Using Self Assessment To Evaluate The Effectiveness Of An Engineering Management Course With Cross Functional Teams

A self-assessment tool was used to measure the effectiveness of an undergraduate capstone course in systems design/engineering management taught at Rutgers University. To quantify the impact of the course, a self-assessment behavior-oriented survey was used called the Team Developer TM , which measured the student team members on several cognitive and behavioral skills. The foundation of the course was built around an industry simulation. Students were organized into teams or “companies” that had to develop a proposal to win a contract from “NASA” for development of a colony on Mars. Lectures were given by interdisciplinary faculty from throughout the university, industry, and the NASA community on the engineering disciplines needed to develop their subsystems and the engineering management and proposal skills needed to design, integrate, and draft a proposal to win an engineering contract. This course allowed students to use innovative design principles to solve complex problems and strengthen this with engineering management and business skills. The Team Developer TM showed a positive impact of the course on the student’s behavior and activities in the four areas of collaboration, communication, decision-making, and self-management. Rutgers University recognized this course in 2000 with its award for Excellence in Academic Creativity and Innovation.