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Session 1515

Some Methods to Achieve Changes in Delivered Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge Thomas J. Siller, Marvin E. Criswell, Darrell G. Fontane, and Neil S. Grigg, Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523-1372

Abstract

ASCE Policy Statement 465 has lead to an extensive examination of the changes needed in civil engineering academic programs to better prepare graduates for licensure and professional practice over the two decades. Many trends, including rapidly growing Information Technology (IT) resources, globalization, and shifts in social and governmental practices, foretell major changes in the career needs for tomorrow’s young civil engineer. The Civil Engineering Department at Colorado State University (CSU) has been defining and implementing changes in the curriculum to respond to needs of today’s and future graduates as an ongoing task. The department more recently has worked with the ASCE Body of Knowledge Committee as an example of a civil engineering program in a large public university, and the lead author served on that committee. Relevant activities at CSU are described. Three program features at CSU facilitating the curricular changes needed to achieve consistency with the desired BOK are an undergraduate program including an integrated sequence of eight core courses in which many topics to be developed “across the curriculum” are emphasized, an ongoing planning to integrate IT topics into a combination of new or reorganized required and elective courses, and a recently- implemented practice-oriented Masters of Engineering program.

Introduction

The work of the civil engineer will change dramatically as we move beyond the first few years of the 21st Century. The challenges of world’s expanding population and societal expectations, the changing global marketplace, and the growing environmental concerns, when coupled with the rapidly growing Information Technology (IT) resources, lead to the conclusion that civil engineering will grow as a vibrant, needed, and rewarding profession. Another conclusion is that these changes need to lead to changes in the educational programs that prepare their graduates for licensure and professional practice in civil engineering, with the topics to be added considerably in excess over those which can be removed as no longer relevant. The resulting pressure on especially the undergraduate civil engineering curriculum is increasingly obvious. This leads to the following basic questions: “What should we teach civil engineering students?” and “How should the needed educational content be packaged – can all be realistically placed within a four-year undergraduate degree program?”

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

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Grigg, N. S., & Fontane, D. G., & Criswell, M., & Siller, T. (2004, June), Methods To Achieve Changes In Delivered Civil Engineering Body Of Knowledge Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--13255