Model Collaboration for Advancing
Student-Centered Engineering Education
Deyna C. Aragon, Peter Golding, Roger V.
Gonzalez, Gilbert Moreno Jr., Daniela Natera,
Richard F. O’Brien, Richard T. Schoephoerster,
Scott A. Starks, Elsa Q. Villa, William S. Walker,
Isaiah N. Webb
College of Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, Texas 79902 USA
Abstract— The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (Olin) are establishing a
student-centered hands-on interactive approach to engineering
education (similar to Olin’s) at UTEP, where it will reside in
UTEP’s innovative B.S. in Leadership Engineering (LE)
program. The goal of the proposed collaboration is to catalyze
UTEP’s educational innovation through a cross-campus
collaboration between the two institutions by incorporating the
Olin educational process, both design and features, into the first
offerings of the Bachelor of Science in Leadership Engineering
(BSLE) program. Specifically, the collaboration includes faculty
exchanges between the two institutions; a series of retreats for
planning and assessment; curriculum development; and student
recruitment practices. The 21st century workplace demands a
new engineer — one who effectively contributes to solving
problems using innovation, creativity, and strategic foresight.
Graduates of the Olin-UTEP developed Bachelor of Science in
Leadership Engineering (LE) program will possess these
attributes through the program’s rigorous yet flexible major in
engineering, and in-depth study of leadership and its effect upon
technology and society. In this panel we will share the context for
our innovative approach, key features of the partnership to date,
and acclaim the value of inter-institutional sharing.
Keywords—student-centered, collaboration, partner, Olin,
UTEP,
frameworks,
engineering
education,
Leadership
Engineering
I.
INTRODUCTION
A. Motivation for the Project
The need for educating more and diverse engineers is well
documented, and the reform of engineering education has been
slow and occurring in a piecemeal fashion. Moreover, the
National Academy of Engineering issued a report calling for
engineers of the 21st century who are broadly educated and see
themselves as global citizens [1]. The emphasis in this NAE
report was not on whether engineering education should
continue to change, but on how, to what degree, and how soon
this change should happen. Thus, successful implementation of
this proposed BSLE program has significant implications for
national reform of engineering education, as it will address
NAE concerns. UTEP is a public, urban four-year university
Sponsored by the Argosy Foundation, Bob & Diane Malone, and the
Halliburton Foundation.
978-1-4673-5261-1/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE
Vincent P. Manno, Richard K. Miller, Robert
Martello, Mark Somerville, Lynn A. Stein,
Jonathan D. Stolk, Jessica Townsend
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
Needham, MA 02492 USA
serving a majority underserved population of Hispanic
students, and Olin College is a small, private and highly
selective university. These two institutions are diametrically
diverse, and successful adaptation of some of Olin’s innovative
approaches to curriculum design and implementation at UTEP
could pave the way for a broader set of institutions across the
U.S. to consider adapting a similar approach.
B. Together Supporting Student-Centered Innovations
The UTEP Leadership Engineering (LE) Program is
developing with support from Bob and Diane Malone, and the
Halliburton Foundation, under the umbrella of the Center for
Research in Engineering and Technology Education (CREaTE)
in the College of Engineering at UTEP [2] and the Franklin W.
Olin College of Engineering [3].
The Franklin W. Olin College solicits applications from
engineering educators and their institutions to participate in the
Argosy Collaborative Faculty Exchange program, developed
with support from the Argosy Foundation [4]. Olin’s Argosy
program is designed to catalyze educational innovation through
cross-campus collaboration. The exchange creates partnerships
— such as the Olin-UTEP partnership — with departments or
programs — such as UTEP’s College of Engineering —
committed to educational change.
Olin evaluates proposals based on the potential impact of
change that the projects will have in their home institutions, the
level of commitment that the participating institutions make
towards actually implementing change, and the participants’
professional background, interest and personal commitment to
change in engineering education; and the fit with existing Olin
activities and resources. Olin and UTEP are embarking on an
exciting partnership, and it is an open forum discussion of the
partnership in process that is the subject of this Frontiers in
Engineering (FIE) 2013 conference panel.
II.
OLIN-UTEP PARTNERSHIP
A. Olin-UTEP Partnership Creating Leadership Engineering
UTEP is partnering with the Franklin W. Olin College in
the Argosy Collaborative Faculty Exchange program [4]. It is
this program that has led to the Olin-UTEP model for studentcentered engineering education.
The partnership includes collaboration between Olin and
UTEP over at least a two-year period, with opportunity to
extend the partnership as needed or desired. Our joint approach
(as partners) and the work completed to date will be shared at
the FIE workshop. The types of engagement include Olin-run
workshops for UTEP faculty, visits to the Olin and UTEP
campuses ranging from short trips to semester and year long
faculty exchanges, and joint assessments of both the
partnership and of the outcomes of the BSLE degree.
The goals of the Olin-UTEP partnership are very well
aligned with the Argosy Faculty Exchange program, and the
engagements described above are the types of activities
outlined in the Argosy Program guidelines [3].
The Olin program, funded by the Argosy Foundation, is
designed to catalyze educational innovation through crosscampus collaboration. The exchange creates partnerships —
such as the Olin-UTEP partnership — with departments or
programs committed to educational change, embedding faculty
from partner schools for year-long residencies at Olin College,
and providing participants with time, space and support for
planning transformative activities at their home campuses.
Partnerships are typically expected to include two consecutive
years of residencies at Olin, with varying faculty
participants.
The multi-year program includes a
comprehensive assessment of the exchange’s impact on the
partner schools as well as Olin.
Participating institutions, such as UTEP, are invited to
nominate pairs of senior and junior faculty who will work on
the proposed projects. The pairing of senior and junior faculty
is designed to provide a coalition for change in engineering
education at the partner institution. Senior faculty members
have deep understanding of their institution’s culture, students
and facilities. Junior faculty will drive the innovation as they
advance their careers and serve as future leaders of change.
During the residency period, partner faculty work with Olin
faculty and engage in collaborative curricular creation and
innovation. Teaching opportunities – such as co-teaching in
some of Olin’s distinctive courses – are strongly encouraged
and may also include piloting of courses developed during the
residency for the home institution. Olin faculty and students
will benefit from the fresh perspectives that visiting faculty
will offer. As a part of the program, Olin faculty also spend
time on the UTEP partner campus, to help focus, guide, and
positively influence faculty and staff teams at UTEP in
implementing the planned Leadership Engineering curricular
innovations.
B. Maintaining the Integrity of the Olin Approach at UTEP
The characteristics of Olin’s approach to curriculum design
most relevant to the UTEP LE Program are:
•
Frameworks and approaches for student-centered
curriculum design
Sponsored by the Argosy Foundation, Bob & Diane Malone, and the
Halliburton Foundation.
•
Development of intrinsic motivation, self-direction,
and autonomy through authentic project and
leadership experiences.
•
Culturally and socially responsive curricula, where
students creatively investigate and solve social
problems through innovative technological design.
The first class of BSLE students begins in the fall of 2014,
and the goal is to incorporate this model for curriculum
development and innovation into the first offerings as part of
this new program.
III.
LEADERSHIP ENGINEERING EDUCATION
Integration of engineering and liberal arts education is
central to developing the engineer of the conceptual age. The
art and science of engineering is key to providing engineers
with the technical and system thinking capacity needed to
achieve leadership in our complex modern society. The US is
at a tipping point regarding global competitiveness in
technological innovation, and to a very large extent, humanity
is critically dependent on the duopoly of technological
innovation and liberal thinking for improvement of quality of
lifestyle.
Leadership Engineering (LE) is defined as an emerging
engineering sub-field that integrates disciplinary knowledge
and practice with communication, business, and leadership
skills. This innovative approach to engineering has emerged as
a direct result of industry’s immediate and long-term need for a
new kind of engineer: one with a new skill set to work in
complex 21st century contexts. LE is about creating engineers,
who have the technical competence and leadership acumen to
play vital roles in the future wellbeing and success of the US
and all it stands for, and the citizens of the US, and thereby the
future of the world.
The Olin-UTEP development of the LE program seeks to
visualize and actuate a new paradigm for engineering
education by responding to the call from students, alumni,
businesses, and civic organizations. To address these needs, the
new program features problem-based, student-focused learning
across disciplines and situated learning through professional
practice experiences.
A. Details of Planning
Details of planning for the new undergraduate program in
Leadership Engineering at UTEP will be shared at the FIE
panel. We will overview inputs from key stakeholders.
Included is the contextual development of the program, the
parameters considered as key, and the finalized degree plan.
The program features are explained including engineering
accreditation, and tracks and stems that provide flexibility for
students. Balancing the competing demands within the
curriculum, proved challenging but attainable given the strong
administrative support and leadership for this program, and
UTEP’s desire to provide innovative undergraduate
engineering education that leads toward increased retention and
advancing opportunities for serving underrepresented
populations.
B. Olin-UTEP Sharing of Lessons Learned
At the FIE panel faculty from Olin and UTEP will share
lessons learned in development of this program, which revolve
around curriculum determinations, development, and
accreditation. A delicate balance is achieved with balancing the
number of credit hours in the program, the general education
core mandated as a public institution, and providing the needed
LE coursework, internships, professional practice experiences,
and flexible tracks in business, education, and technical
specialization. Of paramount importance is that all LE courses
provide student-oriented, practice-/problem-/project- based
learning with intrinsic motivation, self-direction, and autonomy
achieved through authentic project and leadership experiences.
The result is a challenging, engaging, and exciting new
program that promises to push the boundaries what it is to
undertake engineering education at UTEP.
C. Final Comments – Our Panel Process
The sharing of the Olin-UTEP partnership FIE 2013 is
appropriate since the forum provides an opportunity for
discussion at a major international conference about
educational innovations and research in engineering and
computing. The Olin-UTEP panel being presented at FIE 2013
continues a long tradition of disseminating results in innovative
areas of engineering education. It is an ideal forum for sharing
ideas; learning about new partnerships, and developments in
engineering and technology education, and interacting with
colleagues in these fields.
Given the unique individual Olin and UTEP history and
culture, panel discussion and focus areas will include:
•
Innovation in approach and implementation of
engineering education, across regions, and institutions.
•
Diversity initiatives, and matters of regional
development through community engagement.
•
Interdisciplinary programs, at the interface between
engineering, technology and society.
The panel make-up includes input from Oliin and UTEP
faculty, including clinical professors (or professors of practice),
and stakeholders. It is noteworthy that the Olin-UTEP LE
program creation includes inputs from students, who as key
stakeholders are participating as integral partners in the
programmatic development. This initiative follows that process
used at Olin in establishment of the first cohort curriculum.
The panel seeks to serve participants at FIE 2013 who are
themselves involved in innovations in engineering education,
and to provide mentoring and support for their efforts.
REFERENCES
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
National Academy of Engineering, 2004. The engineer of 2020: Visions
of engineering in the new century. Washington, DC: National
Academies Press, p.36.
“Center for Research in Engineering and Technology Education: Inspire,
Influence, and Innovate. 2013. UTEP.edu
http://create.utep.edu. Accessed: 12 April 2013.
“Olin College.” 2013. Olin.edu
http://www.olin.edu. Accessed: 20 March 2013.
“Argosy Collaborative Faculty Exchange.” 2013. Olin.edu
http://i2e2.olin.edu/ArgosyCollaborativeFacultyExchange.html.
Accessed: July 16, 2013.