Creation of an Engineering Technology Program

Robin A.M. Hensel; Emily Spayde

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Engineering Technology Division (ETD) Technical Session 8
Tagged Division: Engineering Technology Division (ETD)
Page Count: 8
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42828
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/42828
Download Count: 101

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Robin A.M. Hensel West Virginia University orcid.org/0000-0003-1858-6452

visit author page

Robin A. M. Hensel, Ed.D., is a Teaching Professor in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University and an ASEE Fellow member. Throughout her career, she has supported engineering teams as a mathematician and provided complete life-cycle management of Information Systems as a Computer Systems Analyst for the U.S. Department of Energy; taught mathematics, statistics, computer science, and fundamental engineering courses and served in several administrative roles within higher education; secured over $5.5M funding and support for STEM education research; and led several program development efforts, including: a childcare facility at a federal research laboratory, STEM K-12 teacher training programs, a Molecular Biology/Biotechnology master’s degree program at a small internationally-focused teaching institution, as well as a first-year engineering program and a B.S. Engineering Technology degree program at an R1 research institution. She has been recognized for her teaching, advising, and service, and as an Exemplary Faculty Member for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

visit author page

biography

Emily Spayde West Virginia University

visit author page

Emily Spayde is a teaching assistant professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Department at West Virginia University. Her research interests include engineering education and energy sustainability. Her teaching interests include thermodynamics, heat transfer, and manufacturing processes.

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

High-quality engineering and engineering technology education is essential to the continued and increasing success of our current and future technological society. Existing and emerging industries need both engineers and engineering technologists to design and develop future innovations.

One large, mid-Atlantic, R1 institution has created an engineering technology program within their existing engineering college to capitalize on the synergies the college provides and the new program. Student support services, including advising, tutoring, and career exploration and preparation opportunities are provided to all students within the College. Additionally, the College hosts approximately 100 student organizations and student competition teams that will welcome the engineering technology students. The engineering technology students bring specific skills that many engineering students do not have, so the teams become stronger through the collaboration. Since engineers and engineering technologists work together in a variety of roles within industry, providing collaborative opportunities to developing engineers and engineering technologists will help these students hone their collaboration skills and better prepare them for their future careers.

While the College’s seven departments are divided by “engineering field” and represent 13 distinct undergraduate majors, the B.S. Engineering Technology degree is intentionally designed to be flexible with multiple interdisciplinary opportunities. The B.S. Engineering Technology degree consists of a manufacturing-focused engineering technology core plus two Areas of Emphasis, selected from a current list of five Areas of Emphasis. Students have significant flexibility within this general program to focus their education toward specific technology and career goals.

Because of the diverse opportunities the five Areas of Emphasis provide, the program includes several courses outside the engineering college. Specifically, courses from natural resources, design, business, and arts and sciences comprise significant portions of the Areas of Emphasis coursework. The goal of the program is to provide flexibility to match individual student goals while providing industry with well-prepared and equipped graduates who can “hit the ground running” upon hiring.

This paper presents the process and outcomes of research related to the creation of this new engineering technology program. It presents the reasoning behind the unique structure, address the challenges of implementation, and their (to-date) resolutions. The goal of this presentation is to inform and encourage other engineering educational institutions to consider this path and to be prepared for the process.

Citation
Format

Hensel, R. A., & Spayde, E. (2023, June), Creation of an Engineering Technology Program Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42828

TY - CPAPER
AB - High-quality engineering and engineering technology education is essential to the continued and increasing success of our current and future technological society. Existing and emerging industries need both engineers and engineering technologists to design and develop future innovations.

One large, mid-Atlantic, R1 institution has created an engineering technology program within their existing engineering college to capitalize on the synergies the college provides and the new program. Student support services, including advising, tutoring, and career exploration and preparation opportunities are provided to all students within the College. Additionally, the College hosts approximately 100 student organizations and student competition teams that will welcome the engineering technology students. The engineering technology students bring specific skills that many engineering students do not have, so the teams become stronger through the collaboration. Since engineers and engineering technologists work together in a variety of roles within industry, providing collaborative opportunities to developing engineers and engineering technologists will help these students hone their collaboration skills and better prepare them for their future careers.

While the College’s seven departments are divided by “engineering field” and represent 13 distinct undergraduate majors, the B.S. Engineering Technology degree is intentionally designed to be flexible with multiple interdisciplinary opportunities. The B.S. Engineering Technology degree consists of a manufacturing-focused engineering technology core plus two Areas of Emphasis, selected from a current list of five Areas of Emphasis. Students have significant flexibility within this general program to focus their education toward specific technology and career goals.

Because of the diverse opportunities the five Areas of Emphasis provide, the program includes several courses outside the engineering college. Specifically, courses from natural resources, design, business, and arts and sciences comprise significant portions of the Areas of Emphasis coursework. The goal of the program is to provide flexibility to match individual student goals while providing industry with well-prepared and equipped graduates who can “hit the ground running” upon hiring.

This paper presents the process and outcomes of research related to the creation of this new engineering technology program. It presents the reasoning behind the unique structure, address the challenges of implementation, and their (to-date) resolutions. The goal of this presentation is to inform and encourage other engineering educational institutions to consider this path and to be prepared for the process.

AU - Robin A.M. Hensel
AU - Emily Spayde
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Creation of an Engineering Technology Program
UR - https://peer.asee.org/42828
DO - 10.18260/1-2--42828
ER -