Models For Direct Industry Support Of Us Civil Engineering Programs

Of the approximately 250 accredited civil engineering programs in the US, the proportion that have direct and formal advisement from local industry is unknown. Where present, external, corporate-style advisory boards made up of practicing engineers and executives from local engineering and construction firms provide formal support in the form of curricular development advice, scholarships and operational funding, as well as co-op and internship programs. The presence and involvement of advisory bodies focused on the departmental rather than the college or university level is perceived as a distinct program advantage and has been recognized by ABET program evaluators. Still, the relative benefits of direct industry support and advisement have not previously been measured. This paper will describe the various forms of informal and formal CE program support and present a survey methodology for evaluating whether these arrangements have a quantifiable effect on program success. A database of advisory boards from surveyed programs is presented and analyzed. The objectives of this work are to correlate the relative performance of CE programs' enrollment, research expenditures, and other factors with direct advisement and support by external boards; and to enumerate the co-incentives that advisory boards and CEprograms share. A case study is presented based on the Civil Engineering Institute (CEI), a nonprofit Virginia corporation and formal advisory board established in 1989 whose purpose is to assist with the Civil and Infrastructure Engineering program of GMU. The paper will finally present guidance and suggestions for implementing formal program support.