Site Team Report

14. The North Central Association Criteria

The College of Engineering at Michigan Technological University consists of seven departments: Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Geological Engineering and Sciences, Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, and Mining Engineering. Each department offers one or more degrees at the BS, MS, and Ph.D. levels. All of these programs are appropriate to an institution of higher education. The Dean and the department chairs are capable leaders.

All undergraduate degree programs are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technologies (ABET), which monitors the academic quality of these degrees. The Michigan Technological University has full accreditation for all B.S. degrees offered in engineering. The next ABET review of the programs will occur in the fall of 1998 using the outcomes-based ABET 2000 Criteria. Therefore the engineering programs are deeply involved in the definition of goals, objectives, and outcome assessment.

The college has distance education initiatives which are tied to regional industry needs. Experiments are taking place or being developed at the undergraduate and graduate levels. This is a very commendable direction, but it is important that the quality of the programs be maintained as the new methods of teaching and learning are implemented [Concern 8].

The graduate programs and research have been growing with many of the Ph.D. programs created within the last ten years. The faculty are strong and involved in research and are able to effectively deliver these graduate programs. Present expenditures of external research funds amounts to about $75,000 per faculty member. This is above the level for peer institutions in the Carnegie Doctoral II university classification. The college intends to continue to increase this level.

The catalog descriptions of the courses appear to be up-to-date and accurate. Each undergraduate program requires a general education sequence that stimulates the examination and understanding of personal, social, and civic values. Appropriate teamwork activities, projects, and other assignments stimulate interaction among students and faculty.

Assessment All engineering departments have defined goals and implemented assessment measures. They are each in the early stages of analyzing the results and there has been little attempt to feed back these results to modify the curriculum or other departmental activities. This is a faculty-led process that is moving toward a good process. The university has set up a structure to provide overall organization of assessment and all departments appear to be demonstrating mastery of the level of knowledge appropriate to the degree granted. Student retention is above the norm for engineering programs.

Finances The college is able to operate effectively with present resources. Student computing facilities are excellent due to the way student computing fees are returned to the departments for local use. Salaries of faculty in engineering while reasonable are not competitive with some major research universities in the area [Suggestion 1]. The total budget available to engineering is below that for a typical Carnegie Doctoral I or Research II institution. Faculty development and supply funds are tight.

Advice

1. The assessment must continue to be developed. It would be good to include surveys from existing students in the information used by the departments in assessing the students perception of the learning that has occurred.
2. The college needs to be aggressive in locating and hiring minority faculty (none have been hired within the last ten years and very few are currently on the faculty).
3. The faculty reward structure needs to be evaluated and revised so that all faculty contributions needed by a university with strong undergraduate, graduate, and research programs are recognized.
4. The college should work to bring industry to the local area. The intellectual base of the faculty and students has a large value to some industries. The interaction with these industries would help maintain a vibrant campus, provide job opportunities for students and spouses, and would improve marketing and reputation of the campus [Suggestion 12].
5. The College should consider moving rapidly to establish a B.S. degree in Computer Engineering, a field in high demand by potential students and by employers.
6. Overall the College of Engineering is strong and is continuing to improve. It is a major factor in the excellent reputation and the future of Michigan Technological University.

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