Engineering Technology Education in the United States (2017) / Chapter Skim
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The emergence of ET as an academic discipline can be traced to the mid-1950s, when curricula in traditional engineering programs began to focus more heavily on advanced science and mathematics coursework. The resulting de-emphasis on student hands-on laboratory work was a key factor in establishment of the first 2-year (associate's degree)
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By this measure, there were about 400,000 ET workers in the United States in 2013. In our report, we use the term "technologist" to refer to a person with a 4-year degree in engineering technology or with a 4-year degree in another subject whom the federal government considers to be working as a technician or technologist.1 We define a "technician" to be a person with a 2-year ET degree or someone without a 4-year degree whom the federal government classifies as working as a technician or technologist.
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13-14) STATEMENT OF TASK To shed light on the status, role, and needs of ET education in the United States, the National Academy of Engineering, with funding from the National Science Foundation, assembled a 14-member study committee to examine these issues.
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The committee's full report presents and analyzes these data in detail and includes findings and recommendations in four areas: • the nature of engineering technology education, • supply and demand, • educational and employment pathways, and • data collection and analysis. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO THE NATURE OF ET EDUCATION From the perspectives of workforce and education policy in the United States, there appears to be little awareness of ET as a field of study or a category of employment.
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RECOMMENDATION 1: Within academia, it is critical for leaders of 2-year and 4-year ET programs to engage more meaningfully in discus sion with leaders in postsecondary engineering education about the similarities and differences between the two variants of engineering and how they might complement one another while serving the interests of a diverse student population. This engagement can be accomplished in dialog within and between individual institutions; through work by discipline-based and affinity engineering professional societies; and by leaders within the American Society for Engineering Education, such as the Engineering Technology Council, the Engineering Deans Council, and the Corporate Member Council.
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have found that an aging workforce is often an indication of business expectations of weak future demand. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO EDUCATIONAL AND EMPLOYMENT PATHWAYS Compared with engineering, ET education programs, particularly at the 2-year level, are more attractive to older students and students currently underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
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These and related questions might be addressed in studies supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) or by revisions in relevant survey instruments administered by NSF, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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For example, ET degree data reported through IPEDS currently uses a coding scheme that includes field and subfields titles that do not contain the term "engineering technology." And because of confusion about degree types within engineering-related fields, other datasets such as the American Community Survey (ACS) and NSCG, which rely on self-reports by individual survey participants, may include misclassifications.
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In addition, existing nationally representative surveys, such as ACS, CPS, and NSCG, should consider collecting more detailed information from 4-year degree holders and add questions pertaining to sub-baccalaureate populations, as appropriate. ACS and NSCG, which rely on self-reported data, might consider including prompts in their survey instruments to encourage more accurate reporting of degree information from ET degree holders.
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