<p>The National Academy of Engineering has made some suggestions for overhauling undergraduate engineering education. It might be useful reading if you are shopping for an engineering program.</p>
<p>Suggestions include:
(1) The BS should be a "pre-engineering" degree, the MS should be the professional degree.
(2) Expose students to the essence of engineering early with realistic team problem solving and appreciation for social relevance
(3) Students should be taught to be life-long learners and continually educate themselves about new developments
(4) Engineering education should require study of humanities and foreign languages.
(5) Curricula should be based on ABET criteria
(6) Develop new standards for faculty qualifications. For example, more engineering faculty should have practical industry experience. Faculty professional growth should be a priority.
(7) Teach students to define and solve engineering problems.
(8) Use case studies of engineering successes AND failures as a learning tool. The lessons of engineering failure are often lost when the innocent are sacrificed and the guilty promoted. The opportunity to learn from mistakes is often lost.
(9)Encourage domestic (US) undergrads to go on to earn the MS or PhD
(10) The NSF should collect data about engineering program approach and student outcomes so prospective freshmen can better understand the engineering school marketplace.
(11) The freshman year should not be "sink or swim".
(12) Help promote engineering-related K-12 education, inform high-schoolers about what engineers do, and encourage domestic students to study engineering.</p>
<p>The report recommends that the NSF collect data about student retention, reasons for dropping out, where drop-outs go, how much time it takes to get a degree, graduation percent, who gets jobs and where, who goes to graduate school and where.</p>
<p>I wonder what other information NSF should collect...</p>