UNH Engineering Students Design the Future of Their Own Education

by Suki Casanave, CEPS Science Writer

For the first time in the history of the University of New Hampshire, a group of engineering students is designing the future of their own education.

"We're trying to get our engineering disciplines to work together," says Veronica Thibodeau, a civil engineering graduate student in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. "In the building we’ve envisioned, we've structured the labs so we could collaborate and work more closely."

A new building design is just one piece of a semester-long student project, which also included research of engineering programs around the country and a survey of UNH engineering faculty and students. While UNH already offers several interdisciplinary classes, survey results showed a general agreement that the approach needs to be much more curriculum-wide in its scope--and that the engineering facilities need updating.

"Our faculty are incredible," says Michael Bocash, a senior in mechanical engineering and another member of the student team. "But we need to bring our equipment and technical education up to speed."

UNH is not alone in undertaking an evaluation of its engineering programs. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology's "Engineering Criteria 2000" and the Boyer Commission Report on undergraduate education have focused attention on the quality of engineering education in schools across the country, with a particular emphasis on the need for a more collaborative, interdisciplinary approach.

At UNH, the evaluation process was initiated last year by the Collaborative Engineering Committee, a group of about a dozen professors. The collective vision they developed has been dubbed "TIES," Total Integrative Education Solution, and includes six focus areas: curriculum reform, facility improvement, continuous assessment, partnerships, outreach, and student recruitment and retention.

"To bring about constructive change, you have to think about all these areas," says Bob Jerard, professor of mechanical engineering and a leader of the collaborative engineering effort. "To attract students you need good facilities. Good outreach leads to good student recruitment.

These elements work together."

The TIES committee and the student group have a number of models to inspire them. At the University of Colorado, for example, students voted in 1991 to tax themselves. They now generate $750,000 a year, much of which supports the operation of the new engineering building.

Thanks to six industrious engineering students, the TIES committee also has the beginnings of a concept for a new UNH engineering facility--a place where the curriculum can flourish and develop, keeping up with student needs, as well as industry demands. Says Gerry Sedor, professor of mechanical engineering, "This is something our college needs if we are going to compete in the future."