INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION DIGEST
27
June 2000
Copyright
© 2000 World Expertise LLC – All rights reserved
A
periodic electronic newsletter for engineering education leaders,
edited
by Russel C. Jones, PhD., P.E.
ASEE
Annual Meeting held – The annual meeting of the American Society for
Engineering Education was held in St. Louis MO from June 18-21. At the opening
session, Executive Director Frank Huband reported that society membership was
growing, and that the percentage of members who were women was growing very
rapidly – particularly younger women. He also reported that due to the Web
centered approach being taken by ASEE, the Society now offers a Global
Online Membership for $39 annually. The papers presented at the annual
meeting are available on the ASEE Web site, a searchable database including all
proceedings papers for the recent conference and back to 1996. See http://www.asee.org
Drops
in enrollment threaten economy – A new report from the National Science
Board warns that continuing declines in admissions to graduate programs in
engineering and science may lead to a shortage of skilled workers in technology
fields – a shortage that could hurt the US economy. Following four decades of
annual increases, enrollment in graduate school science programs fell each year
from 1993 to 1997 (the last year for which data are available). The declines
were blamed on a drop in the number of foreign students, the surging economy,
lack of faculty openings, and other factors. The chairman of the science board,
Eaman M. Kelly, stated, “…there’s a very large national problem with the
potential inadequacy of the science-and-engineering work force as it relates to
the needs of the country”. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2000/06/2000062301n.htm
Workshop
on continuing engineering education – During the annual meeting of SEFI in
Paris (September 6-8, 2000), the Working Group on Continuing Engineering
Education will hold a Workshop – on September 8th. Title of the
workshop is “From face-to-face continuing engineering education to education
via the Internet”. Topics include a summary of the status of virtual
continuing education for engineers in Europe, and a case study featuring the
FACILE Project. For SEFI annual meeting information in general, see http://www.sefi.be
Ranking
of colleges – In an opinion article in the June 16th Chronicle
of Higher Education, Milton Greenberg asks why universities allow U.S.
News and World Report to be the major source of information on how the
public evaluates how their institution stacks up against their peers. He
attributes much of the problem to the secretive nature of the accreditation
process, and the lack of public understanding of such processes. He proposes
that America’s colleges should rank themselves, by making public use of the
official peer review process – accreditation. He points out that this could
answer the challenge of the imperfect U.S. News rankings, and meet higher
education’s responsibility for public accountability. See http://chronicle.com/weekly/v46/i41/41b01001.htm
Internet
courses draw professors – In the medical field, commercial sites are
outbidding medical schools for instructors in continuing education. In an
information technology article in the June 16th Chronicle, Katherine
Mangan notes that prominent medical professors are being showered with offers to
share their expertise online with national audiences – not by campus-based
programs, but by commercial ventures. While medical schools typically offer $200
to $400 per appearance, for-profit groups are typically offering $1000 – with
real high-fliers getting $3000 to $5000. Demand is high, as 36 states now
require physicians to get continuing education each year. Rather than feeling
threatened by such commercial ventures, some medical schools are considering
partnerships. See http://chronicle.com/free/v46/i41/41a03701.htm
Lifelong
learning for alumni – Colleges are now eyeing a large, untapped market for
distance education – their own alumni – according to an opinion article in
the Chronicle. According to the authors, Glenn Altschuler and Ralph
Janis, initiatives are announced almost every day: an Internet MBA from Duke,
engineering courses from Stanford, for-profit distance education courses from
NYU and Columbia, etc. This follows the more traditional approach colleges have
pursed in the past, encouraging alumni to return to campus for summer courses
and joining tours led by faculty members. Faculty member are being encouraged to
use new technologies to serve the lifelong educational needs of the alumni of
their institutions, to generate a new revenue stream and to supplement faculty
salaries. See http://chronicle.com/weekly/v46/i41/41b00801.htm
Free
education to boost sales – An ‘online university’ has been created by
Barnes & Noble.com as the latest in a series of efforts by businesses to
attract and retain customers by offering free education. Sarah Carr reports in
the Chronicle that while the companies involved say that such projects
are unrelated to traditional higher education, they use the terminology of
academe. Barnes and Noble says that their offerings are intended to build brand
loyalty, and to help sell more goods and services. A typical course might have
from six to twelve lessons of about 30 minutes each, with the opportunity to
communicate with instructors during scheduled office hours. See http://chronicle.com/free/2000/06/2000060601u.htm
Letters
of recommendation suspect – Writing in the June 30th Chronicle,
Alison Schneider says that institutions of higher education can no longer
trust letters of recommendation to be objective. He says that puffery is
rampant, evasion abounds, and deliberate obfuscation is the rule of the day.
Thus peer review, one of academe’s central mechanisms, may be flawed. In
letters supporting job candidates who have been their students, for example,
faculty members may be overcome by the desire to see their students succeed. In
other situations, everyone fears lawsuits, reprisals, and frayed relations with
colleagues. But even people who acknowledge the problems with recommendations
have not stopped using them – they don’t know how else to do business. See http://chronicle.com/free/v46/i43/43a01401.htm
Growth
of for-profit university – A national for-profit chain in the US, the
University of Phoenix, has reported that its degree programs rose by 22 % over
the past year, to 75.057 students. Most rapid growth was in online enrollment,
where the increase was 44.7 %. The university has locations in 15 states, Puerto
Rico and Canada. It has been closely watched by traditional higher education
institutions as a growing competitor. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2000/06/2000062605n.htm
Comparison
of degrees in UK – In an article in the July 2000 issue of Journal of
Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, A.R.J.Dainty et
al report on a study comparing the careers of men and women in the construction
industry in the UK. The study examined the career of professionals at different
stages of their careers. Results showed a disparity between men’s and
women’s career progression, finding that problems existed for women at every
career stage – including demanding work environments, inflexible working
arrangements, and ingrained attitudes. The authors argue that addressing the
equity issue is essential if the construction industry is to develop a
sufficient skilled workforce for coming years. See http://www.pubs.asce.org
New
directions for Max Planck – According to a report in the June 9th
issue of Science, Germany’s premier basic research institution has
developed a new blueprint for 2000 Plus. The plan stresses more intensive
collaboration between researchers across borders and among institutions, and an
influx of young minds, to spur a new era of creativity. Priorities for coming
years include molecular level biology, the brain, the individual and the
environment, structure of the world and the universe, new materials and
technologies, and complex processes and systems. See http://www.sciencemag.org
Advances
in fuel cells – In the June 16th issue of Science, Robert
Service reports that a spurt of findings suggest that fuel cells may be almost
ready for major commercial development. He notes that researchers have made
critical strides in developing commercially viable cells that extract
electricity directly from natural gas, ethane, and other fossil fuels.
Conventional ceramic cells, necessitated by the high temperatures of reactions,
convert the hydrocarbons to hydrogen inside the cells. A recent demonstration of
a system large enough to light up more than 200 homes showed that it is the most
efficient large-scale electrical generator ever designed. Hopes are that such
fuel cells will power everything from individual homes to municipal power grids.
See http://www.sciencemag.org
IJEE
Lab issue – A current issue of the International Journal of Engineering
Education, v.16 no.3, is on the application of National Instruments LabVIEW
software to engineering education. In papers from Singapore, Switzerland,
Australia, and the USA, applications of this commercial software package are
illustrated. The software is an interactive, computer driven simulation, control
and scientific visualization aid for enhancing student learning. The eleven
papers in the journal issue describe highlights of the software, its application
in various engineering learning situations, and future directions.
CD-ROM with an evaluation version of the software is provided with the
hard copy of the journal. See http://www.ijee.dit.ie
Engineering
sans frontiers – In an article in the Spring 2000 issue of SEFI News, Arvid
Anderson states that the engineers of tomorrow will need more than technical
skills to work in international teams and across borders. He outlines needed
skills: international awareness, professional competencies, awareness of
international competition, etc. He also indicates that education and industry
must work together to fully develop practicing engineers to work across national
borders. He writes with an EU perspective, arguing that national boundaries need
to recede in order to make that area a world center of technical excellence. See
http://www.sefi.be
Positions
of possible interest – The June 23rd issue of the Chronicle
of Higher Education lists the following opportunities:
Ø
President, Anglo American College, Czech Republic
Ø
Vice President for Research/Associate Provost, University of Georgia
And
the following positions are listed in the June 30th Chronicle:
Ø
Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science, SUNY Binghamton, NY
Ø
President, Utah State University
Ø
Vice President, American Council on Education, DC
Ø
Vice President Research, University of Central Florida
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