Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 December 2009 10:15 Written by Staff Wednesday, 01 April 2009 13:15

A proposal to create an Iron Range based four-year engineering degree from Minnesota State University-Mankato was approved by the Iron Range Resources board on Tuesday March 31st. Starting this coming fall 2009, students will have a new opportunity in continuing their engineering education on the Iron Range.

In an exciting collaboration of faculty and resources, the Northeast Higher Education District (the governing body of the Iron Range’s five community colleges),Arrowhead University (governing body of upper division and graduate level programming for northeastern Minnesota) and Minnesota State University Mankato will begin delivery of a unique project-based Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

After completing the required prerequisites at Minnesota community colleges (usually two years), students will be able to finish their degree in two years without leaving the Iron Range.  These students will work on projects sponsored by external organizations (industry and non-profit) to develop their knowledge and skills with respect to the program learning outcomes specified by ABET, the organization that accredits engineering programs. Supervised by engineering faculty members, student teams will organize their learning and development around concurrent projects so that the Minnesota infrastructure becomes their classroom.  Initially, the scenario-based program will be offered to 12-15 engineering students in fall 2009. Over time, the program will grow to 100 students (25 in each cohort).

National reports have called for significant changes to engineering programs so that engineering graduates in 2020 will be significantly more prepared to address the socio-technical challenges in the future. The proposed program will implement many of the recommendations in these national reports. Many companies have demonstrated interest in new approaches to engineering education, and their active participation will be the key to the success of the program. It also builds on the innovations in the two-year curriculum at Itasca Community College as well as other innovations throughout the country. This program is an initial implementation of creative, dynamic, flexible, industry-responsive academic programs.

There are five keys to the program

·         Use industry as the classroom so students learn engineering in the same context they will practice it.

·         Student learning outcomes based on externally sponsored projects so they connect their learning to applications.

·         Ongoing assessment that provides data about the development of the students with respect to these learning outcomes.

·         Emphasis by faculty members on reflection and self-assessment so that students develop their abilities to evaluate and improve on their learning.

·         Students are organized in living, learning communities similar to Itasca Community College to promote learning and development.

With the input from experts on engineering education from across the world and aggressive professional development programs for the participating faculty, the program will apply the latest research on how people learn engineering most effectively (e.g., guided, inquiry-based learning; systematic formative feedback, and learning in groups and communities).

MORE DETAILS TO COME!