Long Term Performance Of Old Dominion University Engineering Technology Graduates

The long-term career patterns of Old Dominion University’s engineering technology baccalaureate graduates have been studied extensively. Results from approximately 400 alumni have been analyzed. The results of the analysis are presented and conclusions are drawn from the trends. The results indicate that the career progress of engineering technology graduates over a nearly twenty-year period is substantial and that they are performing effectively in a variety of career patterns. Introduction Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, Virginia awarded its first Bachelor of Science degrees in Engineering Technology in 1973, and accreditation by the Engineers Council for Professional Development (ECPD) was received in 1976. Accreditation was later transferred to the Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (TAC-ABET) following reorganization of the accrediting agency. The programs in Civil Engineering Technology (CET), Electrical Engineering Technology (EET), and Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) have maintained continuous accreditation since 1976. In preparation for an ABET visit in the fall of 1993, the department recently undertook an extensive study of the career patterns, occupational progress, and professional development of its graduates over the period since the first degrees were awarded. The survey form used for collecting data is provided in Appendix A of this report. The graduate had the option of remaining anonymous or of providing his or her name. The forms were mailed to over one-thousand alumni for whom addresses were available encompassing the entire period from 1973 through 1992. Approximately 400 alumni forms were received by the department, and about 98°/0 of the alumni chose to identify themselves. By scanning through the names of the alumni, there seemed to be just as many former “below-average” students as “above-average” students. We, therefore, believe that the returns represent a reasonable cross-section of the alumni population. With the exception of a few years for a few programs, which will be delineated in the analysis that follows, the number of returns per class was typically 15 or more. Thus, this constitutes a population sample sufficiently large to draw some general conclusions. In the sections that follow, a number of general patterns established from the data will be studied. The order is not necessarily the same as on the forms, and in some cases, the data may represent a slightly different format than given in the forms. The pertinent question on the form will be repeated at the top of the each table. In some of the studies, graduates are categorized according to the number of years since graduation, rounded to the nearest integer number of years. At the time of the survey, the largest integer number was 19 years, so the independent variable in those cases varies from 1 to 19. ?jiiiij 1996 ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings ‘.,+,yyil: P ge 104.1 During the period in which this study was being performed, an excellent paper by Mott [1] appeared, which indicated results of a similar study undertaken at the University of Dayton, Mott indicated the need for other studies to provide additional data of the type obtained. Our studies overlap and support many of Mott’s findings, but they provide some information from a different perspective, We, therefore, offer this study as an additional contribution to support and complement Mott’s study of the long-range performance of engineering technology graduates. Salary Study Based on the salary as of January 1, 1993, the mean values were computed for the three programs as a function of the number of years since graduation. Based on current dollars, it appears that EET and MET graduates tend to reach a level of approximately $50,000 after about 11 years, but CET graduates are somewhat behind. Beyond that point, the fluctuation in salaries increases, partly as a result of fewer data points, but also as a result of changes in career directions, i.e., management versus continued technical or engineering work. As a basis for comparison, a decision was made to compare ODU engineering technology salaries with Engineering Manpower Commission (EMC) data [2]. The latter data are based on national statistics concerning the salary progress of engineers throughout the country and are released periodically. The most recent data available were from mid1992, but they should be sufficiently close to the time period of this study to permit a valid comparison. Annual Salary vs Years Since Graduation ODU ET Compared to EMC Engineering Data