Engineering Technology Education in the United States (2017) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Production of Engineering Technology Talent
3 The Production of Engineering Technology Talent
Pages 45-102
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From page 45... ...
Because the definition of the term "engineering technology" is difficult to establish, particularly as an occupational category, the committee compared basic information across multiple datasets to help ensure that subsequent analyses consider the same population. Table 3-1 provides such an overview, presenting the total stock and annual awards of ET bachelor's degrees and the annual awards for associate's degrees in 2013.
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From page 46... ...
have a signed Program Participation Agreement with the Office of Postsecondary Education, US Department of Education. For the 2013-14 data collection period, the universe of IPEDS institutions totaled 7,477 (NCES, 2014)
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From page 47... ...
Figure 3-1 presents the number of ET degrees awarded 60000 50000 Degree awards 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Sub-associate's Certificates Associate's Degrees Bachelor's Degrees FIGURE 3-1 Engineering technician and technology degree production, 1989-2014. SOURCES: Calculations from IPEDS data; population of institutions from NCES.
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From page 48... ...
By 2004, almost 25 percent fewer associate's and bachelor's degrees were awarded compared to 1989 levels. 1 Some of this growth may be related to the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grant program (TAACCCT)
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. In the early 1970s, more than half held a high school degree or less, presumably gaining requisite skills through
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Most of this decline consisted of an increase in the share of sub-baccalaureate's degree holders, which grew from approximately one-third of the workforce in the early 1970s to greater than 50 percent in the 2000s. With only slight increases in the share of bachelor's and graduate degree holders, most of the change in educational attainment comes from realignments in the sub-baccalaureate's degree population (see also Figure 3-2)
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From page 51... ...
The result is that information about individual fields within ET often cannot be analyzed separately. rafting/ D design engineering technology, for example, is often not categorized with ET in occupational codes used by the US Department of Labor, although it is nested within the broader ET category in standard educational field codes.
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Cert. Electrical and electronic 2,661 8,182 9 1,411 1,445 engineering technology Industrial production 2,563 3,469 12 1,987 2,523 technology Mechanical engineering 2,104 2,009 208 572 729 related technology Engineering technology, 1,936 1,702 548 173 1,198 other Construction engineering 1,680 576 0 148 173 technology Quality control and safety 1,445 846 149 113 522 technology Computer engineering 832 1,971 1 913 891 technology Civil engineering technology 532 825 5 28 75 Architectural engineering 386 686 0 62 208 technology Environmental control 321 2,709 0 3,288 2,437 technology Electromechanical and 313 3,132 109 1,369 1,671 instrumentation technology Engineering related 202 315 24 76 198 technology Drafting/design engineering 200 5,495 31 1,879 3,426 technology Nuclear engineering 169 137 0 49 0 technology Mining and petroleum 22 431 0 270 162 technology Nanotechnology 4 43 0 2 5 Total 15,370 32,528 548 12,340 15,663 SOURCE: Calculations from the 2014 IPEDS.
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From page 53... ...
The field Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians, for example, which does not contain the term "engineering technology," includes the follow ng subfields, two of which do include the term "engineering tech i nology" (NCES, 2010a) : • Energy Management and Systems Technology/Technician • Environmental Control Technologies/Technicians, Other BOX 3-2 Fields Excluded from the Count of Engineering Technology Degrees in Table 3-2 • Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians, Other • Communications Technology/Technician • Photographic and Film/Video Technology/Technician and Assistant • Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/Technician • Recording Arts Technology/Technician • Welding Technology/Welder
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From page 54... ...
The resulting list of 55 programs (Box 3-3) was generated by combining the names of 2- and 4-year programs accredited by ABET with names of programs contained in the IPEDS database that do not have ABET accreditation.
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THE PRODUCTION OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY TALENT 55 BOX 3-3 Engineering Technology Program Names Included in NAE Survey of Educational Institutions Aeronautical Engineering Technology Agricultural Engineering Technology Air Conditioning Engineering Technology Applied Engineering Technology Architectural Engineering Technology Audio Engineering Technology Automotive Engineering Technology Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering Technology Chemical Engineering Technology Civil Engineering Technology Composites Engineering Technology Computer Engineering Technology Construction Engineering Technology Drafting and Design Engineering Technology Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technology Electromechanical Engineering Technology Embedded Systems Engineering Technology Energy Systems Engineering Technology Engineering Design Technology Engineering Graphics and Design Technology Engineering Graphics Technology Engineering Management Technology Engineering Technology (General) Engineering Technology Management Environmental Engineering Technology Facilities Engineering Technology Fire Protection Engineering Technology Food and Process Engineering Technology Geospatial Engineering Technology Healthcare Engineering Technology Management Highway Engineering Technology Industrial Engineering Technology Information Engineering Technology Instrumentation and Control Systems Engineering Technology Manufacturing Engineering Technology Materials Engineering Technology Mechanical Engineering Technology Mechatronics Engineering Technology Motorsports Engineering Technology continued
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From page 56... ...
Of these, Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technology was again the most prevalent, identified by 44 respondents, followed by Mechanical, Computer, Manufacturing, and Construction. The NAE survey also found that the 4-year programs are much more likely to be accredited, particularly through ABET, than are the 2-year programs.
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From page 57... ...
3 In addition to ABET, the survey asked about accreditation by two other organizations known to accredit some engineering technology programs: the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering and the American Council for Construction Education. However, only one 2-year program was accredited by each organization.
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in engineering technology, 2-year degree 72 Associate of Science (AS) in engineering technology, 2-year degree 22 Certificates in engineering technology, less than a 2-year degree 45 BOX 3-4 Two-year AS and AAS Degrees Community colleges, technical schools, and some 4-year institutions of fer 2-year associate of science (AS)
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From page 59... ...
. DEMOGRAPHICS: DIVERSITY AND AGE IPEDS data are ideal for generating a comprehensive understanding of engineering technician and technologist production, but other data can contribute to in-depth analysis of the characteristics of these graduates.
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60 ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES TABLE 3-6 Gender and Race of Engineering Technology and Engineering Graduates, 2014 IPEDS Engineering Technology Engineering Less Than Total 1-Year Associate's Bachelor's Bachelor's Population Certificates Degrees Degrees Degrees Race and ethnicity White, 62.1% 62.5% 63.1% 63.6% 61.5% Non-Hispanic Black, 12.4% 14.8% 11.4% 10.7% 3.8% Non-Hispanic Hispanic 17.4% 12.3% 13.0% 10.0% 9.6% Asian or Pacific 5.4% 2.7% 3.1% 3.9% 10.9% Islander American Indian 0.7% 1.1% 1.0% 0.8% 0.3% or Alaska Native Other/Unknown 2.0% 5.8% 7.4% 7.2% 5.8% Races & Ethnicitiesa Student visa -- 0.8% 0.9% 3.7% 8.0% All Females 50.8% 10.1% 12.4% 12.0% 19.8% Females, by race and ethnicity White, 31.5% 5.5% 7.2% 6.5% 11.2% Non-Hispanic Black, 6.5% 1.5% 1.7% 2.1% 1.0% Non-Hispanic Hispanic 8.6% 1.4% 1.7% 1.5% 2.1% Asian or Pacific 2.8% 0.6% 0.5% 0.5% 2.6% Islander American Indian 0.4% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 0.1% or Alaska Native Other/Unknown 1.0% 0.8% 0.9% 0.9% 1.2% Races & Ethnicities Student visa -- 0.2% 0.2% 0.5% 1.7% aThe committee is unaware of any federal data that estimate the stock of those with student visas, so the "Total Population" cell for men and women with visas is left blank in this table. SOURCES: Calculations from the 2014 IPEDS; population of institutions from NCES.
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Longitudinal Study 2008/2009. Figure 3-5 of bachelor's degree earners overall (57.3 percent; IPEDS)
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In this section, we consider four types of such experiences: internships, cooperative education (co-ops) , apprenticeships, and on-the-job training.
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NOTE: In the committee survey, apprenticeships were described as "paid vocational programs for certification" and may not be formally identified as an apprenticeship by the educational institution, the employer, or the Department of Labor; internships as "paid or unpaid, at an employer, coordinated with the academic curriculum"; cooperative work experience (Co-op) as "semester- or quarter-based work experience as an alternative to campus-based learning"; and summer industrial work experiences (Summer)
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64 ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES TABLE 3-8 Types of Experiential Education Provided to Students by Employers, Percent (N=225) Internship 92.4 Cooperative work experience 65.3 Summer technical work experiences 36.4 Apprenticeship 8.4 Don't Know 0.4 Other 1.8 are a very popular mechanism for providing ET students with work-based experiences, while apprenticeship opportunities are much less prevalent.
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From page 65... ...
In the case of Purdue7 (Table 3-11) , engineering students typically earn more than do their ET counterparts in these co-ops, although this is not always the case (e.g., fifth period earnings for electrical and computer engineering technology co-ops)
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The salaries listed with RIT's Electrical Engi neering Technology program actually pertain to its "Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Technology" program. No such degree exists for engineering, so these are compared to Electrical Engineering wages.
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At MSU, instead of pairing with external employers, mechanical engineering technology students have the opportunity to work at the Center for Biofilm Engineering, a National
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. Although the internship program at MSU looks to intramural employers as an alternative to a traditional internship, the manu facturing engineering technology program at Brigham Young University offers paid internships at small manufacturing enterprises in Cambodia as an option for its students.
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From page 69... ...
The available RAPIDS data cover all apprenticeship programs registered with DOL-ETA from 1999 to 2014. Over this period, almost 5,000 apprentices were identified as engineering technicians or technologists,9,10 less than half of 1 percent of the total of more than 1.2 million such apprenticeships.
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. Noninmate apprentices also are older than apprentices overall, with an average TABLE 3-12 Industrial Distribution of Engineering Technician and Technologist Apprentices, 1999–2014 Industry Percent Manufacturing 46.69 Public Administration and National Security 30.29 Utilities 9.84 Construction 3.24 Unknown Industry 3.16 Professional and Technical Services 2.11 Information 1.40 Wholesale Trade 1.28 Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction 0.89 Educational Services 0.55 Other Services (except Public Administration)
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THE PRODUCTION OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY TALENT 71 TABLE 3-13 Characteristics of Engineering Technologist and Technician Registered Apprentices in the RAPIDS Database, 1999–2014 Total Non-inmate Inmate Engineering Engineering Engineering Technologists Technologists Technologists and and and All Technicians Technicians Technicians Apprentices Apprentices in the 4,939 3,872 1,067 1,222,046 RAPIDS database Unionized Union 28.79% 36.73% 0.00% 60.44% Nonunion 68.05% 59.25% 100.00% 39.33% Unknown 3.16% 4.03% 0.00% 0.24% Gender Female 7.85% 7.85% 3.84% 6.80% Male 92.15% 91.12% 96.16% 91.66% Unknown 0.00% 1.03% 0.00% 1.54% Race/ethnicity White 71.39% 78.23% 46.58% 64.77% Black 14.56% 8.37% 37.02% 11.63% Hispanic 7.25% 6.02% 11.72% 16.11% Asian 2.15% 2.53% 0.75% 1.20% Hawaiian/Pacific 1.19% 1.42% 0.37% 0.76% Islander Native American 1.58% 1.39% 2.25% 1.44% Unknown 1.88% 2.04% 1.31% 4.08% Age at registration 16-20 4.66% 5.81% 0.47% 14.46% 21-25 11.93% 14.10% 4.03% 27.26% 26-30 16.00% 17.20% 11.62% 20.28% 31-35 16.70% 16.14% 18.75% 13.40% 36-40 15.75% 14.82% 19.12% 9.08% 41-45 14.09% 13.69% 15.56% 6.19% 46-50 11.30% 10.38% 14.62% 3.78% 51-55 5.73% 5.04% 8.25% 1.94% 55+ 3.77% 2.76% 7.40% 1.11% Unknown 0.07% 0.06% 0.18% 2.50% Mean age 36.4 35.2 40.3 29.4 Educational attainment ≤ 8th grade 0.18% 0.15% 0.28% 1.01% 9th-12th grade 4.13% 4.36% 3.28% 10.35% GED 14.38% 6.04% 44.61% 12.03% continued
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From page 72... ...
, the age differential is even starker for engineering technicians and technologists. Almost three-quarters of non-inmate apprentices report attaining a high school diploma or higher, including nearly 13 percent who report having a postsecondary degree or some form of technical training.
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From page 73... ...
Its apprenticeship program is called the "BMW Scholars Program," and it accepts more than 50 students into the program each year for a 2-year period that combines education with on-the-job training. The more traditional educational components of the apprenticeship are provided by Spartanburg Community College, Tri-County Tech, and Greenville Technical College.
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From page 74... ...
It is not registered with DOL-ETA and does not appear in the RAPIDS database, but it is regis tered with the state. The school is a highly regarded apprenticeship program that produces engineering technicians in collaboration with Thomas Nelson Community College, where apprentices may matriculate if they elect to pursue an advanced curriculum after their introductory shipbuilding and trade-related curriculum.13 The school also partners with Tidewater Com munity College and Old Dominion University (Fain, 2015)
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On-the-Job Training On-the-job training (OJT) is an essential source of human capital investment, particularly in fields that are rapidly changing due to technological development.
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As an alternative, we use data from the 2010 NSCG, which oversamples STEM graduates and provides a sufficiently large sample of engineering technologists. NSCG is not a perfect data source because it only collects information about bachelor's degree holders and is therefore not useful for understanding the OJT experiences of engineering technicians.
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engineering technologists. These training rates are much higher than are estimates of OJT for all Americans but are comparable to some estimates of the incidence of training for bachelor's degree holders.14 Lerman and colleagues (2004)
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From page 78... ...
The role of community colleges in the ET education pathway is evident in some of the project's survey results, discussed later in this chapter. CONNECTIONS TO PreK-12 EDUCATION The IPEDS data cover only the postsecondary education system and do not provide insight into pre-college educational experiences related to ET.
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From page 79... ...
Average ET credits and CTE credits declined not only in absolute terms but also as a percentage of all credits earned by high school graduates. Thus, although in the realm of postsecondary education 15 A credit in this context is the equivalent of a 1-year (two-semester)
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From page 80... ...
In the case of ET, NCES aligned the 48 CTE courses with CIP code 15, engineering technologies/technicians. It is worth noting that relatively few of the CTE courses in the ET category include the term "engineering technology" in their titles, hinting again at the confusion surrounding terminology in the field.
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From page 81... ...
Although much smaller than the teaching force in PreK-12 mathematics and science, the approximately 30,000 teachers certified in technology education (Moye, 2009) have played an important role over the past 15 years in exposing students to engineering ideas and practices.
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. The units address topics across the spectrum of technology and engineering, and they are used primarily by technology education programs in a 20-state consortium.
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And in spring 2016, the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) , which oversees the so-called Nation's Report Card, released results of the first-ever assessment of engineering and technology literacy among a large sample of American 8th graders (NAGB, 2016)
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From page 84... ...
. Combined with the federal data on the prevalence of degreeand certificate-earning described earlier in the chapter, this information provides insights into ET educational pathways.
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Transfer with an AAS in Engineering Technology to BS program 61.9 31.3 6.7 in Engineering Technology (N=134) Transfer with an AS in Engineering Technology to a BS program 21.6 47.7 30.6 in Engineering (N=111)
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From page 86... ...
Figure 3-7 of credits at the 2-year level was hindering transfers. Based on input from committee members with direct experience in ET education, we expected that the credit readiness of AAS degree earners might be less than that of AS degree recipients, because coursework for the former is often not designed to prepare students to continue to a 4-year program.16 For this reason, the survey asked only about the credit readiness of AAS ET graduates.
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. Other popular ways institutions stay connected to employers include interactions resulting from student internships and the relationships between career services personnel on campus and employer representatives.
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(N=68) Led to changes in curricula and pedagogy 69.9 70.6 Led to changes in institutional policy (e.g., recruiting more 2.4 4.4 diverse students)
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derived from the 2012 federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, and she eliminated duplicate institutions. She next went online to each school and attempted to find contact information for the institution's ET program(s)
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cSome of these 2-year engineering technology programs are offered by 4-year institutions. Respondent Demographics Respondents to the survey on ET education came from institutions located in 38 states and Puerto Rico.
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Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in engineering technology, 2-year degree
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Recent gradu ates of a 2-year AAS engineering technology degree program e. [This choice only for those with 4-year programs]
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For your students who graduate with an AAS degree in engineering technology, what percentage do you estimate would like to transfer within your institution or to another institution to obtain a 4-year
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Don't know 12. For students who graduate with an AAS degree in engineering technology but who lack course credits to transfer within your institution or to another institution to obtain a 4-year degree in engineering technology, which of the following is the most common academic area where credits are lacking?
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engi neering technology degrees in the areas served by your institution, which of the following characterizes your situation?
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d. Summer industrial work experiences (paid or unpaid)
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a. Engineering technology graduates are better prepared to do applied work, while engineering graduates have more prepara tion in higher-level science and mathematics.
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From page 98... ...
Employment and Education of Engineering Technology Students Daniel Kuehn, American University 10:15 a.m. Panel: Student Reflections on Engineering Technology Education Chris Cutter, Novellis, Kennesaw, GA Raven Poux, Camden Community College Brandi Rearden, Georgia Power Jason Bauer, Brenner Aero 11:15 a.m.
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Handy, Coordinator, Office of Career & Technology Education, Baltimore County Public Schools 2:30 p.m. Break 2:45 p.m.
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2010. "Imple menting a Formal Collaborative Mechanical Engineering Technology Internship Pro gram with Campus Research Activities." ASEE 2010 Annual Conference Proceedings, June 22-25, Pittsburgh, PA.
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TAACCT. Trade Adjustment Assistance Com munity College and Career Training Grant Program.
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2008. "A Model Partnership Between Penn State Harrisburg's Construction Engineering Technology Program and the Construction Industry." ASEE 2010 Annual Conference Proceedings, June 22-25, Pittsburgh, PA.
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