A Model for Initiating ABET-Accredited Engineering Degree Programs using Distance Education

This paper presents a model that uses distance education to establish rapidly and economically engineering programs at four-year institutions that would otherwise not have the resources to do so. With modest costs and little risk, this flexible model can be replicated at many of the 83% of U.S. colleges that do not now offer engineering degrees. Benedictine College (BC) is serving as the proving ground for the model’s full implementation and evaluation. After implementing the BC Engineering Model in Fall 2009, the new BC Engineering Department has established fiveyear dual-degree programs in each of the four major engineering disciplines (chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering) through a partnership with the University of North Dakota’s Distance Engineering Degree Program (UND DEDP). Over the past 1.5 years, the BC Engineering Department has grown rapidly to 45 students ranging from freshman to juniors in the program. The key element to the rapid growth of the BC Engineering Department is its ability to offer students the opportunity to pursue ABET-accredited degrees immediately through its partnership with UND DEDP. This paper presents the detailed model as well as some of the initial lessons learned during its implementation at Benedictine College.