Developing An Engineering Technology Curriculum: A Case Study At Western Carolina University

Abstract

Institutions providing engineering technology programs have been adjusting to changing needs of their students and industry, and that those institutions which are not responding to market needs on a timely basis are discontinuing their programs. Recent growth in student enrollment in engineering programs may explain a part of the shift by some institutions away from engineering technology programs which are sometimes considered a lower subset of engineering. Engineering technology two year associate degree programs as well as four year bachelor degree programs are common in the United States, and are generally more hands-on, less theoretical programs than engineering programs which are almost always four year bachelors programs. Engineering technology courses generally require less math in their curriculum than engineering courses to obtain accreditation. While the job prospects for technologists are very good, engineering graduates are sometimes considered more valuable by some employers.At Western Carolina University in North Carolina, program administrators have developed a distance format, engineering technology program for working professionals which provides a flexible curriculum that promotes transfer of two-year community college credits into a four-year program to foster bachelor degree completion in the shortest amount of time. The program administrators desire to accredit the program through the Accreditation Board of Engineering Technology (ABET). This paper provides a discussion of the considerations which must be taken to apply for ABET accreditation for a nontraditional, general engineering technology program.Recently, there has been an upward trend in the number of college students in four year educational programs in the United States. There were about 14 million students at four year