A Curriculum Model For Preparing Cet Graduates For Positions In Structural Design

This paper presents a curriculum model for preparing Civil-Engineering Technology (CET) baccalaureate degree graduates for positions in structural design. The evolution of this model was dictated in large measure by the nature of design positions that are available to civil engineering technology graduates in Virginia, and to the nature of the student that we are currently educating. The paper discusses the changes in the curriculum that have been made necessary by the change in the student makeup coming from the traditional on-campus program and from the distance learning program known as TELETECHNET. The typical student has changed from being a full-time, recently graduated from high school or community college transfer, to being a parttime, full-time working adult. The nature of his work is often as technician, draftsman, or even junior engineer at an engineering design firm. The authors’ philosophy on the necessity for integrating the use of computers and software in the teaching of design and analysis is presented. An equally strong insistence is placed on the teaching of appropriate methods to check and verify the correctness of computer results. An overview is provided of the content of the structural courses in the CET program at Old Dominion University, so as to give substance to the curriculum model. Introduction – The Structural Design and Construction Management Emphasis The Civil Engineering Technology (CET) Program at Old Dominion University (ODU) has a choice of three elective tracks that may be selected by a student in his junior and senior years. They are the general CET emphasis, the structural design and construction management emphasis, and the surveying and site development emphasis. Within the structural design and construction management emphasis, the structural courses are shown below: Structural Courses Structural Analysis Computer Applications in Structural Design Reinforced Concrete Design Structural Steel Design Reinforced Masonry and Wood Design Building Structures Design Laboratory