Strategic Vision
FY 2023-28
Updated: 5/2024
Research and Innovation
Facilitate the engagement of faculty from diverse engineering disciplines in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
We advance engineering education through the development, application and sharing of innovative teaching and learning practices.
Vision
We are passionate engineering educators devoted to developing and applying novel teaching and learning practices that support student learning and success. Our Integrated Design Engineering (IDE) program provides hands-on learning opportunities in all courses, continually examining, reporting on, and improving student experiences and outcomes in these courses. IDE鈥檚 projects-based courses, which serve students from across the college, provide the industry-like experience of working in design teams to plan and build an innovative solution to a design challenge. Our research activities continually improve the technical training and professional skills development provided in these courses.
In the next five years, we will:
- Be a trusted source of knowledge that informs improvements in engineering education across the learning continuum from pre-K, primary, secondary, post-secondary, graduate, and professional.
- Be a vibrant research community that informs improvements in engineering education within our college and beyond the campus boundaries.
To enable this vision, we will:
- Support teaching and learning excellence across the college by sharing best practices and the latest engineering education research.
- Engage in engineering education research and/or Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL).
Education
Transform learning experiences and outcomes
We educate our students to be creative and collaborative problem-solvers who are motivated to identify and address the world鈥檚 challenges.
Vision
Integrated Design Engineering (IDE) is a unique educational program that provides high-quality technical training through design-rich engineering curriculum. We are a flexible, student-centered program in which students pursue an emphasis in their desired engineering discipline plus a concentration in a self-selected field outside of engineering to broaden their training. We prepare students for careers in a broad range of industries and professions as well as the pursuit of professional and graduate degrees. The IDE program strives to provide a learning environment where innovation, creativity, and collaboration are central themes.
In the next five years, we will:
- Be a transformative engineering educational program that provides a strong technical background and cultivates the critical thinking ability, creative problem-solving skills, and professional ethics that well-prepare graduates to make significant contributions to society.
- Be recognized as a student-centered program that allows students autonomy to create a curriculum pathway that matches their unique interests and goals.
- Be a key partner in supporting first-year engineering and PES students in successfully transitioning into their chosen plan of study through our course offerings.
- Be leaders in the application of best practices in engineering education, including active learning and hand-on experiences.
- Be a key facilitator of interdisciplinary interactions among students and faculty from different CEAS disciplines as well as non-engineering disciplines across the campus.
To enable this vision, we will:
- Develop Bachelor鈥檚 Accelerated Maters (BAM) articulation agreements between IDE and other CEAS departments/programs offering MS degrees; yearly revisions as needed to accommodate curriculum changes within CEAS.
- Increase IDE's participation in the college's recruiting activities/events to increase the number of incoming first-year IDE students.
- Increase IDE's participation in the college's first-year experience and outreach to open option and PES students.
- Provide yearly Professional Development for IDE faculty around Engineering Design and implement it into IDE courses.
- Identify needs for new courses and/or the incorporation of new topics (e.g., sustainability) into existing courses.
- Contribute to establishing a vibrant academic community that supports the productivity and retention of Engineering Education doctoral students by actively participating in ENED operations (e.g., recruiting, seminar series) and community building events.
Inclusion
Foster a culture of inclusion
We continually strive to cultivate a learning and working environment that is positive for all members of our community.
Vision
We are a program that recognizes and values the unique contributions of our diverse faculty, staff, and students. Our faculty and staff strive to work collaboratively toward program operations that meet the goals and expectations of all. We also strive to design course elements and community engagement opportunities that support the diverse lived experiences, interests, and goals of our students and celebrate the identities and accomplishments of all members of our learning community.
In the next five years, we will:
- Be an educational program that provides personalized engineering pathways that align with the unique needs of individual students.
- Be leaders in the application of inclusive teaching practices through creating a culture of accountability.
- Be a vibrant educational program, that fosters an intentional interdisciplinary learning community that embraces whole-person development, ensuring a holistic approach to community building.
To enable this vision, we will:
- Design and host IDE community-building events (e.g., celebrating the identities and accomplishments of our community members, sharing opportunities, and lived experiences/pathways).
- Provide faculty and staff trainings in Inclusive Teaching topics such as Universal Design for Learning, Cultural Competency, Ally Training and/or others (one topic per year).
- Provide mentoring for faculty and staff, including exploration of strengths assessments and communication styles of faculty and staff to facilitate better working and teaching relationships.