Mission Creep In Engineering Technology Education?

At this juncture in the development of engineering technology education, it is critical not to lose sight of the mission of engineering technology. Two specific challenges to the engineering technology traditional mission are the issues of ‘basic faculty credentials’ and changing expectations for ‘creative activities’. These two challenges can be delineated by the following questions: Will a doctorate degree be necessary for engineering technology faculty in the future for promotion and tenure in the university environment? Will applied research or pedagogical research be ‘good enough’? This paper addresses these two issues by analyzing a research study of current engineering technology faculty hiring practices. Data are presented showing the change in faculty credentials and faculty hiring practices over the last two years. Ultimately, discussion within the engineering technology community must occur as engineering technology education continues to evolve and move into the future. Academic Institution Background The Purdue School of Engineering and Technology is located on the Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus. The IUPUI campus was formed in 1969 to combine the Indiana University and Purdue University degree programs, which were located on separate regional campuses in Indianapolis. IUPUI has an enrollment of 29,032 students (fall 2002) and is the third largest university in Indiana. The North Central Association (NCA) accredits IUPUI. The School of Engineering and Technology offers seventeen undergraduate associate and/or baccalaureate degree programs in engineering technology and eight baccalaureate or graduate degree programs in engineering. The majority of the engineering and engineering technology degree programs are ABET accredited. The school has an enrollment of approximately 2,600 full and part time undergraduate students. In terms of relative size in the engineering technology community, the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology ranks 3 nationally in enrollment by school, 2 in the number of degrees awarded to women and 8 in the total number of Bachelor of Science degrees awarded. “Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Education” P ge 856.1 Engineering Technology Mission Engineering technology education in the United States can trace its history back to the Wickenden and Spahr study of 1931, which identified the place of engineering technology education in the technical spectrum. By 1946, the first engineering technology program was accredited using procedures developed by the Engineering Council for Professional Development. Over the last 57 years, engineering technology education in the United States has distinguished itself by a history of evolution and continuous improvement. Engineering technology education is in the midst of radical change and is facing several challenges during the next decade. The radical change is driven in part by the evolution of accreditation philosophies and the rapid evolution of computer technology. The change is also driven by the changing expectations of the educational process by the stakeholders in engineering technology including not only students and faculty but also various groups in both the public and private sectors. The mission of engineering technology education in the United States traditionally has been reasonably well defined. Engineering technology’s mission has evolved through both historical practice and guidance of accrediting agencies. The educational mission has focused on the application of engineering principles through concentration on undergraduate degree programs. Engineering technology’s traditional approach to creative endeavors has concentrated on pedagogical research, applied research and industrial engagement. This mission has distinguished engineering technology from engineering that traditionally has an educational focus on engineering science theory and development of graduate programs along with theoretical research focus. Evidence exists that this traditional differentiation between engineering and technology is undergoing change due to several factors, both internal and external. A key external factor affecting the engineering technology programs is the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). ABET is driving change through its evolving requirements for accreditation of engineering technology programs. Both the Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) and Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET are implementing performance-based criteria for accredited degree programs. This shift in accreditation criteria will potentially result in a higher degree of commonality in pedagogy between engineering and engineering technology programs as a result of the increased flexibility of accreditation requirements. Internal factors affecting engineering technology faculty may include changing expectations for faculty promotion and tenure at many universities. Anecdotal data indicates that many institutions have rising expectation for all faculty that is directly tied to tenure and promotion requirements. These rising expectations typically include funded research activities.