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

Survey Response So far

Here's a brief status report on how the data collection from the surveys is going so far.  A separate blog entry gives the faculty opinion on issues important to the schools and also nationally.  I've now visited one half the schools and am about to visit the second half in the next three months

Responses by University as of Noon 1/17/2009

University	Visited already	Responses
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	Yes	8
Illinois Institute of Technology	No	1
North Carolina A&T State College	Yes	5
Penn State University	Yes	7
University of Colorado	Yes	9
University of Kansas	Yes	7
Missouri University of Science and Technology	Yes	4
University of Nebraska - Lincoln	Yes	3
University of Wyoming	Yes	7
Other		1
Tennessee State	No	1
Total		52

Academic Rank of Respondent

Rank	Number
Professor	16
Assoc. Professor	17
Assistant Prof	15
Instructor	3
Adjunct	1
Total	52

Primary Discipline of the Respondent

Discipline	Number
Architectural Engineering	10
Architecture	5
Structures	20
HVAC	5
Electrical Power	3
Lighting	3
Environmental	1
Construction Management	5
Other	11
Total	52

Experience of the Respondents - Average

Note that there is a great range in the details

Area	Average Years
Teaching Experience	13.9
Industry Experience	8.3
Years teaching AE Design	9.9

Professional Registration of the Respondents

Note that these are not mutually exclusive

Registration	Number
PE	36
RA	5
Other	7
Total Respondents	40

University of Kansas (KU) Visit - December 8th & 9th 2008

On December 8th &9th I spent two informative days at the University of Kansas (KU), my eighth sabbatical visit. Thanks to the efforts of Tom Mulinazzi and Craig Adams (Department Head) I met eight 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 KU Architectural Engineering (ArcE) program

•  It's a five year program Bachelors program with longstanding ties to the Architecture program, ties that the department wishes to strengthen again.
• Many faculty are proud of this tie and feel that it distinguishes their program from most other ArcE programs.
• Administratively it has an unusual history.  
• Until recently it was an independent program reporting jointly to the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, and also the Engineering School.  
• In 2001 it moved fully to engineering as part of the newly renamed department of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering.  
• Students for the ArcE program are still admitted by the Architecture program.
• Of the 24 tenure-track faculty in the department the ArcE faculty 5-6 would probably state that their primary identification is as ArcE faculty.
• There are also several full-time auxiliary faculty who are important to the program.

Teaching Methods and Curriculum

• Although the number of Architecture studio courses has decreased in recent years, there's still a strong architectural studio experience in the first two years with studios similar to those for architecture students although now taught separately with higher student-faculty ratios for ArcE's. 
• Design in some form is present throughout the student's five years
• There are design problems in the first year introduction to Architectural Engineering course
• Architectural design starts in the first year and extends through the sophomore year
• Students take discipline design classes in the intermediate years and have design problems as part of some of the discipline analysis courses
• The capstone design sequence is two semesters long - 6 credits each semester and thus intense
• The first semester is organized sequentially into three parts addressing structures; mechanical; electrical (power) & lighting
• In the second semester students choose an discipline area in which to specialize
• The program offer four emphasis areas which are achieved by selection in the capstone sequence and through electives selected by the students.
• Building Environmental Systems (HVAC, energy, acoustics)
• Lighting/Electrical
• Building Construction Engineering and Management
• Building Structural Systems
• AE students must take the FE exam to graduate
• There is graduate study in the department for ArcE's with the MS in ArcE and the PhD in Civil.  
• It's also possible, and encouraged, to continue on to a Master of Architecture - currently 2-3 students per year follow this option.
• The faculty take pride in preparing students for industry.
• They take advantage of industry contacts (primarily from Kansas City) as adjuncts, consultants in the design classes, and as full-time auxiliaries.
• There is also considerable pride on the quality of their teaching as a group.
• Faculty identified use of many teaching methods
• Lecture in many classes - often spiced with field trips and guest lecturers.
• Studio in Architecture
• Modified studio in several classes
• Case Study - as examples in lecture classes

AE Content Issues

• Balance of curiculum ingredients
• In my conversations I found a number of different views on the appropriate balance of  curriculum agreements
• The strongest, though not unanimous, belief was that the architecture emphasis was important
• Structures was perceived as being the dominant curriculum element and discipline emphasis by some, with a desire for more MEP
• There's an effort to reestablish a former strength in lighting
• Sustainability
• Faculty cited multiple elements related to sustainability in the current curriculum although it isn't explicitly emphasized .
• BIM
• There will be a new BIM course next term.
• Other than that it wasn't generally perceived as particularly important by most faculty although several tied it, sustainability and economic design together as jointly important.
• Coordination with Other departments and Programs
• As noted above the relationship with the architecture program is considered highly important and there is considerable effort to improve it.
• There was little mention of a desire to establish relationships with other departments (although some are doing so) or institutions.

Students

• Departmental Enrollment is approximately as follows
• 240 Civil Engineers
• 175 Architectural Engineers
• ?? Environmental Engineers
• ArcE graduates work approximately as follows:
• Construction & Structures each 1/3
• MEP 1/6
• Other 1/6
• Admission for ArcE students is fairly selective
• They are limited by the places available in the initial architectural studios
• An estimate was that only 1 in 3 is admitted
• They have high ACT scores, amongst the highest in all engineering
• There is considerable encouragement to get international experience
• There are study-abroad relationships with Newcastle University in Australia as well as a new one with Leeeds in the UK.

Observations

• The administrative changes in the department disrupted its operation for a number of years, but there is now a sense of optimisim and a desire to continue what all regard as as strong, unique tradition.
• As is the case at many of the other institutions I've visited there in some curiousity about the results of my study, but there's little apparent interest in significant cooperation with other Architectural Engineering programs.
• I believe that this is the case for most of the programs because there's little benefit perceived to come from such cooperation and because there's a significant rivalry with nearby instutitions.

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.

Visit Goals + Survey Link

I'm now in the final phases of preparing for my first visits at the end of September and the beginning of October (see the calendar).  I just sent an email to my contacts at the first three institutions.  Below is the body of the majority of that email.  It addresses:

• What I'm trying to learn
• The survey I've prepared - anyone reading this with the responsibility of Teaching AE Design is welcome to complete it and comment.
• Who I'd like to meet with
• Asking permission to contact faculty in advance of the visit.

*****************************

What I'm trying to learn

Since I last wrote I've worked hard at refining the issues I'm trying to address.  In order to do that I put together a survey/questionnaire that appears quite long, but can be completed fairly rapidly if one just checks boxes, though I hope that people will be inspired to give comments since I'll probably learn the most interesting things from them. 

The Survey

I've enclosed a copy of that form with this email.  The online version of the survey is available at:  http://tinyurl.com/5vr2gt

o    I'd appreciate any suggestions for clarification or improvements to the survey that you choose to make. 

o    If you can make the time, filling it out yourself would be much appreciated, either in paper or online form.

o    I'd note that if you fill it out with Adobe Reader you currently cannot save the PDF version of the form with your filled-in answers - I'm trying to figure out how to make that possible, but haven't yet succeeded.

FYI, I've gone through the Human Subjects review process with our Institutional Review Board at Drexel to ensure that the process I'm using and the data safeguards I plan meet their standards.

My plan is to use that survey as the basis of discussions with faculty, either individually or in groups, recording the interviews if the faculty give permission.  If a faculty member has filled out the form in advance then the interview can either be shorter or go into specific areas in greater depth - as they see fit. 

Who I'd Like to Meet With

I've looked through the material available on your website to try and identify people who might be appropriate for me to interview.  Below I've given either the names or other identifying characteristics.  Again I recognize the limits of busy schedules and faculty interests.  I'll need all the help you can give me.

People With Specific Responsibilities

o    Faculty who seem to have interests in this area:

• People I’ve identified are:

o    Anyone teaching a course identified as relating to Architectural Engineering Design

• People I’ve identified are:

o    Anyone teaching an introductory course that gives an overview of Architectural Engineering.

o    Individuals advising students about curriculum choices

Contacting Faculty

I'd like to contact the relevant faculty by email in advance of my visit, telling them what it's about and inviting them to complete the online survey in advance.  I won't do so unless you explicitly say it's OK.  If you can provide me a list with email address that would be great, but I can probably dig out the information from your website if all you want to do is say "OK".

Thanks for Taking The Survey

Thank you!

I know that the survey was longer than ideal, but hopefully the results will inform all of us about our commonalities and unique perspectives.

I'm setting it up so that you can return to add to or modify what you've already entered. I'd note that to get back you'll need to have enabled cookies for the survey site and therefore you'll have to be on the same computer each time.

I'll post information about the surveys and any work that comes out of them on this blog site. You're welcome to come back here to follow what happens - and make any comments you wish.