Transfer Facilitation for Engineering Students

University Of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville TN

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of the proposed project is to develop and deliver several internet-based freshman and sophomore level engineering courses through a partnership between The University of Tennessee (UT), The University of Oklahoma (OU) and area community colleges. The proposed project will provide new opportunities for engineering students who wish to transfer to a four-year institution after completing a pre-engineering program in a Community College, Junior College or Liberal Arts College that offers most, but not all, of the freshman and sophomore requirements for an engineering degree. The development and delivery of asynchronous, open entry/open exit, self-paced courses via the Internet will enable these students to transfer into a university engineering program as a junior with all prerequisite requirements satisfied. The major impacts will be increasing student opportunities for timely completion of engineering degrees and serving the country's engineering workforce needs. Approximately fifteen classes have been identified as typical prerequisites for junior level study in an engineering field that are not offered in pre-engineering programs. The reason that these courses are not offered is that they are commonly fairly specialized classes that do not draw substantial enrollments that make the offerings cost effective. We propose to develop web-based versions of the seven classes that provide the greatest impact to the engineering field. Of these seven classes, two (Static's and Dynamics) have been previously developed at OU for asynchronous web delivery and will be implemented with improvements for this project. The model identified for course development merges several technologies to meet the course delivery objectives. It integrates a phased development methodology to produce highly interactive animated modules designed to engage the student in an active learning process. The University of Tennessee's Innovative Technology Center, Outreach and Continuing Education Division, Center for Advanced Educational Technology, and College of Engineering faculty have significant experience in developing interactive web-based courses. At the University of Oklahoma, the College of Engineering Media Laboratory is headed by the CO-PI of this grant proposal, who has been involved in web-based, asynchronous course delivery and training for close to ten years. The synergistic combination of these two institutions produces a team of educational professionals with the resources, experience, and desire to successfully attain the goals and objectives outlined in the proposal. The long-term goal of this project is to facilitate the articulation of engineering students by developing and offering the entire set of prerequisite classes to engineering students enrolled in pre-engineering and engineering programs throughout the United States. The funding of this grant will result in the national availability of web-delivered courses to meet a majority the prerequisite needs and provide a significant step toward meeting the long-term goal. To provide project guidance and assist with information dissemination, a national advisory board composed of leaders in the field of education has been assembled.