engineering (COE) at Iowa State University (ISU), strongly advocates the ongoing development of a new educational model. Specifically, a model that is learning based, practice-oriented, and one that demands active involvement of the student [2]. Accordingly, Dean Melsa has put forth a “blueprint for the future [3]” defining the new educational model and outlining some key organizational leadership principles, one of which reads:

“…we must embrace diversity and global perspectives. Our students will only fully understand these concepts through our role models; we must walk the talk in this area everyday.”

The above statement by Dean Melsa sets the stage for this writing on issues revolving around the enhancement of internationalization within the COE. In fact, among the “Performance Objectives for the Year 2000” outlined within the above-noted blueprint[3]

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Maldonado, G. I., & Ahrens, A. M. (1999, June), On The Internationalization Of Iowa State University's College Of Engineering Paper presented at 1999 Annual Conference, Charlotte, North Carolina. 10.18260/1-2--7866