Assignment Change – An effect of my visits

One result of visiting all the AE programs this last year was that I decided that in my own program I wasn’t doing enough to expose and enthuse students about current developments in buildings.  I was particularly inspired by what I saw Greg Brooks doing at UT Austin though I didn’t try and directly copy him.

My response was to revise an assignment (one of seven) in  the junior-year course, AE-390, “Architectural Engineering Design-I” using as a starting point a book that Greg recommended to me.  The goal was to have students choose from a variety of contemporary buildings and then analyze and present those buildings in both architectural and engineering terms.  Links to the results as well as the assignment that they were operating from are available on this page.  As usual in my assignments I was trying to address multiple issues which will be evident on reading the assignment.

I leave judgments about the quality of the results to the reader, but clearly I wouldn’t be posting them if I weren’t pleased with the change.  My conclusion is that my sabbatical has helped my students.  For that I thank all those I visited, with special thanks to Greg.

What Faculty have to Share and Want to Know

Two of the questions at the end of the survey asked:

1)  What do you do currently that you see as most successful that other instructors or schools might adopt?

2) What things do you think you might learn from other schools that would help you?

The answers to those questions are now available (58/105 answered one or the other).

Themes seem to be:

• BIM/Revit
• Capstone Design
• Practice/Practitioner interaction updating
• Integrated design - with other engineering disciplines as well as architecture

Faculty Comments about AE Design Teaching and the Survey

In other blog entries and the AEEE paper I've summarized the results of the survey.

The last two questions in the survey were open-ended, asking faculty for their comments about both the overall subject of the survey and the questionnaire itself.  Fifty one (out of 105) faculty replied to one or the other of the questions - including the survey author.  All the comments are on the following web page as well as the survey text itself in PDF form.  They are edited only to remove identifying information.

• Faculty Responses to the Final Questions on Survey
• The Survey questions themselves in PDF format

Defining AE Design - ASEE-2009 Paper (AC 2009-448)

Next week I'll be giving a paper based on the survey that 105 faculty in the 17 schools that I visited completed.  The paper in the ASEE proceedings was completed before all the survey results were collected.  This version (link) provides updated results.  There were some changes in both the coding methodology and the results between the two that are noted in the paper.  This one is more complete and appropriate.
The abstract is:

---

An online survey of representative faculty at ABET-accredited Architectural Engineering schools addressed the question of what constitutes “Architectural Engineering Design” (AED). The faculty are first characterized in multiple ways: university, academic rank, years of experience, registration status and discipline. The results of their open-ended definition of AED are examined using nine categories derived from responses rated on 1-5 Likert scales, with the analysis broken down using the same faculty characterization. Faculty opinions about the disciplines necessary to include in AED are also analyzed. Overall there is general agreement that disciplinary “skills” are an important part of AED as are, to a lesser extent, the “products” produced. There is some agreement about the idea of “integration” of the disciplines and much less agreement on many of the other concepts, with several barely mentioned. Most faculty feel that their definition of AED is the same as their school’s, but many express uncertainty about the existence of a national definition. Similarly there is considerable agreement that more than one discipline (Architecture, Structure, HVAC, Electrical, Construction Management) is required to constitute AED, but there is marked disagreement about what specific ones should be included, with opinions ranging from two to all five.

PDF of Talk Slides

Evaluation of Issues and Need for Research on Teaching

Respondents were asked to give ratings (1-5 scale using words) on the following questions:

• Evaluate the importance of the following issues to your school
• Evaluate the importance of the following issues to AE programs nationally
• Evaluate the importance of research related to teaching AE Design in the following areas

The detailed results are available on this Google-Docs spreadsheet.

Summary of Results

Issues for Schools

Considerable Importance

• Integration of all three ABET components of AE - Structure; MEP; Construction Management (3.9/5)
• Sustainability Design (3.5/5)

Non-Significant Evaluations

• All the others were not rejected from the null-hypothesis of "average" significance.

Issues Nationally

Considerable Importance

• Integration of all three ABET components of AE - Structure; MEP; Construction Management (3.6/5)
• Sustainability Design (3.7/5)

Some Significance

• BIM (Building Information Modeling)  (3.4/5)
• Lean/Economic Design (3.3/5)

Non-Significant Evaluations

• All the others were not rejected from the null-hypothesis of "average" significance.

Teaching Research

Considerable Importance

• Correlating industry needs with AED curricula  (3.8/5)
• Identifying the most effective teaching strategies for different aspects of AED. (3.5/5)
• Incorporating distance-learning into the curriculum (2.5/5) - [negative importance]

Some Significance

• Incorporating computer-based instruction into the curriculum  (3.4/5)
• Addressing different student learning styles (3.4/5)

Non-Significant Evaluations

• All the others were not rejected from the null-hypothesis of "average" significance.

Note on Statistical Significance of Results

Almost all the results showed a statistically significant difference from a null-hypothesis model centered on the middle term (3.0) of the 5-Likert values using a goodness-of-fit chi-squared analysis.  Those that weren't significant are shaded gray. 

Note, as always, that a significant result does not mean a big difference.  That is a matter of individual judgement, which is the reason the actual counts are shown.

AE Schools Cooperation & ABET Issues

Respondents were asked to give ratings (1-5 scale using words) on the following questions:

• Evaluate the importance of cooperation and coordination between the different AE Schools in the US (or abroad).
• Evaluate the importance of possible changes in the ABET accreditation requirements.

The detailed results are available on this Google-Docs spreadsheet.

 

Summary of Results

Cooperation and coordination between the different AE Schools in the US

Considerable Importance

• ABET criteria development (4.0/5)
• PE Exam Development (3.7/5)

Some Importance

• Sharing Instructional Techniques (3.3/5)

Neutral or Negative Importance

• Remote access to specialist instructors (3.1/5)
• Joint projects with other schools (2.8/5)

 

Importance of Possible Changes in the ABET accreditation requirements

Considerable Importance

• Require "integration" of at least two of the three AE components (3.6/5)
• Require industry experience for faculty members teaching AE Design. (3.4/5)

Some Importance

• Identify a specific number of credits identifiable as AED (3.2/5)

 

J. Mitchell Suggestion

While there isn't unanimity on these results, several show a considerable weight that deserves discussion in the AEI academic council and at the AEI national level.

 

Note on Statistical Significance of Results

Almost all the results showed a statistically significant difference from a null-hypothesis model centered on the middle term (3.0) of the 5-Likert values using a goodness-of-fit chi-squared analysis.  Those that weren't significant are shaded gray. 

Note, as always, that a significant result does not mean a big difference.  That is a matter of individual judgement, which is the reason the actual counts are shown.

Teaching Approaches Used and Advocated

Respondents were asked to give ratings (1-5 scale using words) on the following questions:

• I use the following approaches in teaching AE Design
• I use student teamwork in teaching AE Design.
• I would advocate changing the way the school teaches AED by changing the use of the following techniques

The detailed results are available on this Google-Docs spreadsheet.

 

Summary of Results

Approaches used:

• Lecture is most common, followed by problem-based learning and guided design.
• Architectural studio and modified study are never used in many cases.

Student Teamwork Used:

• There is quite a spread in use in most cases - no consensus
• Teamwork is used not much more than "sometimes" in most approaches, with a fair amount of use in Problem-Based Learning, and Guided Design.

Advocating Change in use of Techniques

• There is considerable interest in increasing the use of all techniques except Lecture.
• There is a marked interest in decreasing the use of lecture

 

Note on Statistical Significance of Results

Almost all the results showed a statistically significant difference from a null-hypothesis model centered on the middle term (3.0) of the 5-Likert values using a goodness-of-fit chi-squared analysis.  Those that weren't significant are shaded gray. 

Note, as always, that a significant result does not mean a big difference.  That is a matter of individual judgement, which is the reason the actual counts are shown.

Definitions of Architectural Engineering Design

The  Google-docs spreadsheet linked here presents the first batch of data from which I'll draw conclusions, starting with the paper I'll be giving at the ASEE Conference in June (6/16 2:15-4:00 - #2506: Beneficial Case Studies in AEC Education). 

It should be interesting to those who want to know what are the definitions of AE Design given by the faculty, and also what are the characteristics of the AE faculty.

What you'll find in the spreadsheet are:

AE Design Definitions - Gives all the definitions of AE Design associated by the University of the respondent. It also gives their comments if they felt that their definition was different either from their school's definition or the national definition. Finally, it gives the coding on 9 scales I developed.

Characteristics - Gives the summary of characteristics of the respondents and their mean scores on the coding of the definition of AE Design.

Interviews by Univ - Gives the number of oral interviews conducted at each university during my sabbatical visits.

Anonymity

I believe I've been very careful to remove any identifying information either directly or through cross reference, while attempting to leave the definitions as the respondents entered them as intact as possible.

If you find any means to identify yourself or another individual please let me know so I can correct the problem.

Survey Now Closed

The survey of faculty closed this morning, having gained about twenty responses since my mid-April email to faculty who I hadn't recorded as having already completed the survey.

I've begun analysis of the data and shortly will post the first piece results - of the definitions of Architectural Engineering Design (AED) and the characteristics of the respondents.

There were 102 respondents, of whom 87 gave a definition of AED.

I interviewed 137 people during my sabbatical visits.  Assuming that the overlap is high, that means that the response rate to my survey is about 74% overall, a very good response rate, particularly for a survey as lengthy as the one I presented.  Thanks to everyone.

Excel VBA Code for Likert Analysis

To test the significance of responses on a 1-5 scale ( commonly called a Likert Scale) produced as part of this sabbatical study I developed an Excel Macro to analyze the data and produce formatted output.  It is explained in detail on my webpage devoted to it with a link to download the code

• If you find it useful you're welcome to appropriate it.  Credit would be nice.
• If you find errors please let me know so I can fix them.

Drexel University AE Program

This last blog entry addressing specific schools is necessarily different. It seems appropriate to attempt to provide the same information about Drexel that I've provided about all the other schools. Of course I cannot take the same approach exactly because it's my own school and I did not interview faculty in the same manner. Nonetheless here's my best effort.

What do I Know?

About the Drexel University Architectural Engineering program

• Architectural Engineering (AE) is a program located within the department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering.
• Drexel University is a moderate-sized (12,000 total students), private, urban university that is research-intensive.
• The program is now about 20 years old, having been started by two Civil Engineering faculty when there was an enrollment trough in Civil Engineering in the mid-1980's.
• Enrollment grew rapidly and has remained approximately steady for ten years with 60-80 freshman declaring Architectural Engineering majors and 35-50 graduating each year.
  
  
  • The drift from AE is typically during the first two years when students discover that AE or even engineering "isn't for them" as happens in all engineering, and also there is a move to Civil Engineering by some students.
  
  
  • A significant percentage of AE students are "dual AE/CivE" majors because this is achievable with only about 15 credits additional work.
    
    
    • This percentage has declined over time from about 80% initially (the possibility was created as a fail-safe during the start-up period) to around 40% now.
  • The 60-80 entering students is typically slightly more than half of all department entering students.
• Students have two "tracks" or "concentrations" available to them
  
  • Structural engineering - about 70% of AE's
  • Mechanical (HVAC) - the other 30% of AE's
    
    
    • Efforts to increase interest in the HVAC track over the years have been only moderately successful
• Drexel is a Co-Op, "quarter" school
  
  
  • This means that what most schools do in four years we do in five.
  • Our 192 quarter-credit requirement for graduation translates into about 123 semester-credits
  • Most students, and many faculty would agree that the three 6-month work experiences on CoOp are highly valuable both for their careers and for focus and understanding in the classroom.
• The graduate program in AE is small and operated through Civil Engineering MS and PhD - typically 3-6 students at any given time would be identified as AE's.
  
  
  • We'd like to grow that program and are actively attempting to do so.
• Graduating Students take jobs (many determined while on Co-Op) approximately as follows:
  
  
  • Structural Consultant 35%
  • HVAC Consultant 15%
  • Construction 40%
  • Other, including graduate school 10%

Teaching Methods and Curriculum

• The guiding principle for creating the curriculum was to balance two goals:
  
  
  • Give students an understanding and ability to work with the interaction of all the major building systems:
    
    
    • Architecture; Structures; HVAC; Electrical & Lighting; Plumbing
  • Provide students with the professional tools in a specific discipline (structures or HVAC) so they can will be hired and succeed in their chosen field.
• To further the second goal students take the following differentiating courses, primarily in the last two years:
  
  
  • All the courses that the Civil structural engineers take in structural engineering
  • An equivalent number of HVAC-specific courses for the HVAC track
  • Note that we do not offer construction-specific courses despite the number pursing that career.
    
    
    • A number of students use professional electives to take construction courses, and some minor in that area.
• To further the first goal we offer a series of design courses
  
  
  • An extended (full-term equivalent) design experience in small groups in the freshman year, which may be in Architectural Engineering
  • Two architecture design studios taught by the Architecture department in the second and third years
  • A two-course sequence entitled "Architectural Engineering Design" taught in the 4th (Junior) year
    
    
    • This is a "modified architectural studio" course using multiple computer tools and presentation techniques
  • A three-term sequence (college standard) capstone design sequence that has the following characteristics
    
    
    • The first term is spent defining the problem, site, client requirements etc. in detail
    • The second term develops a conceptual design with explicit system-interaction goals
    • The third term refines and develops some portion of the design in detail.
    • This course is in small (4-6) self-selected student groups addressing problems they identify, working with their choice (subject to availability) of faculty advisors.

AE Content Issues

• BIM has increased in apparent importance over the last year
  
  
  • Not all faculty understand or would agree with its importance
  • We expect to implement Revit as a standard in the Sophomore year and build on that as the class moves through
• Sustainability is a departmental concern
  
  
  • There are not specific courses in the AE curriculum, although there are technical electives available
  • Almost all groups in the capstone design course incorporate "green" principles as part of their building criteria
• The Bachelor's + 30 movement is being discussed at a low level, but is not yet a major concern
  
  
  • Some faculty, myself included after my visits this year, believe this is a very important issue

Students

• Like most engineering students, Drexel students are hard-working, particularly after their first Co-Op experience.
• Other than university-level admission to the College of Engineering their are no specific admission criteria or enrollment caps
• The students appreciate being in a large city, both because of the job opportunities, and also the ability it gives us in classes to make site visits and take advantage of the urban environment.

University of Miami Visit - 13 April 2009

On April 13th I spent the day at the Univerisity of Miami, my 16th and last sabbatical visit. Thanks to the efforts of Rodrigo Mora I met five faculty currently teaching design aspects of the AE program. As on my previous trips everyone was welcoming and helpful, making my visit both productive and enjoyable.

What did I learn?

About the University of Miami program

• The Architectural Engineering program at Miami is located, as in many other institutions, with the Department of Civil, Architectural and Envionmental Engineering.
• The program, more than many, seems to be in transition.
  
  
  • A new department head is bringing new emphases to the department, primarily on civil engineering and research
    
    
    • He didn't have time to meet with me so this is a deduction from my conversations with other faculty
  • Two new faculty members are bringing energy to the to the AE Program
  • Over the last 10 or so years the college of engineering has reduced in size, quite possibly because of the growth of markedly less expensive public institutions nearby

Teaching Methods and Curriculum

• The program does not have "tracks"
  
  
  • The emphasis has been on structural engineering
  • HVAC is incresing in importance with the advent you young faculty in that area
• The department is proud of its working relationship with the department of architecture
  
  
  • Studio design courses are taught as service courses by that department
• Capstone design is a two-semester sequence shared by all department students
  
  
  • In a typical class of 30 students there are six teams of 5 students
    
    
    • The teams are intentionally multidisciplinary
  • Each team is provided a site and an assigned building
  • The product of the first semester is site and code research, stie design, an enviornmental impact statement and conceptual design
  • The second semester focuses on detailed development of each building system and integration of those systems
  • Students make an oral report and prepare a written report each semester
  • Students are evaluated as a team and also on individual work, which they are responsible for tracking.
  • The department is extraordinarily fortunate in the long-term involvement of an adjunct architect-engineer who is responsible for the capstone course as well as several others.

AE Content Issues

• Several faculty emphasized that the goal of the AE program is to present an integrated view of building systems
  
  
  • This view is imparted primarily in the capstone design course
• BIM is viewed by several faculty as extremely important to the future of the profession and are working to introduce it
  
  
  • They are fortunate to have an IT knowledgeable faculty with a PhD in this area
  • Not all faculty agree on the importance of BIM
• Sustainability is similarly regarded as important, with professors discussing in many classes
  
  
  • Opportunities for emphasizing "resiliency" and also solar work using the work of the well-known Florida Solar Energy Center could be rewarding.
• Bachelor's + 30 is regarded as important in the future
  
  
  • The department is promoting a 4+1 Masters program - the BS degree + 30 credits for a masters.

Students

• Total Enrollment in the department has been about 120 total for the past few years, with Architectural Engineers typically greater than 50% of the total
  
  
  • Recently the percentage of AE's has fallen below that of Civils
• Graduates typically take positions in approximately the following percentages
  
  
  • Structural Engineers 25-40%
  • HVAC Engineers 5-15%
  • Contractors 30-50%
  • Other (including graduate school) <=30%
• Approximately 40% of students take advantage of he opportunity to get a dual Civil Engineering degree with approximately a semester's extra work
• A few students take advantage of an opportunity to get an M.Arch with two additional years of work.
• Students were characterized to me as being full-time, right-after-high-school.
  
  
  • They are hard working
  • They like practical problems

Observations

• As noted initially, the department is in the midst of change. How the AE program will develop as a result of that change is uncertain. Young, enthusiastic faculty members are bringing new ideas to a long-established older group. Whether all will welcome the new ideas is not yet clear.

University of Texas at Austin Visit - 9-10 April 2009

On April 9th and 10th the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) welcomed me on my fifteenth sabbatical visit. Thanks to the efforts of Rich Klinger I met 11 faculty currently teaching the design aspects of the AE program and others as well. As on my previous trips everyone was welcoming and helpful, making my visit both productive and enjoyable.

What did I learn?

About the UT Austin program

• As at several other schools, the current Architectural Engineering program in Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering has a long history. (Rich Klinger's excellent white papers provided most information).
  
  
  • It started life as the "School of Architectural Engineering and Drawing" in 1905
  • Architecture separated out in 1951
  • The program joined Civil Engineering in 1969
  • The name was changed about four years ago to recognize the new emphasis on AE and also the longstanding role of Environmental Engineering in the department.
• As implied above, the AE program was carefully evaluated internally about five years ago. The possibility of dropping it as a separate degree was raised, but the outcome was a renewed commitment to the program, including a search for faculty in the "Building Environmental Systems" (BES) area.
  
  
  • That emphasis now has two faculty in the area with a third expected this fall.
    
    
    • While these faculty have backgrounds that enable them to teach HVAC, their research area is Indoor Air Quality, a pattern I've seen elsewhere.
• UT Austin is a very large, very proud research-intensive institution - 50,000 students overall
  
  
  • The departmental faculty are very much a part of that tradition with superb research facilities on a separate campus about nine miles away - with most faculty devoting three days a week to research on that campus.
  • There is a significant effort to bring the research experience to undergraduates where possible - for example by allowing monitoring of the experimental house via the internet, as well as involving undergraduate students actively in ongoing research projects.

Teaching Methods and Curriculum

• There is an explicit vision for the Architectural Engineering program that distinguishes it from its component disciplines.
  A 2004 White Paper
  put it:
  
  
  • "It differs from those component disciplines in two important respects.
    "1) First, it integrates them under the general heading of building function.
  • "2) It provides a perspective from which to study the interaction of building systems, and of the disciplines underlying those systems."
  • Not all faculty expressed their version of this vision during my interviews, but it appears to be driving the department's development
• The department teaches its own two architecture studios, using an adjunct architect with a long-term commitment to the department.
  
  
  
  • These courses determine the maximum size of the AE program - 40 students per year, capped.
  • The format of these two courses uses many approaches including case studies, modeling software and physical models, with an effort to highlight the work of the best practicing Architectural Engineers.
• Capstone Design is a one-semester course taught in three sections over the year in a team approach (one professor on one day and the second later in the week).
  
  
  • Students work in teams of six with two people per discipline: Structure, Building Environmental Systems, Site work
  • All students start from a set of architectural plans handed to them rather than developing the architecture.
  • Each pair on a team writes a 40-50 page report that produces a complete set of documentation for the building.
    
    
    • An important aspect of the report is to present the options considered and the decision process.
    • They are required as well to produce a cost estimate and construction schedule.
• There are currently no "tracks" in the program though they are moving towards them  [addition 4/15/2009 per RK]
  
  
  • Students take a common curriculum through the 3rd of four years.
  • In the Senior year they may choose to fulfill five technical electives from approved courses. Most of these courses are dual-listed for graduate students.
• With an additional 2 years of work students may receive a dual Architecture and Architectural Engineering degree
  
  
  • About 3/year are currently doing so.
• As noted above, the Building Environmental Systems (BES) component of the curriculum has grown in recent years. The curriculum requirements are gradually shifting to reflect that growth.
• Despite the heavy emphasis on research, faculty emphasized to me the importance of teaching at UT Austin
  
  
  • Teaching success is measured by a mandatory student course evaluation that must be included in each faculty's annual report.
  • The faculty were clear that these evaluations were important in how their reviews.
  • To aid this teaching emphasis there is an explicit mentoring program within the department

AE Content Issues

• Sustainability is significant for the entire department
  
  
  • It has been incorporated into the capstone design course
  • There's already an elective and discussion of another course in sustainability
• BIM
  
  
  • While faculty vary in their individual opinions about it's importance, the program is actively pursuing making BIM an integral part of the program.
  • The intent is to introduce it into sophomore courses and the move it up through the curriculum year-by-year making connections to other courses.
  • There is also an outreach effort to develop a research thrust in this area that will bring useful material into the classroom.
• Bachelor's + 30 for registration movement
  
  
  • This is not under active consideration although several faculty are strong proponents
  • The department recently created a courses-only Masters degree that could be used if the B+30 is enacted.
• Curriculum Squeeze
  
  
  • Several interviewees commented on the effect on the curriculum of a university requirement for an additional freshman course without increasing graduation requirements - 126 total

Students

• Admission to the program is quite selective both because UT Austin is selective and because admission to the department is capped.
• The students that I observed were involved and intent - (and happy to interact with a stranger)
• Graduates of the program typically take employment as follows
  
  
  • Structures - 40%
  • Construction - 40%
  • Building Environmental - 10-20% - increasing
  • Other -the balance - including graduate school

Observations

• The UT Austin department has recently put a great deal of thought into the goals of the Architectural Engineering program and has taken very significant steps to pursue those goals, including new hires in Building Environmental Systems, their formerly weakest area. They're also pursuing a renewed relationship with the Architecture program. This seems likely to make their goal of addressing the interaction between building systems feasible and rewarding.

University of Oklahoma Visit - 7 April 2009

On 4/7/2009 I spent the day at the University of Oklahoma, my fourteenth sabbatical visit. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Kyran (Kim) Mish I met six faculty currently teaching aspects of the AE program and others as well. As on my previous trips everyone was welcoming and helpful, making my visit both productive and enjoyable.

What did I learn?

About the University of Oklahoma program

• The program is simultaneously long established and brand new.
  
  
  
  • It has a long history at UofO
  • About six years ago it had lost focus and was threatened with loss of accreditation
  • UofO made the decision to reconstitute the program at the same time that they were bringing in new structures faculty
  • At the same time they decided to redefine the curriculum
• It is small, currently about 40 students total, but growing
• It is located within the "School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science" a healthy engineering program.
• University of Oklahoma is a strong research university, which allows the AE program to make use of the the research facilities.
  
  
  
  • The spiritual "home" of the program is a physically remote structural research building. This facility has produced a strong sense of community in the faculty and at least the first group of students in the revived program.

Teaching Methods and Curriculum

• Because the new faculty were brought in as members of the department's revitalized structures group the current focus of the program is primarily structural engineering.
• MEP is regarded as important to the overall education of Architectural Engineers
  
  
  • A new faculty member in Mechanical Engineering will have an HVAC emphasis. That faculty member is expected to enhance this aspect of the AE program.
• The AE program participates in the department's capstone design sequence, of which they are very proud.
  
  
  • The first term covers a variety of topics not covered elsewhere in the curriculum
  • The second term is team-oriented, addressing the complete design of a building
  • External reviewers, often departmental graduates, participate in the design reviews and grading
• Students participated extensively in developing the revised curriculum when the program was reconstituted. 
• Students are extensively exposed to hands-on experience through laboratory work [4/15/2009 addition per TK]
  

AE Content Issues

• As noted above the redefinition of the AE program has occupied almost all their time.
• The addition of the HVAC faculty member will address the largest unresolved issue that they were facing.

Students

• I met with several students and observed several capstone design presentations. They seemed proud of their program and their role in shaping its future.
• As might be expected there isn't any significant employment data available.

Observations

• The program in its current form is so young that any observations would be premature beyond my strong sense of their enthusiasm and intent to bring the program up to the level of the rest of the university.

Oklahoma State University Visit - April 6th,2009

On 4/6/2009 I spent the day Oklahoma State University (OSU), my thirteenth sabbatical visit. Thanks to the efforts of John Phillips I met seven faculty currently teaching the design aspects of the AE program. As on my previous trips everyone was welcoming and helpful, making my visit both productive and enjoyable.

What did I learn?

About the OSU AE Program

• OSU faculty are very proud of their small (currently 6-8 graduates per year) five-year program. They view it as unique in its tight integration with the Architecture program. Graduates have 32 credits of studio courses, intense 4-contact-hour-per day, four or five days a week experiences.
• They judge its success by the feedback they receive from employers as well as their advisory council, and the demand for their graduates.
• While located in the college of engineering, the School of Architecture leads a fairly independent existence with strong support from the dean. The tenure and promotion criteria and expectations of the faculty are different from the rest of the college - essentially teaching success.
  
  
  • One faculty member explained this independence to me as resulting from the fact that the college also contains several technology programs which are regarded as the low-status members, leaving the Architecture and AE Programs to be independent.
• It's a very long-established program - this fall it is celebrating its 100th anniversary, coincident with a move into a newly renovated and expanded building.
  
  
  • While that building is in under construction they're in temporary space in an engineering research building that would make many departments happy.
• In its long history the department and programs within it have undergone many organizational changes. Most of the dates that follow are only approximate, but they give the overall sense. These changes include:
  
  
  • The school started life identified as an Architectural Engineering program in 1909.
  • Architecture was added later, separating out of the AE program
  • In the 1940's the name was changed to focus on Architecture
  • In the 1950s and 1960's the AE program was 5-years
  • In the 1960's it switched to a four-year bachelors and 2-year masters program
  • In 1986 they switched back to a five-year bachelors program
  • They have recently considered switching again to a bachelors+masters program but have decided against it because adding new material to the current content would require six years - too great of a recruiting disadvantage.
• Having four identified AE faculty for only 6-8 graduates (there is a cap of 15) per year makes sense within the overall department because the faculty have additional roles:
  
  
  • They teach architects as well as engineers in the team-taught studios, particularly the capstone design course - called "comprehensive" at OSU.
  • They teach service courses for the college, particularly Statics.
• There is not currently an identified Masters program for AE's or architects (a prior one was closed by the University regents due to low enrollment). The faculty, however, work with the Civil Engineering department so they do have a small graduate program, comprised mostly of OSU graduates, that receives a CivE diploma but is largely taught by AE faculty.
  
  
  • There is hope that in the new building both the undergraduate and the graduate programs may grow so that the Masters may be reinstated.

Teaching Methods and Curriculum

• The "center of the universe" for both architecture and AE students at OSU is the classic individual architectural studio.
  
  
  • Students have a nearly identical curriculum for the first two "pre-professional" years before being admitted to the professional program.
    
    
    • The only difference is whether they take the algebra-based or calculus-based math and physics courses.
  • All students share the same intense studio courses each term in those first two years
    
    
    • In the last years the AE diverge, having one more semester of studio plus the comprehensive design studio in their last
  • Only in the capstone comprehensive studio are the AE's treated differently from the architects. There the first six weeks are identical, but in the last eight the AE's focus on a complete structural design whereas the architects pursue design development for the whole building.
  • These studios are generally team-taught by rather than individual critics.
• AE students replace the studios in the last three "professional" years with technical courses
  
  
  • Some of these classes still have a project emphasis - typically the 2nd course (e.g. second steel design) has mixed lecture and project approach in order to achieve "just-in-time" learning.
• Faculty have a typical load of five courses per year. For those teaching in studios (most) this translates into a large number of contact hours per years since the typical studio is 16 contact hours/week, with the "comprehensive" studio being 20 hours/week.
• Faculty generally have significant industry experience that they draw on in their classes.
  
  
  • Quite a few have graduated from OSU and returned after an industry career.
• Teaching ability is critical in tenure and promotion decisions.
  
  
  • Extensive informal mentoring is encouraged within the school
  • The university provides teaching support through its Institute of Teaching & Learning Excellence. Attendance is not required at it's seminar, but is regarded as sometimes helpful.
  • Research is becoming increasingly important. It is mostly related to education, with an article per year related to teaching being desirable.
• The school has recently brought explicit examples of AE into the first year course in order to highlight the opportunities for entering students.
  
  
  • The results of this may well contribute to increasing the AE graduates from the current 6-8 average to the 15 maximum that their studio system permits.

AE Content Issues

• The two program emphases are structures and architecture with a conscious effort to mesh them.
  
  
  • Architects and AE's take the first of each structural class together. AE's take the second course by themselves.
• The single MEP faculty member is responsible for all MEP courses for both Architects and engineers. He emphasizes the connection between MEP and architecture using the fact that it will be necessary in the final studio as the incentive.
• The last shared studio for architects and engineers is the "comprehensive" studio taken by architects in their 4th year and AE's in their 5th year.
• The program has been limited by their space for years. With the opening of a newly renovated and expanded building this coming fall they will have additional capability.
  
  
  • If the interest increases the AE program might expand
  • It's possible that they might expand the MEP portion of the program at that time as well

Students

• The program is selective because of the limited number of places in the School of Architecture - 30 architecture and 15 AE per year.
• The students are hard-working and are valued by employers.
• The great majority of graduating students (90+ percent) go to work as consulting engineers. There is little movement into construction as is the case in many other programs.
  
  
  • The vast majority of these students stay in-state because the demand is high. In contrast, about 50% of the architects leave the state.

Observations

• OSU represents one end of the Architectural Engineering spectrum in its emphasis on the importance of Architecture. With it's 32 semester credits of studio, all shared with architects graduates of this program have far more exposure to architectural thinking than graduates of many other programs. When I asked what difference this made to their graduates the general answer was that it made them understand and thus better able to work with architects. How this understanding differed from what was achieved in other programs wasn't clear.

Kansas State University (KSU) Visit - 9-10 February 2009

On February 9th & 10th I visited Kansas State University (KSU), for my 12th sabbatical interviews. Thanks to the efforts of Dave Fritchen (Department head) and Ray Yunk (ArchE program coordinator) I met nine faculty currently teaching the design aspects of the AE program and others as well. As on my previous trips everyone was welcoming and helpful, making my visit both productive and enjoyable. (The visit also dispelled an easterner's preconceptions about the flatness of all things in Kansas and provided spring weather in February).

What did I learn?

About the Architectural Engineering And Construction Science program

• They're long established (1925)
  
  
  
  • Like many programs they've moved administratively over time, but have been in their present configuration for about 30 years
• They're clear about their mission and determined in following it - producing "industry ready" building engineers
  
  
  
  • They rely on twice-yearly advisory council meetings for indications of what industry needs
  • All of their faculty come from industry and continue industry relationships through consulting or committee activities
• They feel independent of academic trends
  
  
  
  • Of the seventeen tenure-track faculty only one has a PhD
  • Classroom teaching is the core value, with research not a part of the academic responsibilities.
  • Typical faculty teaching loads are 4 or five courses/term, with responsibility for all grading (no teaching assistants)
  • Faculty also have a strong (50+ students/faculty member) advising responsibility
  • This approach is different from most of the rest of the university
• The department's physical facilities are excellent
  
  
  
  • The department raised the money for the facilities and was involved in the design and construction
• Industry cooperation extends to student employment during the semester
  
  
  
  • Two firms (from Texas and Kansas City) have set up remote sites immediately off-campus where student employees work via the internet, supervised both by a company employee and (several hours/week) by a faculty member.
• The 800 students in the department's two programs make it the largest in the college of engineering

Teaching Methods and Curriculum

• The five-year program bachelor program uses the additional credits beyond those in the typical four-year program for greater breadth and depth
  (158 credit hours to graduate).
  
  
  
  • Students take essentially the same curriculum for the first 3-1/2 years and then have a choice between an MEP and a structural track.
  • Unlike most other AE programs the MEP track is approximately twice as popular as the structural track
• In the one-semester capstone design course (individual work, though the prior course is team-oriented) a student is expected to address all the systems in a building in depth
  
  
  
  • There are two sections of this course, one devoted to structural design, the other to MEP
  • The prior course is focused on schematic design of the MEP and structural systems with an emphasis on understanding the interaction of design decisions.  It uses a problem-based learning approach. [2/12/2009 Correction]
    
• The faculty take great pride that they have many years of industry experience and therefore can teach the students the way designs and documentation are actually created in industry
  
  
  
  • Codes are used extensively
  • There is an emphasis on professionalism in conduct as well as product
• A complement to this industry-focused approach is that the role of theory development or exploration is not viewed as a critical part of the education.
  
  
  
  • One senior faculty member explained it to me that there really hasn't been much significant change in the equipment and theories on which the industry is based in the last thirty-five years so time spent on applying theory is more valuable.
  • Another noted that most new knowledge comes through the professional association, which are very active at KSU.
    
    
    
    • e.g. 20 students typically attend the ASHRAE convention
• The role of hand-drawing (sketches) is highly valued
  
  
  
  • For this reason there are still two (down from nine when one faculty member was a student) hand drafting classes.
• The Construction Science program (4-year non-engineering) is an excellent complement to the AE program
  
  
  
  • Faculty in the department teach in both programs
  • Students who have difficulty with the math-science portion of engineering in the first two years find a switch to Construction Science easy.
  • There are shared upper-level elective courses that give the AE students good professional knowledge of construction
• SEI Model program
  
  
  
  • The department is working with the Civil Engineering department to develop a master's level offering that would follow the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) recommendation - perhaps offering a certificate
• Graduate program
  
  
  
  • The department has a small masters program (report rather than thesis) including a BS/MS program
    
    
    
    • Most of the students in the program are BS/Ms students
    • 3/4 are structural and 1/4 are MEP [2/17/2009 correction]
    • The program is limited in size to about 24 students - larger was found to be unwieldy [2/17/2009 correction]
      
• Seminar Program
  
  
  
  • All students in the program (freshman to senior) are required to attend a 4-times-per-semester no-credit single seminar that typically brings in outside speakers, often talking about a specific project

AE Content Issues

Overall KSU faculty feel content with what they're doing. I found no significant themes. The notes below represent observations or minor issues.

• Sustainability
  
  
  
  • The department is proud that their industry advisory board alerted them to the impeding importance of LEED and that a faculty member was the first LEED-certified instructor in the nation.
  • Energy conservation and wise use of resources is emphasized throughout the curriculum
• BIM
  
  
  
  • The attitude towards BIM appears to be that it's more important in the construction area than in the engineering area.
  • Revit is being used, but there is little sense that it's going to require significant rethinking of any other issues.
• Bachelor's + 30
  
  
  
  • The department is confident that their five-year program will meet the intent of this change
• Computer use
  
  
  
  • As noted in relation to hand-drawing and BIM, the general approach appears to be cautious about committing to computer dependence in education.
  • There is apparently a continuing discussion: computer programs are used in many courses and many are available in the department's computer labs.

Students

• Students overwhelming go into consulting engineering careers
  
  
  
  • The option for construction careers, common in many other AE programs, is addressed here by the construction science program.
• The breakdown of graduate employment (50-60/year) is approximately
  
  
  
  • MEP consulting 2/3 of graduates
  • Structural consulting 1/3
  • Other - minor
• Women are well represented in the program
  
  
  
  • About 25% of the students and the faculty
• Student attrition is fairly significant in the first two years, and not thereafter
  
  
  
  • About 120 identify as AE's as freshman
  • About 50-60 graduate

Observations

• Two aspects of the KSU program are unique and appear to contribute to its success
  
  
  
  • Its reliance on industry-trained faculty who often obtain their advanced degree (usually Masters) while teaching at KSU
  • The alliance with the construction program, which has both financial and educational advantages
• In conversations with younger faculty there was some sense that greater help in making the transition from industry to a teaching role would be helpful
  
  
  
  • There is a mentoring program - it was felt to be variably helpful
  • There is also a "LEARN" seminar series available from the university that helped some
  • The idea of a teaching workshop in the summer preceding teaching was appreciated by many
• The effects of the "flattening" of the world thanks to the internet are vividly illustrated by the firms that have set up storefront operations to take advantage of student assistance.
  
  
  
  • The implications of this flattening for future employment opportunities for graduates in a world-economy would seem to be worth considering - for KSU and every other institution.

About my Sabbatical Project

• The issue of the location of an AE program in the administrative setup was once again highlighted.
  
  
  
  • There seems to be a fairly consistent pattern that those that are contained within a "Civil, Architectural & xxxx" arrangement do not have the strength that independent departments do. Whether that's a historical artifact or a consequence of the arrangement is not clear.

Tennesse State University (TSU) Vist - 6 February 2009

On February 6th I spent the day at Tennessee State University, my twelfth sabbatical visit. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Hinton Jones I met five faculty currently teaching the design aspects of the AE program. As on my previous trips everyone was welcoming and helpful, making my visit both productive and enjoyable. (A balmy, almost-spring day after a week of 5-10 degree weather was most welcome too.)

What did I learn?

About the Department of Architectural and Facilities Engineering program

• The Architectural Engineering program has been long-established at this Historically Black institution
  
  
  • It was founded in the 1950s
• For many years its identity was closer to architecture than to engineering
  
  
  • Its department heads have almost all been architects
  • It offered a path for black students into the building profession since few architecture programs were open to them in the days of segregation
  • This identity is changing - it now sees itself as primarily engineering although that perception is not necessarily understood by the alumni and many employers.
• It's small, but stable
  
  
  • The faculty consists of three full-time members, with a search under way for a fourth
  • The student body is about 100 total and fairly constant at that number.
• The program is undergraduate and teaching-focused
  
  
  • There is a desire to create a graduate program and to develop research
• Even though Facilities Engineering is part of the name, it's not an active program.
• As at other institutions that I've visited, recruiting a qualified HVAC faculty member is difficult
  
  
  • There's been an effort over the last four years that hasn't yet been successful
• There is an association with Penn State through visits to their Job Fair

Teaching Methods and Curriculum

• The curriculum emphasizes structures, mechanical and electrical in a single track with some electives offered.
• There is a strong emphasis on making students ready for industry. As examples, this involves:
  
  
  • Emphasis on drawing preparation and understanding of standard symbols and conventions
  • Visits to professional offices in early years
  • Use of the NEC book as the text in the electrical course
• The design sequence involves the following courses:
  
  
  • Sophomore graphics course with some design content
  • Two architectural design courses
    
    
    • One currently in junior year and one in senior year
    • In future they will both be in the junior year with space made by elimination of a CADD course.
  • A two-semester capstone design course sequence
    
    
    • The first semester focuses on problem definition
    • The semester focuses on concept development and documentation
    • Students in this course are individually responsible for a system
    • They are encouraged to work in teams of 3-4 students addressing the same building, but still maintaining the individual system responsibility, but some still work individually

AE Content Issues

• Sustainability
  
  
  • The faculty noted that sustainable concepts are embedded in the curriculum via examples and instructor emphasis
  • Most capstone design buildings use LEED certification standards
  • Energy conservation is emphasized in the HVAC courses as well as the architectural design studios
• BIM
  
  
  • Although there wasn't much explicit concern about BIM, Revit Architecture has been adopted as the standard tool in the Architecture studios.
• Bachelor's + 30
  
  
  • The faculty are in favor of extending the curriculum to five years in accordance with this initiative
    
    
    • They're in favor because it would give them the opportunity to address material now not included due to time limitations, and also because of university requirements to reduce technical credits in order to increase general education credits.
• AE Profession identity
  
  
  • The issue of employers and colleagues in other departments not understanding what is Architectural Engineering is a significant problem here.

Students

• Graduates of the program have been employed approximately as follows:
  
  
  • Construction 50%
  • Consulting 15%
  • Government 15%
  • Other 20%
  • These numbers have changed over time with consulting being higher a while ago
  • The department is making an effort to expose students to consulting firms and believes that number will go up again in future.
• Student preparation and attrition
  
  
  • Many students are not well prepared for engineering
    
    
    • For this reason a year of remedial work is not uncommon
    • The time to graduation is therefore 5 to 5-1/2 years for most students
  • There is quite a significant attrition rate for students, in large part for the same reasons
    
    
    • The entering class is about 35 students
    • The typical graduating class is about 10 students

Observations

• The students are the beneficiaries of faculty who are all highly experienced and dedicated, with many years of teaching and/or industry experience.
  
  
  • Replacing them with the next generation is probably going to be a challenge for the university in the next decade.

Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Visit - February 4, 2009

On February 4th I visited Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), my tenth sabbatical trip. Thanks to the efforts of Jamshid Mohammadi (Department Head) and Ralph Muehleisen I met four faculty currently teaching the design aspects of the AE program and others as well. As on my previous trips everyone was welcoming and helpful, making my visit both productive and enjoyable. Thanks to IIT's emphasis on Architecture I also was able to lunch in the Rem Koolhaas student union straddling the elevated line and visit several Mies buildings including the renowned Crown Hall.

What did I learn?

About the AE program in Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Department

• It's fairly new -1995 start
  
  
  
  • It was started on the advice of the department's industry advisory board
• It's been growing - from a small start to about 100 AE students now
  
  
  
  • It's feeling some growing pains, particularly in the faculty area
• It's ambitious - wanting to cover more aspects of AE than many programs
  
  
  
  • See the curriculum section for details
• The campus academic environment is research-oriented
  
  
  
  • This has caused some problems for department faculty because of the need for heavy teaching loads to meet the curriculum requirements.

Teaching Methods and Curriculum

• The curriculum currently addresses AE with multiple tracks
  
  
  
  • Structural
  • Building systems
  • Construction management
  • Electrical
  • Fire Protection
    
    
  • In practice students currently follow a 'general' track because of the faculty limitations on offering courses.
  • Acoustics and Noise Control is also a significant offering though it's not currently a separate track
• The Capstone design course (one semester) is offered in a unique manner.
  
  
  
  • The university has an interdisciplinary design requirement called IPRO
  • IPRO is currently offered in two independent courses, the second of which serves as the AE capstone design course (the first occurs anytime during a student's IIT career). [correction 2/6/2009]
    
  • Each section of the IPRO course for AE's typically consists of about 5-8 architects (from the 1000+ in IIT's architecture program), 5-8 AE's and an about equal number from other IIT majors (section size 16).
  • This team must complete a building design using the talents of all the members
  • The first IPRO course sometimes serves as a precursor to this capstone experience, but not necessarily because it is administered by a separate office.
• One faculty member, Mark Snyder, is conducting some educational experiments in the freshman Introduction to The Profession (ITP) course, looking at different emphases and using assessment techniques from other institutions.
• Like many other AE programs the department does not offer a course designated or internally identified as Architectural Engineering Design.
  
  
  
  • The capstone design course serves that purpose as is often the case in elsewhere
  • There is an "architecture" course taught by an professor with both architecture and engineering credentials
• As in other institutions, cooperation with other departments is often difficult
  
  
  
  • Service courses by and for architecture have decreased in recent years
    
    
    
    • There is still, however, a desire to develop joint research and courses
  • There are similar issues with other engineering departments
• The department offers a "professional masters" degree
  
  
  
  • It is currently almost a complete overlap with the last two years of the AE program

AE Content Issues

• Sustainability
  
  
  
  • Several courses (Mechanical Systems and electrical) have a significant sustainability emphasis in their content
• BIM
  
  
  
  • Revit is currently used for representation purposes
  • There is interest in it for engineering purposes, but uncertainty about its current capabilities and resource demands
• Bachelors + 30 Movement
  
  
  
  • The university overall is quite positive about this direction for the profession
  • Several professors expressed concern about material that cannot now be in the curriculum that they believe important. That was their reason for liking the extra time this approach would provide.
• Identity
  
  
  
  • I heard from several individuals that Architectural Engineering is not well known in the Chicago area.
    
    
    
    • The department head has had to present to several state boards to allow graduates to take the PE Exam
  • One person explicitly and by extension several others would like to see more attention paid nationally to addressing this issue
• Building Systems
  
  
  
  • As noted above, there is a desire to spend significant course time on some building systems not standard in other curricula: Acoustics, Fire Protection, Plumbing

Students

• The AE program has a net inflow of students in the first several years thanks to transfers
• The majority of graduates go to work for construction firms

Observations

• The IIT program is ambitious in its desire for comprehensiveness.
  
  
  
  • Currently that ambition is checked by the lack of sufficient faculty, a check that the department hopes will be remedied.
• Its Chicago environment, with its numerous large design firms, should offer considerable opportunities in future.

Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Visit - February 2-3, 2009

On Feburary 1st and 2nd I visited Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) for my 9th set of interviews. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Deborah Jackman (Dept. Head) and Dr. John Zachar I met a large precentage of the faculty critical to the design aspects of AE program and quite a few others as well. As on my prior visits everyone was welcoming and helpful making my visit both productive and enjoyable.

What did I learn?

About the MSOE program

• In a small (2,500), private school, the Architectural Engineering and Building Construction Department is a large player
  
  
  
  • The department's approximately 350 students are about 15% of the school's total student body
• Unlike most other institutions I've visited, there is no Civil Engineering department at MSOE
  
  
  
  • This means that all the fundamental mechanics courses are taught by AEBC faculty
• Building Construction focuses on what many schools would call construction management
  
  
  
  • All AE students are required to take at least two courses in this area
• Graduate studies and research play a very minor role in the department
  
  
  
  • Research productivity is not an expectation of faculty, though it does "count" if faculty choose to pursue it
• Tenure is not used at MSOE
  
  
  
  • Instead there are long-term contracts
    
    
    
    • 4, 6, 8 years for assitant, associate and full professors respectively
  • In practice, once someone has passed their first review they are unlikely to be dropped
  • The review is based 60% on teaching evaluations - primarily student course evaluations used for every course
    
    
    
    • The other 40% is a list of contributions to department, university and profession (including research here)
  • Promotion assumes good teaching and depends the other 40% of the review items
• The university made a decision 10 years ago to hire only PhD graduates for full-time positions
  
  
  
  • This is having a gradual effect on the faculty, with some younger faculty having a greater desire to find time for research
• MSOE uses a very detailed "Micro-Load" system to account for faculty time
  
  
  
  • The expectation is 43 hours/week
  • It has allocations for class time, class prep, grading, advising, department meetings, coordinating

Teaching Methods and Curriculum

• MSOE is proud of it's committment to good teaching and the high ranking it has achieved in US News and World Report thanks to that reputation
• Class sizes are targeted at 20-25 students from Freshman year onward
  
  
  
  • This means that there are often multiple sections of courses
    
    
    
    • This large number of sections in turn explains the large number of adjunct faculty in the department
• The department offers three tracks for AE's, with all students taking at least two courses in each track
  
  
  
  • Building Electrical Systems
  • Building Environmental Systems
  • Building Structural Systems
• There is one explicit Architectural studio in the curriculum
  
  
  
  • There areencounters with design in earlier courses, starting with the freshman introduction course
  • The capstone Senior Design 3-course sequence requires teams of approximately 7 students to program, design and engineering a "real" building
• There is pride in making the students "industry-ready" on graduation
  
  
  
  • This translates into the curriculum in several ways
    
    
    
    • Detailed consideration of code-compliance in discipline courses
    • Labs with real industry equipment and emphasis on connecting theory to measured reality
    • Participation in, and great success in, the General Building Contractors (GBC) national competitions
    • The capstone design sequence works on "real" projects solicited by a faculty member from industry contacts.
      
      
      
      • A large portion of the grade is determined by an independent industry panel without a faculty member
• The department is content with its teaching methods
  
  
  
  • There is support for faculty who wish to take teaching improvement workshops such as those at Bucknell or the ASCE Exceed workshops.
    
    
    
    • There does not, however, appear to be great effort invested in spreading lessons learned from such activities.
  • There are university-level support activities
    
    
    
    • They do not appear to hold much interest for most faculty
• Student advising is very strong
  
  
  
  • I happened to be here during the week of the term in which students consult with their advisors about their next term's work. It was clear that faculty took this responsibility very seriously.
• Issues that concerned the faculty are:
  
  
  
  • Sustainability - there is considerable pride that they are "ahead of the curve" in incorporating it throughout the curriculum
  • BIM - Opinions varied, but what I heard most was a a"wait and see" attitude to determine how important it would become in the curiculum
    
    
    
    • AE's have already adopted Revit as a standard tool for representation
  • Bachelor + 30 - There did not appear to be much consensus on this though several faculty expressed strong, divergent opinions
    
    
    
    • There were several comments about the difficulty of fitting in everything "necessary" in the current 192 quarter credits
  • Technology - at least one faculty member expressed great pride in a fairly recent requirement that all students own a laptop
    
    
    
    • It was felt to greatly enhance communication

AE Content Issues

• The faculty are pleased with the comprehensiveness of the systems that they address. In their coursework students have farily detailed exposure to:
  
  
  
  • Structures
  • HVAC
  • Electrical
  • Plumbing
  • Fire Protection
  • Construction Management
• As noted above, Sustainability and BIM (for representation) are already incorporated in the curriculum.
• All students take at least two courses in all the track areas.

Students

Faculty volunteered few comments about the students. When I asked they were pleased overall. The following observations were gleaned in response to my questions.

• The students are hard-working
  
  
  
  • I had some comments that they find dealing with open-ended problems difficult - as is the case for students in most institutions.
• Most have part-time jobs to help meet their expenses
  
  
  
  • But I heard no complaints about the part-time work hindering class performance
• I heard some a few comments that students are not as well prepared in their math and sciences as the faculty expected
• Attrition is fairly high during and at the end of the first year
  
  
  
  • In the last two years enrollment is stable
  • At least one faculty member regarded the atttiriton as a strength, proving that they had advised students well in the first year - students had real knowledge of what they were choosing, with some realizing that it wasn't for them.
• I did not get good data on graduate employment other than that their graduates are much sought after
  
  
  
  • Anecdotally I was told that most AE's pursue consulting engineering design jobs plus with some in construction as well as ancillary occupations.
  • The Building Construction major serves those who wish to work in the construction side of the industry

Observations

• MSOE strikes me as an institution that has a clear view of its role, one that has changed little over the years and one of which it's proud. They are training "industry-ready" practitioners with great success.
• Changes at MSOE are slow, but real
  
  
  
  • The emphasis on sustaibility and the introduction of the BIM tool are examples of changes that not all schools have made
  • The increasing importance of the PhD for faculty and the consequent gradual increase in the value placed on research by the faculty is another.

About my Sabbatical Project

• In my seminar presentation to the faculty I had the first opportunity to present some of the results from that I'd generated for my ASEE paper.
  
  
  
  • I had few questions or comments about my analysis of the nine categories I've created to discuss the AE Design definitions.

Issues Important to Faculty - Status Report

Evaluate the importance of the following issues to your school:

	None	Low	Average	High	Critical	Response Count
BIM	7.9% (3)	31.6% (12)	26.3% (10)	26.3% (10)	7.9% (3)	38
Integration of all ABET components of AE - Structure; HVAC; Electrical/Power/Lighting; Construction Management	2.4% (1)	17.1% (7)	14.6% (6)	41.5% (17)	24.4% (10)	41
Student Preparation on Entering program	7.5% (3)	25.0% (10)	32.5% (13)	32.5% (13)	2.5% (1)	40
Sustainability Design	2.4% (1)	11.9% (5)	26.2% (11)	50.0% (21)	9.5% (4)	42
Lean / economic design	7.7% (3)	20.5% (8)	43.6% (17)	25.6% (10)	2.6% (1)	39
Bachelor's + 30 (Masters as first professional degree)	12.8% (5)	25.6% (10)	38.5% (15)	12.8% (5)	10.3% (4)	39
Coordination with other departments	5.0% (2)	27.5% (11)	40.0% (16)	17.5% (7)	10.0% (4)	40
Other (please identify)	50.0% (2)	0.0% (0)	25.0% (1)	25.0% (1)	0.0% (0)	4

Evaluate the importance of the following issues to AE programs nationally.

	None	Low	Average	High	Critical	Response Count
BIM	3.2% (1)	19.4% (6)	29.0% (9)	41.9% (13)	6.5% (2)	31
Integration of all three ABET components of AE - Structure; MEP; Construction Management	0.0% (0)	12.5% (4)	28.1% (9)	46.9% (15)	12.5% (4)	32
Student Preparation on Entering program	0.0% (0)	16.1% (5)	38.7% (12)	45.2% (14)	0.0% (0)	31
Sustainability Design	0.0% (0)	12.9% (4)	19.4% (6)	54.8% (17)	12.9% (4)	31
Lean / economic design	0.0% (0)	12.9% (4)	45.2% (14)	41.9% (13)	0.0% (0)	31
Masters as first professional degree	3.2% (1)	25.8% (8)	45.2% (14)	22.6% (7)	3.2% (1)	31
Coordination with other departments	0.0% (0)	14.3% (4)	60.7% (17)	25.0% (7)	0.0% (0)	28
Other (please identify)	100.0% (2)	0.0% (0)	0.0% (0)	0.0% (0)	0.0% (0)	2