Impact on the Local Industry and Student’s Success from Integration of Internship and Senior Design

The School of Engineering at Western Illinois University-Quad Cities in Moline, IL offers a general B.S. in Engineering that recently received ABET accreditation. This young program has experienced explosive early growth in enrollment from the previous years and achieved an 84% retention rate. It is the only four-year engineering degree offered at a public institution within 60 miles of the local metropolitan area. The heart of our partnership with industry for student success is the Engineering Senior Design and Internship. A one-semester internship and the twosemester design project requirement provide the program a reason to engage and involve industry partners. Students typically complete their internship with an engineering firm prior to their senior year. During the internship, they often identify a Senior Design project. When this occurs, the company’s project manager oversees project progress and the obtaining of the company’s objectives. On the academic side, a project advisor coordinates with the company to ensure that the project meets all of the engineering programs Student Outcomes and Learning Objectives. The collaboration between the School of Engineering and the local community has been positive and very successful. In this paper, several Senior Design projects are discussed. The assessment and evaluation of ABET Student Outcomes using the Senior Design course is presented and discussed as a means of directly measuring curriculum success. Engineering’s Senior Design course has had a direct impact on the local community, often with a significant return on investment for industrial partners. The significance of this community engagement has resulted not only in the employment of all of our seniors at graduation, but also in the program’s rapid growth.