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Session 2547

Delivering a Manufacturing Engineering Technology Program to the Boeing Company Michael B. Spektor and Walter W. Buchanan Oregon Institute of Technology

Abstract

In the fall of 1997, the Boeing Company approached the Oregon Institute of Technology about delivering an upper division BSET in Manufacturing Engineering Technology to three of their work sites in Seattle. It was stipulated that the program should be accredited by ABET as soon as possible. This paper will detail the challenges faced by the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) in delivering this out-of-state program during its first academic year, and how these challenges were addressed as a guide to other institutions who might be interested in a similar endeavor.

Introduction

The challenges faced by OIT were formidable. In bringing the program to Boeing, it was understood that the program was to be eventually accredited by ABET. It was therefore necessary for OIT faculty to teach a substantial part of the courses. This meant that a program director with Basic Credentials1 must be found. For the convenience of the students, it was also necessary that the courses be delivered in three-hour a day blocks at three Boeing locations. Since many Boeing students had substantial manufacturing experience, it was stipulated that test outs and/or portfolio verification for courses would be designed. Another task was finding qualified area adjuncts and locating equipment at local community colleges that could be used. For ABET accreditation it was also necessary that the program be the same as at other OIT campuses including equivalent library access.

Initial Plan

To plan the program, a steering committee was formed with three Boeing employees (the chair was selected from this group), three OIT faculty, and a student. The mission of this committee was to approve the methods and means of delivery of the program and to make sure that the quality of the program met ABET standards. Logistic requirements included substantial use of long distance education using appropriate software, long weekend classes, and main campus resident faculty moving to Seattle for a term. A movable laboratory was also to be investigated.

Although it was originally planned to start the program in the fall of 1998, it was decided to offer a portfolio methods course in the summer of 1998 for students that were eager to start the program as soon as possible. This was a good initial course since it showed the students what would be necessary to get credit for prior experience and proprietary learning. For portfolio courses to be acceptable by ABET, it was pointed out to these students that the portfolio method required a rigorous verification that prior knowledge was substantially equivalent to material

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Spektor, M., & Buchanan, W. (1999, June), Delivering A Manufacturing Engineering Technology Program To The Boeing Company Paper presented at 1999 Annual Conference, Charlotte, North Carolina. 10.18260/1-2--7542