A General Engineering Technology Program For Navy Technical Personnel: A Cd Rom Based Curriculum

Old Dominion University (ODU) has offered Bachelor of Science degrees in engineering technology for over 30 years. The programs in Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering Technology have maintained continuous accreditation by TAC of ABET since 1976. These programs have been delivered via ODU's interactive video TELETECHNET system to distance learning students in Virginia and other selected sites for more than 10 years. In 1999, the Department of Engineering Technology saw a need to develop a General Engineering Technology (GET) program to provide educational opportunities to students with a wide variety of educational and work backgrounds. The availability of this program and communications with the U. S. Department of the Navy resulted in the formulation of an asynchronous CD-ROM based General Engineering Technology program under the auspices of the Navy College Rating Partnership program. ODU is partnered with other institutions to provide the program to personnel located aboard ships and at other facilities. Naval experience and schooling are used extensively to satisfy some of the lower-division technical credits. The upper-division courses will be offered on CD-ROM, with both audio and video. The program has an Electro-Mechanical orientation, and along with the major in General Engineering Technology, a graduate will earn a minor in Engineering Management. A description of the program is provided within this paper. Some of the problems encountered and possible solutions will be described. The program is believed to offer significant educational opportunities for Naval personnel in many technical ratings.