Undergraduate Student Assessment of Construction Education: A Case Study

Behnam Shadravan; Yves J. Anglade; Emmanuel Cofie

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Conference: 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Publication Date: June 24, 2017
Start Date: June 24, 2017
End Date: June 28, 2017
Conference Session: ETD Accreditation and Assessment
Tagged Division: Engineering Technology
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--29052
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/29052
Download Count: 495

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Paper Authors

biography

Behnam Shadravan Florida A&M University

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Education

Ph.D. Civil Engineering, Major: Structure, Minor: Geotechnical, University of Ottawa, ON, Canada(2010)
M.S. Civil Engineering, Hydraulic Structures, Construction, Sharif Univ. of Technology, Tehran, Iran (1996)
B.S. Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran (1993)

Appointments

Assistant Professor, Engineering Technology, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL (8/14 - Current)
Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Eng., Behrend College, Penn State University, Erie, PA(8/12 - 8/14)
Associate Professor, Engineering Tech. Department Com. College of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, PA (8/10 - 8/12)
Visiting Research Assistant Professor, Research on concrete structures retrofitting, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA (1/12 - 8/12)
Part Time Professor, Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant, University of Ottawa, Canada (1/04 - 8/10)
Part-Time Lecturer, University of Water and power technology, Tehran, Iran (8/99 - 8/01)

Engineering Experience

Consulting engineer, Structural, concrete & Geotechnical, Achievement Eng. Corp., CA (PT 04/10-Current)
Professional Structural Building Design, in collaboration with R. Muhammad, Tallahassee, FL (PT Since 9/15)
Project manager, in construction of buildings, dams, and bridges, Sadr Sazeh Co., Tehran, Iran (04/98-10/08)
Project deputy manager and supervising engineer, Karkheh dam project, Mahab Ghodss consulting eng. Co., Tehran, (04/96-04/98 Full time) and (04/98-01/04 PT)
Internship program, Sewage and road construction, asphalt and concrete, City of Ottawa, Canada (6/10-8/10)
Engineer and researcher (Int. Inst. of earthquake eng. and seismology (IIEES), Tehran (04/95-04/96)

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biography

Yves J. Anglade Florida A&M University/Florida State University

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Dr. Yves J. Anglade received his Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, after completing six years of military service in the United States Marine Corps, where he served with distinction and was three times meritoriously promoted.
Dr. Anglade obtained his first professional employment opportunity with the R. A. Morley Company in Northbrook, IL as a project engineer. He moved to Florida in 1985 and worked as a structural engineer for Prestressed Systems, Inc, Spancrete, Inc, and Sterling Prestressed, Inc. as a plant manager. In 1991, Yves joined the University of Florida, College of Engineering, Civil Engineering Department, as a graduate student. He subsequently received his Master's and Ph.D. degrees. While working on his doctoral degree, he taught undergraduate civil engineering students for three years. He also assisted in developing and managing the STEPUP (Successful Transition through Enhanced Preparation for Undergraduate Programs) program.
Dr. Angalde joined Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in 1999, and in the fall of 2000 was appointed Chair of the Construction Engineering Technology program. For the past eight years, he has served as the Director for the Division of Engineering Sciences and Technology. He continues to be involved in outreach activities involving underrepresented and underserved minority groups. Yves' fields of specialization and interests include: Quality Control (Economic & Statistical Methods); Infrastructure Development and Maintenance; Concrete Technology; Construction Management; Estimating and Cost Control; Scheduling; Optimization; and Life Cycle Cost Analysis; Structural Design.

Yves J. Anglade, PhD
Director & Associate Professor of Civil & Construction Engineering Technology
Division of Engineering Sciences & Technology
College of Engineering Sciences, Technology & Agriculture (CESTA)
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
1339 Wahnish Way, Benjamin Banneker Building B, Room 102
Tallahassee, Florida 32307
Phone: 850-599-8628
Fax: 850-561-2739

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biography

Emmanuel Cofie Florida A&M University/Florida State University

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Undergraduate education in Construction Engineering Technology and Architecture.

Research experience in Construction & Engineering education. STEM higher education in relation to minorities, in particular blacks and African-Americans. Conducted research concerning Construction education at the graduate level in the United States.

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Abstract

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT ASSESSMENT OF CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY

It is essential that the condition of an existing academic program be assessed in order to determine its effectiveness in educating future construction professionals. A useful means of assessing the condition of a program is to directly survey the viewpoints of the students. The previous study of Lee et al. (2013) showed that inquiring about the opinions of students is a valuable method in of assessing a program’s ability to aptly educate students for a career in construction. This study involves an assessment of Construction Engineering Technology program from the perspective of the current undergraduate students at Florida A&M University, a well reputed historically black university. It is part of a broader research on construction education within American universities initiated by a proposal to establish a graduate-level program in construction. The paper discusses the students’ responses in the context of the university’s current academic situation and its future strategic plan. The sample group comprised of over thirty juniors and graduating seniors, who answered a carefully prepared questionnaire that features a variety of questions with several different response forms. Upperclassmen were surveyed, exclusively, due to their familiarity with the program. Three aspects of the students’ opinions that are paramount are their perceptions about the adequacy of their current undergraduate education, their desire to pursue graduate studies, and their desired prospective career plans within the construction field A majority of the students believed that their undergraduate education was adequate in preparing them for the job force. The students were optimistic that they were capable of landing gainful employment with leading construction companies upon graduation. A noticeable majority of the students that answered showed interest in following their construction studies at the graduate level, and most of them favored continuing their education, by pursuing a graduate degree, if offered, at the same institution. Furthermore, the students stated a desire to be employed in various subsectors of the construction industry, with a majority of the students stating a desire to own construction enterprise at some point in the future.

Citation
Format

Shadravan, B., & Anglade, Y. J., & Cofie, E. (2017, June), Undergraduate Student Assessment of Construction Education: A Case Study Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--29052

TY - CPAPER
AB - UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT ASSESSMENT OF CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY

It is essential that the condition of an existing academic program be assessed in order to determine its effectiveness in educating future construction professionals. A useful means of assessing the condition of a program is to directly survey the viewpoints of the students. The previous study of Lee et al. (2013) showed that inquiring about the opinions of students is a valuable method in of assessing a program’s ability to aptly educate students for a career in construction.
This study involves an assessment of Construction Engineering Technology program from the perspective of the current undergraduate students at Florida A&amp;M University, a well reputed historically black university. It is part of a broader research on construction education within American universities initiated by a proposal to establish a graduate-level program in construction.
The paper discusses the students’ responses in the context of the university’s current academic situation and its future strategic plan. The sample group comprised of over thirty juniors and graduating seniors, who answered a carefully prepared questionnaire that features a variety of questions with several different response forms. Upperclassmen were surveyed, exclusively, due to their familiarity with the program. Three aspects of the students’ opinions that are paramount are their perceptions about the adequacy of their current undergraduate education, their desire to pursue graduate studies, and their desired prospective career plans within the construction field
A majority of the students believed that their undergraduate education was adequate in preparing them for the job force. The students were optimistic that they were capable of landing gainful employment with leading construction companies upon graduation. A noticeable majority of the students that answered showed interest in following their construction studies at the graduate level, and most of them favored continuing their education, by pursuing a graduate degree, if offered, at the same institution. Furthermore, the students stated a desire to be employed in various subsectors of the construction industry, with a majority of the students stating a desire to own construction enterprise at some point in the future.

AU - Behnam Shadravan
AU - Yves J. Anglade
AU - Emmanuel Cofie
CY - Columbus, Ohio
DA - 2017/06/24
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Undergraduate Student Assessment of Construction Education: A Case Study
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/29052
DO - 10.18260/1-2--29052
ER -