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Pre Eminence In First Year Engineering Programs

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Conference

2004 Annual Conference

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Publication Date

June 20, 2004

Start Date

June 20, 2004

End Date

June 23, 2004

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Introduction to Engineering and More

Page Count

11

Page Numbers

9.1000.1 - 9.1000.11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--12963

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/12963

Download Count

571

Paper Authors

author page

Linda Katehi

author page

Kamyar Haghighi

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Katherine Banks

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John Gaunt

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Robert Montgomery

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P.K. Imbrie

author page

Deborah Follman

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Phillip Wankat

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Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Session 2653

Preeminence in First-Year Engineering Programs Linda P.B. Katehi, Katherine Banks, Heidi A. Diefes-Dux, Deborah K. Follman, John Gaunt, Kamyar Haghighi, P.K. Imbrie, Leah H. Jamieson, Robert E. Montgomery, William C. Oakes, and Phillip Wankat Purdue University West Lafayette, IN

Abstract

The Department of Freshman Engineering (FrE) at Purdue University is currently celebrating its 50th Anniversary. For five decades the Department has slowly evolved, reacting to nationwide trends and advances by incorporating new pedagogical approaches to engineering education, and adopting engineering technologies appropriate to the time. The Department is now looking towards taking a leadership role in engineering education reform. Such a step will create opportunities to reform the first-year engineering program, long the centerpiece of FrE.

FrE serves as the gateway to the Schools of Engineering with all students completing the FrE core curriculum being admissible as sophomores to the professional engineering degree programs at Purdue. In this role, FrE works closely with the Engineering Professional Schools, the School of Science, and the School of Liberal Arts, as well as industry, alumni and parents to recruit, retain, and reinforce outstanding engineering students.

Transformation of the first-year program needs to find balance between a number of opposing forces. A minimum of fundamentals in science and math are required to prepare students for their sophomore engineering coursework, and exposure to the nature of engineering and its opportunities is needed to enable students to identify an appropriate career path. However, the academic rigor of the first year in engineering is overly challenging and even shocking for many students. Still, calls for engineering education reform speak of educating students in areas of communication, ethics and professionalism, design, working in teams, leadership, entrepreneurship, and global understanding (to name a few), all of which vie for curriculum time. As we seek to transform the first year we also need to keep an eye to current engineering education research, and to those issues touching on matters of diversity and social responsibility.

This paper will share the struggle and the insight gained by its authors in transforming a high- quality first year program into one seeking recognition as "preeminent." Planning activities, reactions to opportunities and threats, overcoming resource constraints, showcasing and exploiting of strengths, shoring up of weaknesses, and the overall process of transforming the first-year program will be discussed.

Background

To successfully compete and to be leaders in the future work place, our graduates must have a world-class engineering education, be equipped with the latest technical knowledge and tools, and have adequate understanding of the social, economic, and even political issues that affect

Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education

Katehi, L., & Haghighi, K., & Diefes-Dux, H., & Banks, K., & Gaunt, J., & Montgomery, R., & Oakes, W., & Imbrie, P., & Follman, D., & Wankat, P. (2004, June), Pre Eminence In First Year Engineering Programs Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--12963

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