THE
UNIVERSITY SENATE OF MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
PROPOSAL 19-08
“GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN ADVANCED ELECTRIC
POWER ENGINEERING “
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Department
(Voting
Units: Academic)
I. General Description
This proposal recommends
establishing a “Graduate Certificate in Advanced Electric Power Engineering”
through the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Students completing this Certificate will further
develop their competencies in electric power engineering. Students enrolling in this certificate will
have a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, or
a degree in a closely related field with at least 3 years experience working in
the electric power engineering field.
II. Catalog Description
The Graduate Certificate in Advanced Electric
Power Engineering program provides the student with advanced knowledge of the
operation and design of electric power systems.
It is expected that students beginning this Certificate have a working
understanding of electric power system analysis equivalent to that gained in
EE4221. Please check the Undergraduate
Course Descriptions for details.
II. Rationale
The U.S. electric energy industry is facing a
shortage of engineering talent. This was
the topic of the NSF Workshop on the Future of Power Engineering Workforce held
in November 2007. This workshop,
co-sponsored by the IEEE Power Engineering Society, brought together utility
executives, government regulators, and academics. In discussing employment trends with several
energy industry employers, it is apparent that a large proportion of their
engineering staff is within 5-7 years of retirement and there is a shortage of
early to mid-career engineers. This
workplace demographic is a result of the uncertainties that arose during the
recent restructuring of the electric utility industry. During this period, utilities, uncertain of
their future, cut back on the hiring of engineers.
To correct this problem, employers have
become more aggressive in hiring graduating engineers and have become
interested in retraining existing engineering staff. They recognize their need for highly trained
staff in order to handle their research and development needs as well as the
application of new technology.
Due to a decline in the number of Electric
Power programs throughout the country, many of the new electrical engineers the
utilities, consulting firms, and power equipment manufacturers will hire will
not have a strong electric power background.
In addition, many of these companies’ existing engineering staffs do not
have a strong background in electric power.
This Certificate program is designed, in
consultation with electric utilities, to address these educational needs. It is based upon our successful offering
online of our course work Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering. Some of the engineers do not want an MS degree,
but do want some formal recognition of having taken a coherent body of
work.
All of the lecture courses will be offered
online to accommodate engineers’ work schedules.
III. Related Programs
The Graduate Certificate in Advanced Electric Power Engineering is related to the
proposed Certificate in Electric Power Engineering at the undergraduate level and
to the Electric Power programs contained in the BS, MS and PhD programs in
Electrical Engineering. This Certificate
uses the same courses as the existing degree programs.
There are similar courses
offered on-line from Arizona State, Kansas State, and the University of
Idaho. A certificate program will be a
differentiator which will make our program more appealing.
IV. Projected
Enrollment
It is expected that we will have
a steady state enrollment of 10-15 students.
V. Scheduling
No change in the time scheduling
of the existing courses is anticipated.
EE4221 and EE4222 will be delivered in a studio classroom to accommodate
the on-line delivery. The other courses
are already delivered on-line.
VI. Curriculum
Design
Required Courses (3
Credits)
EE 5200 – Advanced Methods in Power Sys – 3
Elective Courses (12
Credits, no more than 3 Credits below 5000)
EE 4222 – Power System
Analysis 2 – 3
EE
5220 - Transient Analysis Methods – 3
EE 5223 - Power
System Protection – 3
EE 5230 - Power System
Operations – 3
EE 5240 – Computer Modeling of Power Systems – 3
EE 5250 – Distribution Engineering –
3
EE
5260 - Wind Power – 3
EE
5290 - Selected Topics in Power Systems – 3
EE
6210 - Power System Dynamics and Stability – 3
Total 15 Credits
VII. New Course descriptions
Not applicable
VIII. Library and other Learning Resources
Students in this program will need only the Library
resources presently available to all enrolled students.
IX. Computing Access Fee
Students enrolled in this Certificate will be
charged the same fees and follow the same policies as those enrolled in the
Master’s of Science in Electrical Engineering program.
X. Faculty Resumes
(see attached) L.J.
Bohmann, B.A. Mork, D.O. Wiitanen
XI. Need equipment
No special equipment is needed for this program
XII. Program Costs
All the courses are existing
courses and are presently being taught on a regular basis.
All the existing courses except
EE 4221 and EE 4222 are already taught online.
ETS has indicated that they can accommodate these additional online
courses.
XIII. Space
No additional space is needed
XIV. Policies,
Regulations, and Rules.
Students may apply the credits
earned for this certificate toward both a graduate degree at Michigan
Technological University and this certificate.
XV. Accreditation Requirements
None
XVI. Internal
Status of the proposal.
Approved by the College of
Engineering
XVII. Planned
Implementation Date
Fall 2008.
Adopted by Senate: 19 March 2008
Approved by Administration: 7 April 2008