Comparison Of Student Performance With Professional Performance

Mock bid lettings allow construction-engineering students to compare their cost estimates with professional cost estimates under highly realistic conditions. Since the cost estimates are based on the construction process designs, the mock bid letting validates the construction process design developed by the students. This paper describes the mock bid letting that is jointly sponsored by Iowa State University, Iowa Department of Transportation and the Associated General Contractors of Iowa. Several steps are involved in the mock bid letting process and the students work in groups of three or four. They obtain contract documents from the contracting authority and attend presentations on transportation construction cost estimating. Then each group is assigned to a professional cost estimator who acts as a mentor. The groups visit the job site with their mentors and then develop a prime contractor cost estimate. A substantial portion of the cost estimate is subcontractor and supplier quotes. Such quotes are provided to students directly from actual subcontractors and suppliers as if they were quoting professional contractors. The bids are submitted to the contracting agency at the same time and according to the same rules as the professional bids. If the student bids are responsive, they are read aloud after the professional bids. The paper briefly describes how mock bid lettings are conducted and provides a rubric for evaluating student work. Student bids and professional bids are compared and reasons for differences are explained. A list of lessons learned and recommendations for future bid lettings are also provided.