Building a First- Year Engineering Program Presented by: John Demel, Richard Freuler, and John Merrill
Mar 28, 2015
Building a First-Year Engineering Program
Presented by:John Demel, Richard Freuler, and John Merrill
Workshop Agenda
Introductions
Fill Out and Collect Questionnaire
Review Ohio State’s Program / Other Models
Questionnaire Summary
Group Discussion
Presentation about Building Support
Summary and Wrap-up
Questions?
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Outline for this Presentation
OSU Demographics
Why we wanted to develop OSU Program
First-Year Engineering Program (FEP)Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)Fundamentals of Engineering Honors (FEH)
Results
The College of EngineeringThe Ohio State University
Ohio State – ~57,000 students
College of Engineering – ~6,000 students
Nine Departments – AAE, CE, ChE, CSE, ECE, FABE, IWSE, ME, MSE
4,840 Undergraduates
1,260 First-Year Engineering Students – Selective Admission to OSU & Enrollment in Engineering
~ 280 Faculty
History of Ohio State First-Year Program
(1874-1994) Department of Engineering Graphics includes two four credit courses Engineering Graphics & Programming for all students.
Late 1980’s - OSU Engineering & national concern about retention < 50% retained
Ohio State joined nine other schools for Gateway Engineering Education Coalition
Considered Drexel and Rose-Hulman Models
1993-97 Developed Fundamentals of Engineering Honors Program
1992 & 1997 Engineering Core Surveys of OSU Graduates
1998 Retreat – 100 Faculty
History of Ohio State First Year -Program
Possible Models
Rose-Hulman – First YearQuarter system
Three 12 credit courses combining and integrating math, physics, chemistry, engineering
Team of teachers
Just in time delivery
Possible Models
Drexel UniversityQuarter SystemCombined topics for 1st Year Students (3 Qtrs)
Math and PhysicsChemistry and BiologyHumanities (English+) for EngineeringEngineering – Hands-On Labs, Maple, LabView, Design Projects
Sophomore (2 Quarters)Systems, Energy, Materials
Freshman YearEPICS 151 (3)
Sophomore YearEPICS 251(3)
Semester System – Team Taught
Weekly Schedule includesProject, CAD, Workshop
Weekly Schedule includes Project, Computer, Workshop Design Methodology
Problem Solving Communications Tools and Skills
Same Project – One Client
Design MethodologyProblem SolvingCommunicationsTools and Skills
Many Projects w/ Clients
OSU Engineering Core Survey
Students needed more:Teamwork
Project management
Communications
Problem Solving
CADD with Solid Modeling
Computer Tools
Timeline for New Programs Year Activity (Students)1992 Planning for FEH1993 Pilot 1(30)1994 Pilot 2/3(38/65)
1995 Pilot 4/5(37/64)1996 Pilot 6(64)1997 FEH Approved (71)1998 FEH (105)1999 FEH (173)2000 FEH (218)2001 FEH (252)2002 FEH (247)
Year Activity (Students)
1997 Planning for FE1998 Pilot (105)1999 Pilot (275)2000 FE Approved (681)2001 FE (~800)2002 FE (~1,050)
First-Year Engineering Program
Fundamentals of Engineering Honors ProgramEG H191 - Graphics, CADD, Hands-on Labs, Short design projects
EG H192 - Problem Solving, Algorithms, C/C++, Hands-on Labs, MATLAB
EG H193 - Team Design-Build Project - Autonomous Robots, Project Management & Documentation, Robot Controller programmed in C
First-Year Engineering Program
Fundamentals of Engineering Honors ProgramStudents learn with a team of Faculty, GTAs, and Undergraduate TAs
Engineering, Physics, and Math faculty meet weekly
Students stay together for three quarters
Faculty are selected for teaching ability
Faculty and GTAs teach the labs
Electronic Journals for weekly feedback
FEH Program Results
Students get into their major one quarter early.
Students participate in Co-op/Internship
Students become leaders in student organizations – Local High Schools / FIRST
FEH is a reason for top students to choose OSU over other schools.
Two Person Team Design Project
Team Robot Design-Build Project
Robot Competition
Team Project Oral Presentation
First-Year Engineering Program
Fundamentals of Engineering Engineering 181 (parallel to H191)
Graphics and CADD, Computer Tools (Excel, Word), Team Product Dissection Labs, Report Writing, Presentation
Engineering 183 (parallel to H193)Graphics and CADD, MATLAB, Team Design-Build Project, Project Management and Documentation
First-Year Engineering Program
Fundamentals of Engineering Students learn with a team of Faculty, GTAs, and Peer Mentors
PMs Funded by Honda
Students stay together for two quartersFaculty come from all departmentsProgram and Course AssessmentElectronic JournalsStudent Evaluation of Instruction
Hands On Lab
Bridge Building
&
Competition
Hands On Lab
Ice Cream Lab
Ten Week Team Design Project: A System to Sort Recyclable Materials
Building
the
Conveyor
Ten Week Team Design Project: A System to Sort Recyclable Materials
Testing
the
Design
Enrollment Since 1993
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004
Year
Nu
mb
er o
f S
tud
ents
FEH
FE
Current Retention FEH & FE Groups and Controls Combined By Academic Year
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
freshman sophomore junior senior 5th yearYear in School
Per
cen
t o
f O
rig
inal
Gro
up
En
rolle
d o
r G
rad
uat
ed in
or
fro
m C
OE
1998-99 Pilots
1998-99 Controls
1999-2000 Pilots
1999-2000 Controls
2000-2001 Groups
2001-2002 Groups
1988 Group
Enrollment 2001-2002
Fundamentals of Engineering956 Students began the FE Course Sequence.
809 (85%) Students completed the Sequence.
704 (73%) Students returned to ENG in AU02.
Fundamentals of Engineering Honors248 Students began the FEH Course Sequence.
213 (86%) Students completed the Sequence.
210 (85%) Students returned to ENG in AU02.
Enrollment 2001-2002
First-Year Engineering Program 1,204 Students began the First-Year Engineering Program.1,022 (85%) Students completed the Program Sequence. 914 (76%) Students returned to ENG in AU02.
Why 76%? Most Students who chose not to continue in Engineering decided to change majors.
Space Renovation Summer 2000 - 2001
72 Seat Computer Classroom
Three 36 Seat Computer Classrooms
Three Hands-On Labs - each 9 teams of 4 students
New First-Year Engineering Classrooms
New Laboratories
Measures of Success
Enrich students’ Engineering education experience and help them to connect to the College
Engage students in Engineering as a discipline and as a profession
Improve retention, or possibility for an early decision
Learn valuable new skills for future courses, Co-op and Internships, and on the job, meet ABET Criteria
AssessmentMeasurement FocusMeasurement Focus Measurement Tool or MethodMeasurement Tool or Method
1. Student Performance Course evaluations, oral presentations, lab reports, written reports, standard testing methods, course grades
2. Instructional Material Course evaluations, observations, team meetings
3. Basic Visualization
Skills
Purdue Visualization Test, Exams, Homework
4. Student Attitudes Pittsburgh Freshman Attitude Survey, Journal Entries, narrative responses on final course evaluation
AssessmentMeasurement FocusMeasurement Focus Measurement Tool or MethodMeasurement Tool or Method
5. Faculty Attitudes Team meetings and written evaluations
6. ABET Criteria Course evaluations and electronic journals
7. Communication Feedback on lab activities, oral presentations
8. Teamwork Skills Team evaluations, team building workshops, course evaluations
9. Retention Monitoring enrollment, COE Annual reports
Online Tools used in the First-Year Program
Journals
Final Course Evaluation
TA Evaluations
Lab Instructor Evaluations
Pittsburgh Freshman Attitudes Survey (pre & post)
Peer/Team Evaluations (midterm & final)
Purdue Visualization Test (pre & post)
Felder Learning Styles Inventory
StaffingProgram reports to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Student ServicesFaculty Coordinator for First-Year ProgramProgram Director & Honors CoordinatorOffice Associate, Information Associate & Graduate Administrative Associate Two Instructional Laboratory SupervisorsRotating Faculty from all departments, 20+ GTAs, and 45 Peer Mentors from all departments
Lessons Learned
There is much to be learned from others’ mistakes and successes
A great program at one school probably won’t work at another school without changes
You have to establish ownership by the College