ECE/SYS integration: A strategy for evaluating graduates froma multi-year curriculum focused on technology systems integration

Abstract

In 2009, a group of seventeen students majoring in electrical, computer, or systems engineering became the first class of Leaders in Engineering Program (LEP) students at East Central State University1. The LEP is an undergraduate curriculum focused on developing knowledge and skills that address both component-level design (electrical or computer engineering) and systemlevel integration. The current situation for majors in electrical and computer engineering at East Central State University is that the curriculum is focused on developing strong technical skills to design and analyze electrical or computer engineering components. For systems majors, the curriculum is focused on developing rigorous skills for approaching a problem from a systems perspective and for modeling the performance of systems under conditions of uncertainty. The objective of the LEP is to develop systems engineering graduates with the ability to work on technology-oriented projects and electrical/computer engineering graduates with the ability to integrate their domainspecific designs into larger systems. The purpose of this paper is to describe the research plan for determining how well the LEP is able to accomplish its objectives for graduates. The initial group of seventeen students is in their senior year during the 2011-12 academic year and all are completing capstone design projects. Five of the seventeen students decided to drop out of the LEP at various times during the last two years. Statistical baseline data to be gathered includes the types of jobs each student pursues after graduation, the type and number of internships each student completes during their summers, and their overall academic success. Interviews with faculty advisors of LEP capstone projects will provide information on the performance of LEP students relative to their non-LEP peers on real world projects. Finally, a performance activity will be used to directly observe if and how LEP students approach systems integration problems differently from their peers. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education.