Work in progress: Integration of civil engineering design software into the curriculum to enhance career readiness skills

Abstract

The professional practice of Civil Engineering relies on both the understanding of fundamental engineering concepts and the ability to use software for efficiently designing buildings, bridges, roads, sites and infrastructure pipe networks. The Civil Engineering Department at the University of Hartford has embraced the challenge of updating many of our courses to include the use of Civil3D into all four years of the students' curriculum to enhance learning and to improve students' success in landing a career. Based on advice from the Department's Advisory Board, Civil3D was selected as the software platform that is used throughout the civil engineering industry. This initiative supports the overriding theme of the Third Edition of the Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge that is “focused on preparing the future civil engineer for entry into the practice of civil engineering at the professional level [1].” Specifically, the use of design software enhances the Engineering Fundamental Outcome of Critical Thinking & Problem Solving and the Technical Outcome of Design. The assignments used in junior and senior level courses focus both on the technical (e.g. size and slope of pipe) and constructability/maintainability (e.g. proximity to other utilities and access for maintenance) aspects of design that engineers face in practice. The Department leveraged a faculty development grant to pay professors to learn the software and to build it into the curriculum for their classes. The Department also partnered with Eagle Point Software to make their on-line training platform available to every civil engineering student and faculty member to provide on-demand assistance with Civil3D and AutoCad commands and work flows. In its second year of implementation, we have observed significant improvement of Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (CADD), problem solving, and design skills in our senior class. Our Advisory Board members and alumni have advised us of the importance of frequent use of computer design skills to achieve fluency in applying the skills for the practice of engineering at the professional level. Assessment of the project is achieved through review of project assignments and project deliverables with working professionals who have and will continue to provide feedback relating to the skills our students are demonstrating and through the direct polling of current students. We also intend to begin polling employers of recent graduates about the level of preparedness for the job.