The central topic of this chapter is what a student pursuing a baccalaureate degree in engineering needs to know at the end of the first two years of study and how that knowledge can be demonstrated to a four-year institution and others. This question involves issues related to curriculum, pedagogy, and quality.

Conclusion 4-1 Institutions of higher education are addressing issues related to curriculum, pedagogy, and quality, but must do much more to resolve them.

Conclusion 4-2 As the trends in engineering education move toward greater diversity and specialization in the lower division course offerings of four-year engineering programs, engineering science curricula are less likely to cover the same material or achieve the same results. Thus, the need for communication and resource sharing between transfer partners and for the timely updating of articulation agreements is becoming more urgent.

Conclusion 4-3 The engineering education community, and the profession as a whole, would benefit from a discussion of the feasibility and desirability of standardized accreditation for community college engineering science programs.

Conclusion 4-4 More emphasis in the K–12 curriculum in U.S. schools needs to be placed on mathematics. Mathematics courses in engineering should put more emphasis on applied engineering examples.