A renewable energy specialization in an electronics engineering technology curriculum

Abstract

Corporations facing the challenge of developing energy-efficient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly products and power sources are seeking engineers and technologists with expanded skill sets to meet these demands. In order to address this need, a renewable energy specialization within an already existing curriculum in Electronics Engineering Technology (EET) was developed. The goals of this specialization are to give students a contemporary option of study to attract those that might otherwise not be interested in engineering technology, to increase program persistence and completion, to provide campus-based and online delivery options for the education, and to better prepare students interested in careers in power and renewable energy industries. The renewable energy curriculum is offered campus-based, which accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC) of ABET, and its online equivalent, which has not sought ETAC of ABET accreditation to date. The curriculum builds on the fundamentals of biology, chemistry, physics, electronics, environmental science, and mathematics required as prerequisites to advance the student into focused coursework in environmental economics, conservation principles, sustainability, environmental sociology, power transmission and generation, alternative energy, power electronics, and renewable energy management. This paper presents the formal structure of the overall curriculum, the sequence of courses within the renewable energy specialization, a general description of the content within each specialization specific course, and a mapping of the program outcomes to an assessment strategy. First graduates are expected to complete the specialization by the end of Spring 2014, when an analysis and evaluation of direct assessment data will be conducted and reviewed. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2014.