Building a First-year Engineering Program
John A. Merrill, Richard J. Freuler, and John T. Demel
The Ohio State University

PowerPoint Presentation (short version)

PowerPoint Presentation (long version)

Facilitators' Biographies

Abstract
Over the past eleven years, the College of Engineering at Ohio State has been developing a first-year engineering program with two course sequences. One sequence is required of all students and is called Fundamentals of Engineering. The other is an optional track for honors students and is called Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors. Both of these courses provide instruction in engineering graphics, CAD, MATLAB, and other computer tools, plus hands-on labs and a quarter-long design-build project. This workshop will review the topics covered by these two course sequences with examples of the presentation material, the hands-on labs, and the design-build projects. The staff structure, classroom and laboratory facilities, assessment tools, and retention results will be discussed. Participants will also have time to examine the organizational and cultural factors involved in building such programs, time to explore potential barriers to success, and time to begin drafting their own plans. Workshop attendees will receive a CD with all of the course materials, including laboratory presentations and requirements, and the design project presentations and requirements.

Learning Objectives
The objectives for this workshop are to

• Have participants complete a brief questionnaire to give facilitators information to profile this audience;
• Give a presentation on OSU's program and some lessons learned;
• Share the workshop audience profile and generate discussion on the range of programs represented;
• Give a presentation on building consensus for institutional change;
• Have participants work in small groups to develop a key-factors list to overcome barriers and achieve success (begin a preliminary plan, if time permits);
• Small groups provide report backs;
• Summarize and wrap-up; and
• Workshop evaluation.