Re-inventing engineering education one new school at a time

Abstract

Schools like the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering and the U.A. Whitaker School of Engineering at Florida Gulf Coast University had the unusual opportunity to start from a blank slate in terms of curricula, faculty, and facilities. In both cases, new and different ways of educating engineers, which were based on published pedagogy and forward-thinking reports, were explored as engineering programs were developed, resulting in many similarities in spite of the obvious differences in terms of public and private funding. Both Olin and the WSOE emphasize hands-on learning and provide facilities that support this approach. Both foster cultures of assessment, feedback, and continuous improvement and provide opportunities for students to learn about entrepreneurship and pursue entrepreneurial activities. This is made possible at Olin through its partnership with Babson College,14 a business school that is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) and at the WSOE by its initial incubation in the Lutgert College of Business,16 which is accredited by the same organization. Finally, both Olin and the WSOE clearly value multidisciplinary learning as demonstrated through their curricula and course offerings, and both expect their graduates to contribute to both their profession and their communities. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2010.