University of Wyoming - First Visit

On September 22nd and 23rd I visited mile-and-a-half (almost) high Laramie, Wyoming for my first visit. Thanks to the efforts of David Bagley (Dept. Head) and Tony Denzer I met many if not all of the faculty critical to the design aspects of AE program and quite a few others as well.  Everyone was welcoming and helpful - exactly what I would have hoped for.

Several faculty had completed my survey (http://tinyurl.com/5vr2gt) in advance and everyone else promised to complete it soon after the visit.  That made a great start to collecting valid data for the project.

What did I learn?

About U. Wyoming's AE Program

• It has a thriving AE program with about an 80-20 split between structural and mechanical concentrations (they'd like to increase the mechanical numbers).
• They're heavily committed to making BIM an important part of their curriculum.
• The program was in existence well before the 1986 date shown on my chart.
• Architectural studios begin in the junior year and are taught by department faculty since there is no architectural program in the state of Wyoming (according to Thom Edgar when there's a football game in the Cowboy's stadium the stadium is the third largest city in Wyoming).
• Their graduates are sought after, and most leave the state due to the lack of hometown jobs.
• There are separate capstone courses for each concentration as well as a semester-long capstone course taken by all concentrations.

About my Study

• The results of my study are eagerly awaited. They'd like to know what other institutions are doing.
• The survey is a bit intimidating.  I've decided to make a few modifications to hopefully reduce that.
• The survey doesn't address assessment.  I'll consider whether to modify the survey to include assessment questions or just ask some in the interviews.
• My seminar was helpful for those who attended to understand the goals of the survey.  Making it early in the visit would be helpful, but is often difficult for scheduling reasons.
• An hour visit with each faculty seems to be about the right time, though a half hour can work.
• There are several information sources I should pursue - the draft study of AE curricula by Al Estes; the PAKS study looking at the body of knowledge necessary for the AE Exam.
• Observing classes is interesting, but my sense is that I don't get a good enough sample to draw any conclusions.
• I've made a number of new friends that I'll look forward to seeing again.