Engineering Technology Education in the United States (2017) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 11-36
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 11... ...
Engineers play an especially vital role as the designers of technological systems and processes that help drive economic growth, maintain and improve quality of life, and assure national security. Policymakers, employers, researchers, and educators have focused considerable attention during the past decade on the adequacy of the US engineering education system to meet the demands of an increasingly "flat" world in which competencies that go beyond pure technical skills, including creativity, leadership, flexibility, and communication, are becoming more and more essential (NAE, 2004, 2005)
|
From page 12... ...
Relatively little is known, for example, about the extent to which the supply of those with ET degrees does -- or does not -- meet the needs of employers; what type of work those with such degrees perform; how, if at all, changes in technology are affecting the preparation and employment of those with ET degrees; and the nature and significance of the differences between the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of those with ET degrees and those with engineering degrees. ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY The formal emergence of ET as an academic discipline can be traced to recommendations in the1955 Grinter report, which set the stage for engineering's swing toward "engineering science" (i.e., more focus on theory and less on hands-on practice; Harris et al., 1994)
|
From page 13... ...
ET programs and 34,638 graduates of 2-year (associate's degree) ET programs, according to the Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
|
From page 14... ...
14 ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES TABLE 1-1 Institutions Awarding 100 or More 4-Year Degrees in Engineering Technology, 2014 Columbia Southern University 620 Purdue University Main Campus 342 Texas A & M University College Station 273 Southern Illinois University Carbondale 261 Rochester Institute of Technology 250 University of Houston 247 East Carolina University 222 Ferris State University 214 ECPI University 209 Wentworth Institute of Technology 207 Southern Polytechnic State University 201 Excelsior College 198 DeVry University Illinois (Chicago, IL) 189 Michigan State University 183 Farmingdale State College 167 Old Dominion University 166 Pennsylvania College of Technology 166 New Jersey Institute of Technology 160 Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis 150 Pittsburg State University 149 University of North Carolina at Charlotte 143 Keene State College 139 University of Wisconsin Stout 139 University of Central Missouri 133 Oklahoma State University Main Campus 128 Central Connecticut State University 119 Purdue University Calumet Campus 117 Middle Tennessee State University 113 Southeast Missouri State University 113 Colorado State University Fort Collins 112 Millersville University of Pennsylvania 112 continued
|
From page 15... ...
For program information, we must turn to other sources, such as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) , the primary organization involved in assuring the basic soundness of educational programs in engineering and technology.3 According to ABET, in 2014 there were 387 accredited 4-year ET programs at 153 institutions and 257 accredited 2-year ET programs at 98 institutions.4 The most common program at both the 2- and the 4-year degree levels was electrical and electronics engineering technology, followed by mechanical engineering technology (Table 1-5)
|
From page 16... ...
16 ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES TABLE 1-2 Institutions Awarding 100 or More 2-Year Degrees in Engineering Technology, 2014 Ivy Tech Community College 525 Columbia Southern University 402 Texas State Technical College Waco 351 Olympic College 261 Pittsburgh Technical Institute 254 Technical Career Institutes 254 Bismarck State College 250 Ecotech Institute 219 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College 214 Excelsior College 203 CUNY New York City College of Technology 202 Cincinnati State Technical and Community College 186 Sowela Technical Community College 186 ECPI University 175 Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology 173 Washtenaw Community College 171 Ferris State University 168 Chattanooga State Community College 167 Ranken Technical College 164 Columbus State Community College 160 Pennsylvania College of Technology 157 Southeast Community College Area 157 ITI Technical College 150 Lee College 148 Owens Community College 143 Northeast Wisconsin Technical College 140 Stark State College 136 ITT Technical Institute National City 128 Lamar Institute of Technology 128 Hudson Valley Community College 126 Kalamazoo Valley Community College 126 Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology 125 continued
|
From page 17... ...
Puerto Rico (9.3) California (5.9)
|
From page 18... ...
21 11 521 553 Total 449 163 2,102 2,714 TABLE 1-5 Top 10 Most Common ABET-Accredited Engineering Technology Programs, 2- and 4-Year Degree Levels 2-Year Engineering Technology 4-Year Engineering Technology Programs Programs Name Number Name Number Electrical and Electronics 74 Electrical and Electronics 111 Engineering Technology Engineering Technology Mechanical Engineering 48 Mechanical Engineering 66 Technology Technology Civil Engineering 34 Computer Engineering 54 Technology Technology Computer Engineering 19 Construction Engineering 26 Technology Technology Architectural Engineering 12 Civil Engineering 22 Technology Technology Construction Engineering 10 Manufacturing Engineering 20 Technology Technology Surveying and Geomatics 8 Bioengineering and Biomedical 13 Engineering Technology Engineering Technology Drafting and Design 5 Electromechanical Engineering 9 Engineering Technology Technology Industrial Engineering 5 Engineering Technology 8 Technology (General) Manufacturing Engineering 5 Industrial Engineering 8 Technology Technology
|
From page 19... ...
, which accredits a small number of 2- and 4-year ET programs, also accredits BS and associate of applied science (AAS) degree programs in "applied engineering" and "applied engineering technology." The possibility of accrediting some ET programs as "applied engineering" through ABET's Engineering Accreditation Commission or its Engineering Technology TABLE 1-6 Estimated Universe of Engineering Technology Programs in the United States 2-Year Programs 4-Year Programs ABET Accredited 257 387 Non-ABET Accredited 658 141 Total 915 528
|
From page 20... ...
The National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, a semiautonomous division of the National Society of Professional Engineers, offers certification for 4-year ET degree holders. Since 1977, 1,775 people with 4-year ET degrees have opted to get this certification (M.
|
From page 21... ...
The United States, through ABET, is a signatory to three international "equivalency" agreements: one for engineers (the "Washington Accord") , one for engineering technologists (the "Sydney Accord")
|
From page 22... ...
There is no widely accepted job description for an engineering technician. However, the International Engineering Alliance, which manages mutual accreditation recognition agreements among signatory countries for engineers, engineering technologists, and engineering technicians, offers this description: The roles of Engineering Technicians involve them in the implementation of proven techniques and procedures to the solution of practical problems.
|
From page 23... ...
However, ET's historical roots in application can clearly be seen in ABET's Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission's criteria b and c. The greater handson emphasis of ET also can be seen in ABET's curriculum criteria for the field, which call on these programs to "Develop student competency in the use of equipment and tools common to the discipline." No such guidance is provided to engineering programs.
|
From page 24... ...
General Physics II (algebra based) Semiconductor Physics for Engineers Science Elective MATHEMATICS Calculus I Calculus I Calculus II Calculus II Multivariate Calculus Engineering Statistics Linear Algebra Mathematic Applications in Engineering Technology Probability and Statistics I LABORATORIES General Chemistry Laboratory I General Physics Laboratory I (algebra based)
|
From page 25... ...
INTRODUCTION 25 TABLE 1-8 Continued University of North Carolina, Charlotteb Mechanical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering Technology SCIENCE Engineering Engineering Technology Chemistry I Introductory Physics I Physics I Introductory Physics II Physics II Principles of Chemistry Science Elective MATHEMATICS Calculus I Pre-Calculus Math for Science & Engineering Calculus II ET Calculus or Engineering Analysis I Differential Equations Elements of Statistics Calculus III Engineering Analysis II Computational Methods for Engineers Engineering Analysis III or IV Mathematics Elective LABORATORIES Chemistry I Laboratory Introductory Physics I Laboratory Physics I Laboratory Engineering Technology Computer Applications Laboratory Physics II Laboratory Introductory Physics II Laboratory Design Projects Laboratory I Sophomore Design Practicum Laboratory Instrumentation Laboratory Stress Analysis Laboratory Design Projects Laboratory II Junior Design Practicum Laboratory Mechanics and Materials Laboratory Fluid Mechanics Laboratory Thermal Fluids Laboratory Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer Laboratory Instrumentation Laboratory continued
|
From page 26... ...
Probabilistic Methods Linear Algebra LABORATORIES None listed by name None listed by name aAt the University of Cincinnati, both the electrical engineering and the electrical engineering technology programs are housed within the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Both programs are 5 years long.
|
From page 27... ...
an ability to identify, analyze, and solve solve engineering problems; broadly-defined engineering technology problems; (f) an understanding of professional and (i)
|
From page 28... ...
The National Engineering Technology Forum, an initiative of the Engineering Technology Council of the American Society for Engineering Education, has been lobbying for the creation of a separate federal job category, or the equivalent, for engineering technologists. In 2014 OPM drafted and circulated to other agencies for comment a proposal that would have reclassified engineering technologists.
|
From page 29... ...
Although many local employers hire her graduates and wish the university could provide more of them, she said most thought the graduates they were hiring were all engineers. Our own survey of employers, also described in Chapter 4, found that roughly one-third had never heard of the academic field called "engineering technology education." Pathways Although the committee's statement of task, described below, does not specifically require us to examine educational and career pathways in ET, it was our hope that this project would provide insights into this issue.
|
From page 30... ...
FIGURE 1-2 Notional outline of educational and career pathways in engineering technology.
|
From page 31... ...
The project will address the following objectives and questions and in clude a public workshop as a primary data-gathering event. Objective 1: Review the status and history of the production and employment of engineering technologists and technicians in the United States.
|
From page 32... ...
Educational data assembled by Kuehn provided information on the rate of production and the demographic composition of new engineering technicians and technologists. Enrollment and graduation trends offer a great deal of insight into the supply of engineering technicians and technologists, although a full picture of their supply and demand requires analysis of labor market data.
|
From page 33... ...
One key gap relates to the availability of data regarding the work experiences of students with 2-year ET degrees. This gap and several others are discussed at greater length in other sections of the report, and in some cases, they are addressed in our recommendations.
|
From page 34... ...
2014. International Engineering Alliance: Edu cational Accords -- Washington Accord 1989, Sydney Accord 2001, Dublin Accord 2002.
|
From page 35... ...
2008. Fact Sheet #17O: Technologists and Technicians and the Part 541 Exemptions Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.