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lo>
Faculty
Student:Faculty Ratios
Betweenl975andl981,undergraduate engineering enrollmentin
the United States increased by 60 percent, while the number of engi-
neering faculty increased by only about 10 percent. Graduate enroll-
ment dropped 10 percent because of declining numbers of American
students. During those years, institutional support did not rise in pro-
portion to the increase of the student:faculty ratios in engineering
departments. Furthermore, many faculty positions went unfilled.
The high student:faculty ratios and the number of unfilled but autho-
rized faculty positions have not been uniform in all engineering disci-
plines. The 1982-1983 surveys by the Accreditation Board for Engi-
neering and Technology {ABETI show ratios as high as 25: 1 to 30:1 in
such fields as aeronautical, chemical, and electrical engineering, and
11:1 in agricultural engineering, with an average of 22.25 to 1 in all
departments of member schools. This average ratio compares with an
overall institutional average of 16.65 to 1 at the same locations at that
time.
The percentage of vacant faculty positions has been highest in elec-
trical engineering and computer science lEE/CS). In the fall of 1982, a
survey of engineering deans reported about 17 percent of EE/CS posi-
tions unfilled; in the other engineering disciplines, unfilled positions
ranged from 6 percent to 9 percent of authorized positions. Not only are
there unfilled positions, but the number of authorized positions is
44
OCR for page 45
FACULTY
45
below the perceived need at many universities, which reflects financial
constraints and an unwillingness or inability to reallocate resources.
It is not possible to establish a desired ratio of undergraduate students
to faculty for all institutions because they vary widely in goals and
purposes, range of activities expected of faculty, types of education
offered, and size of graduate schools. For example, some large urban
universities with relatively small full-time graduate schools have stu-
dent:facultyratiosof38to 1; state-supported engineering schools, such
as those at Purdue and Texas ARM universities, have ratios of about 24
to 1; private universities with large graduate schools, such as the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology EMITS and Stanford University, have
ratios of 6 or 8 to 1. But all institutions, no matter what their base of
support, have experienced increases in student:faculty ratios.
Consequences of High Student:FacultyRatios
The increase in undergraduate enrollment coupled with the shortage
of faculty has educational costs that extend throughout the system.
Increased enrollment has meant that individual faculty members must
teach substantially greater numbers of students. In many cases, it has
meant larger class sizes with less personal attention available to stu-
dents; canceled courses; the use of nonfaculty and adjunct faculty as
classroom teachers; and crowded laboratories, with larger groups using
the same limited equipment. The intellectual renewal that is required
to keep courses and laboratories up to date and to develop new courses
often has to be postponed, and textbooks organizing important recent
advances have not been written.
Increased student:faculty ratios have also increased the amount of
time needed by full-time faculty members to advise students. This is
caused partly by the greater numbers of students they teach, but also
partly by the use of adjunct faculty: while adjunct faculty are available
to teach courses, they often are not available to answer student ques-
tions, and they usually play little or no role as academic advisers. In
some cases, faculty are responsible for the academic, career, and per-
sonal advising of some 50 students. Because of the numerous duties of
faculty, such a responsibility cannot be met with quality.
FacullyActivities
In addition to classroom teaching and student advising, engineering
faculty have various other roles, most of which relate directly to main-
taining their own long-term value as professional educators and to
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46
ENGINEERING UNDER GRAD UATE ED UCATION
supporting the long-term effectiveness of engineering educational pro-
grams. In varying degrees depending on the type of institution to which
they belong, faculty are responsible for the following activities: frontier
research and technology transfer in their engineering disciplines; the
education and research supervision of graduate students; interaction
with industry in consultative and eollegial relationships; performance
of public service in the form of national, state, and local committees
dealing with professional issues; review and editing of journal articles;
review of research proposals and engineering projects of peers; develop-
ment of new curricula and writing of textbooks; keeping up to date in
related disciplines; exploration of new teaching and research areas; and
raising funds to help support their own research and equipment needs
as well as a portion of their salaries. When the immediate activities of
classroom teaching and student advising monopolize the time of fac-
ulty members, neglect of these long-range activities erodes their profes-
sional base and that of the engineering system.
The pressures just discussed also reflect on the attractiveness of
teaching as a career, and could deter from academic careers even the
best of the graduate students who saw and suffered through such an
environment as students.
A Role forEducational Technology
Clearly, new technology offers some promise ~1~ of making more
efficient use of the human capital engaged in teaching engineering and
`2J of improving the effectiveness of engineering courses. New uses of
the computer in interactive teaching and the sharing of courses by
video and satellite transmission promise to relieve engineering faculty
from much routine classroom teaching. And yet this opportunity arises
when the amount of faculty time to develop its use is severely limited
and when young faculty who might be more receptive to and conver-
sant with the new possibilities are in short supply. (See section below
on "Educational Technology in Teaching."
A Role for Accreditation
While the diversity of institutions precludes setting a single standard
for the student: faculty ratio as an accreditation requirement, the
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology might neverthe-
less gather information on student: faculty ratios; these data could be
used with the other information that ABET analyzes to determine
eligibility for continued accreditation of particular programs. The qual
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FACULTY
47
ity of departmental programs could be evaluated not only on the con-
tent of the courses and the current quality of faculty and facilities but
on the access that students have to faculty and on the ability of the
faculty to fulfill their long-term responsibilities for a strong program.
A related accreditation issue is the minimum number of faculty
required for accreditation of a given engineering program. With the
great demand for engineering programs, particularly in EE/CS, schools
with very little background, depth, or previous experience in engineer-
ing education will find it attractive to offer such degrees. Whether or
not a viable EE/CS program can be provided by three or four faculty
members, and thus without access to a complete range of disciplinary
, . . . . .
OtterlIlgS, IS an important issue.
The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends
that engineering schools not only examine and use strategies that will
maintain quality under the pressure of the demand for quantity, but
that theyalsoplan for the long term to maintain elasticityin the system
by encouraging flexibilityin faculty and other educational resources.
Difficulties in Maintaining Faculty Versatility
Maintaining the versatility of engineering faculty is an important
long-term problem for universities. Because student interests and
industrial demands change, it is impractical for a university to add
permanent staff to respond to periodic shifts in enrollment. Ideally,
versatility within and among departmental faculties would allow insti-
tutions to respond to these shifts in a timely and creative manner.
However, departmental boundaries within the university's organiza-
tion are so confining that faculty find few opportunities to change
fields. University departments see enrollment pressure as an opportu-
nity to hire new faculty members, not to permit existing faculty mem-
l~ers to shift fields.
Disciplinary Specialization
Although some disciplines experience sudden change, most engi-
neering fields change more steadily and gradually. Significant shifts of
educational content within most fields occur over a 5- to 10-year
period. Faculty must meet the ongoing requirement of staying current
in their respective fields through involvement in research and
advanced study.
The abilities to advance to the research frontier and to make signifi-
cant contributions there are the essence of the requirement for the
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48
ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
award of the Ph.D. degree. It is expected that once this research process
is learned during doctoral study, it will be repeated throughout the
professional life of a faculty member. For this reason, the Ph.D. is
almost a universal requirement for the permanent faculty member in
engineering departments. However, this very process of continued
research leads to a depth of specialization that inhibits versatility not
only within individual fields but also among different engineering dis
. · .
Clp. lneS.
Lack of Support
It is assumed that versatility is achieved through the ongoing profes-
sional development of individual faculty members. However, few uni-
versities take specific steps to support this aspect of faculty and institu-
tional development, which means that in addition to their heavy
teaching and advising responsibilities, most engineering faculty are
expected to take full responsibility for their own continued profes-
sional development. Not only are they expected to accomplish research
and scholarly activity, but they are also expected to raise the funds for
their activities and those of their graduate students, including funds for
professional travel, equipment, and other research expenses. See sec-
tion below on "Faculty Development Programs."
Departmental Boundaries
Faculty are locked in to a departmental structure which not only
protects the special territory that the department has defined as its field
but that also keeps its members from moving into areas across depart-
mental lines. This self-imposed isolation is sometimes bemoaned, but
.
it continues.
By the time a faculty member is awarded tenure and senior status, he
or she has a considerable investment in a particular specialization in a
particular department. The continual need for raising research funds
depends on this investment and its accompanying reputation, but it
makes major shifts of field difficult if not unwise. Minor shifts are
possible, but a major change requires competing for limited research
funds with already-established experts in a field. Thus, an individual
may stay with a given line of research beyond the point of diminishing
intellectual return.
Departments also have a considerable investment in the individual
faculty member. There is little acceptance of professional peer relation-
ships across departmental lines of individuals who were not hired,
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FACULTY
49
promoted, tenured, and managed by a given department. Department
heads may even discourage extradepartmental activities, and faculty
who pursue such relationships are suspect and apt to suffer in terms of
salary and access to university resources. The result is a system that
promotes in-depth specialization and strongly discourages the general-
ist's approach to achieve versatility.
Since faculty versatility is an educational essential in rapidly chang-
ing areas of engineering, this problem must be addressed. To do so
requires strong leadership. Individual deans will have to induce their
departmental faculties to develop academic and personnel policies that
support interconnections within and beyond the traditional engineer-
ing fields. During its visits to engineering schools, ABET might also
raise the question of what is being done to prepare for the promise of the
future.
The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends
that, since the ability of engineering education to adapt to change
depends on encouragement and toleration of curricular and faculty
flexibility, shared teaching across departmental boundaries should be
encouraged. The need for educational experimentation must be recog-
nized and given institutional support. ABET could play a supportive
rolein such developments.
Obsolescence Among Faculty Members
Short-term considerations in engineering education override long-
term concerns. The heavy work loads associated with increased under-
graduate enrollment, while manageable in a crisis mode year by year,
have created conditions that can easily lead to obsolescence among
faculty members. As noted earlier in this chapter, the daily need to
meet large classes and to see large numbers of individual students
displaces research activities and professional development.
Changing Fashions
One of the responsibilities of the faculty is to advance scholarship in
their disciplines. To be successful in this endeavor requires that faculty
be excellent in their specialties, which has the effect of concentrating
the research focus of engineering faculty. However, as shifts in research
support occur, some areas fall out of fashion. For a school to respond to
the new challenges that continually arise requires~a healthy institu-
tional presence in a wide variety of disciplines. Thus, faculty who have
maintained quality research programs through difficult times provide
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50
ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
considerable strength to their institutions as new demands arise.
Therefore, the distinction needs to be made between faculty obsoles-
cence and changes in outside funding or fashion. University adminis-
trators must avoid declaring faculty obsolete when they are unable to
maintain the expected amount of outside funds.
Avoiding Obsolescence
One response of faculty who find themselves "out of fashion" is to
move into related fields. Some do this with considerable success, in
both a personal and an institutional sense. As mentioned previously,
however, departmental protection of territory discourages such efforts
to maintain vitality.
Another response by faculty to being " out of fashion" is to attempt to
move into interdisciplinary areas. Unfortunately there are few oppor-
tunities for interdisciplinary research in the university environment.
In addition to the inherent difficulties of organizing such research,
federal mission agencies which occasionally support these efforts are
also quick to discontinue them on relatively short notice, creating
difficult situations for the faculty and students who are engaged in such
ventures.
There are no simple answers to the questions of how to avoid obsoles-
cence or how to utilize faculty better. The pressure of tenure and the
strictures of departmental boundaries coupled with the demands of
professional specialization all work against the movement of faculty
into areas where there are high student:faculty ratios. In departments
that have particularly high student:faculty ratios, team teaching by
departmental faculty and engineering faculty from outside those
departments could both alleviate the high ratios and help transfer some
of the emerging technologies to less crowded departments. But as long
as departments can translate increased enrollments into pressure for
hiring new faculty, high student: faculty ratios will be seen as valuable
currency not willingly shared with departments whose faculty are
underutilized. Healthier institutions will result, however, if emerging
areas of high interest are dispersed among several university depart-
ments through shared teaching and project work. Curricula will
become more relevant to today's students in all departments if faculty
share some of the increased student numbers. Although administrators
have not introduced incentives to facilitate such sharing, they should
do so in order to create a measure of flexibility in the system and to
reduce the financial burden of underutilized disciplines.
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FACULTY
51
Faculty Development Programs
Few universities have specific faculty development programs. The
assumption is that individual initiatives for professional development
together with access to the research and course offerings at the univer-
sity will enable faculty to lead, or at least to be current, in their fields.
For some institutions, this may be a valid assumption. If a university
has vital ongoing research programs and strong graduate courses in
most of the important and emerging fields and if the faculty have the
time and the opportunity to include these activities as part of their
normal work load, then they should be able to remain current as educa-
tors and as researchers.
Institutional Commitment
Few universities meet the requirements noted above. High student:
faculty ratios and greater difficulty in raising support for program devel-
opment and research leave little release time for continuing faculty
development. Patterns of research funding suggest that in the future
only a few universities will have an on-campus environment in which
there can be faculty development through access to the latest equip-
ment and strong research programs and with the assistance of direct
. . .
ac .mmlstratlve support.
All universities will need to provide more formal mechanisms to
ensure both the continued development of their faculties and the vital-
ity of their educational programs. Such support would include the fol-
lowing activities: travel to other universities for cooperative research,
short courses, and sabbaticals; periods of residence in industry and
government laboratories where there are equipment and expertise not
found in the universities; release time on campus for course and labora-
tory development, taking courses, and internal educational fellow-
ships; and team teaching in emerging areas by combinations of special-
ists and experienced faculty. While recognizing the problem, rather
than initiating such formal mechanisms most universities have hoped
that it would be solved through individual faculty and departmental
initiatives without the universities' payment of the costs.
Attractiveness of Academe
Potential faculty members should find out what mechanisms a uni-
versity has to help them continue their professional development.
Many industries recognize the wisdom of using available human
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52
ENGINEERING UNDER GRAD HATE ED UCATION
resources more efficiently and of providing specific programs for profes-
sional development; potential professional employees expect these
things. If universities are to compete successfully with industry in their
effort to obtain new faculty, they need to recognize the developmental
needs of their teachers and researchers they need to protect their
investment as jealously as industry does.
A Role forAccreditation
The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology could play
a helpful role in the area of faculty development. Recognizing that the
continued vitality of undergraduate engineering programs requires a
more formal approach to continued professional development of engi-
neering faculty, ABET might gather data on existing mechanisms for
professional development, on how many faculty are involved in these
programs each year, and on what professional activities are supported.
This information, together with other data gathered, could contribute
to improving the quality of current undergraduate programs and their
future vitality.
The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends
that engineering schools create specific faculty development programs
with sharedinstitutional, industrial, andgovernmentalfi~nding.
Special Problems
Even those institutions with organized faculty development pro-
grams face special problems. First, emerging areas in engineering edu-
cation and research require large amounts of equipment and sufficient
numbers of faculty in various specialties to work as a team. Second,
increased competition for decreased federal funding has further con-
centrated research facilities and expertise in a smaller number of insti-
tutions See Chapter 6 in this reportJ. New patterns of research and
education will be required to make this environment more available to
the entire engineering education community; appropriate mecha-
nisms would include summer programs, cooperative use of courses
developed to utilize advances in educational technology, university
research consortia, students' residence on such campuses for part of
their research program, and visiting professorships.
Use of Part-Time or Adjunct Faculty
The use of part-time or adjunct faculty is a frequent practice in higher
education. The four primary uses of these faculty are { 1 J to substitute
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FACULTY
53
for faculty who are on a special assignment or on sabbatical leave, t2) to
staff recitation sections in courses with large enrollments, t3~ to teach
selected courses where special expertise is required, and ~4~ to teach
regular courses when a faculty shortage exists. The last two categories
are particularly pertinent to this study on engineering education.
Current Practice
Part-time and adjunct faculty have been widely used during the
recent period of faculty shortages. While their use is limited lay- geo-
graphical considerations, a sufficient pool exists near many engineer-
ing colleges. When chosen carefully and properly monitored, adjunct
faculty have been very effective at both the undergraduate and graduate
levels. They represent the first line of defense in periods of overenroll-
ment and/or faculty shortage.
At the undergraduate level there are some inherent disadvantages in
using part-time or adjunct faculty. Often they are neither available nor
sufficiently informed to advise students properly on curricular matters.
Also, they usually do not participate in either the academic life of an
institution Departmental meetings, for example) or in its governance
(committee assignments). Another frequent observation is that such
faculty underestimate the extent of the work load and of the commit-
ment that is required.
In spite of the disadvantages, these faculty can play an important
role, especially at the upper-class undergraduate and graduate levels.
Some practicing professionals are well qualified to provide the design
and experiential imperative in engineering education. In fact, in some
countries and on many U. S. campuses there is a conscious effort to use
adjunct faculty on a continuing basis because they are thought to be
better qualified to teach in areas in which current practice is important.
Professors of Professional Practice
As a result of curricular trends of the past 25 years, the strong ten-
dency to emphasize the theoretical has resulted in the Reemphasis of
things practical. One could almost state it as a theorem: The pure
drives out the applied. This trend prompted the move to restore the role
of design in engineering education and to make it an explicit require-
ment for ABET accreditation. However, there has not been a strong
complementary move to include this academic component through
the conscious and continuing use of practicing professionals as adjunct
faculty.
An opportunity exists to achieve an important educational goal
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54
ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
through the structured use of practicing engineers in the educational
process. To achieve the desired level of involvement and recognition,
such adjunct appointments could be made with the title Professor of
Professional Practice. If this opportunity was pursued in a conscious
manner, a cadre of such professionals could have significant impact on
. . .
engmeermg ec .ucatlon.
The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends
that colleges of engineeringidentifyand utilize facultyother than those
in tenure tracks military retirees, persons reentering or shifting
careers, adjunct faculty, and other professionally qualified persons,
with orwithoutPh.D.s, who welcome short-term contracts or second
careers.
Colleges of engineering and professional societies shoul~promote
the use of Professors of ProfessionalPractice. Such appointments could
be either as adjunct faculty or, preferably, as full-time resident faculty
for specific periods of time. The cooperation and support of industryin
providing loaned staff are essential to achieving the educational goal of
greater emphasis on practical aspects of engineering. The use in indus-
tryofregu~arfacultyon complementaryleaves would also support this
goal.
Overenrollments in Electrical and Computer Engineering
About five years ago enrollments in electrical and computer engi-
neering programs began to rise markedly. The students in these two
disciplines now comprise 40 to 50 percent of the student population in
some engineering schools. Although part of this surge has been in
response to a strong demand {jobsJ, it results mainly from the percep-
tion that successive revolutions in communications and circuit tech-
nology, combined and integrated with computers, are creating a new
technological age. Many engineering educators believe that a struc-
tural change in engineering education is indeed occurring. During this
transitional period the profession must recognize the need for change
and respond accordingly.
The result of the recent increase in enrollments is appreciable over-
enrollment in electrical and computer engineering programs. These
academic areas have the most severe faculty shortages. Courses are
oversubscribed. Laboratory facilities and staff are overextended, and
building and classroom space is inadequate. In response, schools have
applied a patchwork of corrective action. Part-time instructors and
even undergraduate students have been utilized to teach courses. Caps
have been put on course enrollments, or extra sections have been sand
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FACULTY
59
expected to give adequate support to the aspirations of women and
minority students without the experience of working in peer relation-
ships with women and minority faculty? If today's undergraduate
women and minority students are to achieve supervisory and senior
management positions in industry and senior faculty positions in uni-
versities, then a significant number of today's majority students must
become accustomed to minorities and women in leadership roles in
. . . . .
engmeermg, in this case as pro essors.
Educational Technology in Teaching
The enormous influence of technology on our society will have "lit-
tle or no effect in the near term on education unless educators do much
more than they are now doing to adapt and exploit technology." Some
compare the unresponsiveness of our present educational system to
that of smokestack industries. The hope is that " the needs of education
for information technology are so strong that [it] will ultimately lie
adopted" tDeringer end Moluar, 1979:iii~.
Present Barriers to Adoption
The present barriers to the adoption of technology in education are
social, economic, educational, and, understandably, personal. Educa-
tors find it almost impossible to adopt information technology that is
not compatible with existing educational systems. The large initial
investment in hardware, software, and courseware, for instance, is
recoverable only through widespread utilization of the result. Schools,
on the other hand, are small, decentralized, diverse, and independent
organizations accustomed to " cottage industry" production and devel-
opment methods. They do not buy complete instructional systems:
they hire faculty. Further, faculty feel threatened by labor-saving
instructional systems.
Faculty need rewards and assistance to develop educational technol-
ogy jE-T). They respond to bonuses and other incentives to attract and
retain qualified personnel. Faculty who have aptitudes in needed disci-
plines need assistance in making midcareer changes to help enhance
their productivity and quality. *
Finally, lukewarm interest in educational technology results in a
* Much information in this paragraph and the rest of this section is from Baldwin and
Down (1981), which concentrates on instructional television.
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ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
lack of coordination of resources despite great effort to provide such
coordination. Well-documented courses covering standard material are
not generally exchanged among universities despite the existence of
the Association for Media-Based Continuing Education for Engineers
{AMCEE), which produces a catalog of more than 500 courses. The
professional prerogative of designing one's own course materials handi-
caps these legitimate opportunities to increase productivity while
maintaining quality.
Instructional Goals
The most common instructional goals for educational technology in
engineering are
1. To enrich, improve, and individualize instruction
2. To reduce or contain costs Of teachers and/or administrators
3. To serve the unserved or enlarge coverage
To reach these goals, a systems approach to E-T is needed educators
must know the institutional or programmatic goals, adapt appropriate
technologies to them, and be able to measure their accomplishment
through E-T.
Theory of Educational Technologyin Teaching
The first teaching machines were based on B. F. Skinner' principles:
1. Reinforce the student's responses frequently and immediately.
2. Give the student control of the learning rate.
3. Make the student follow a coherent, controlled sequence.
4. Require participation through responses.
When self-paced instruction E.g., the Personalized System of
Instruction APSIS, " the Keller Plan" J is mediated by instructional televi-
sion jITV) or any other E-T, it should include the following compo-
nents:
1. Self-pacing by ability and demands on the student's time
2. Unit perfection required to advance to the next unit
3. Motivational rather than simply informational lectures and dem
onstrat~ons
4. Stress on written word and teacher-student communication
5. Use of proctors for repeated testing, immediate scoring {feed-
back), tutoring, and personal-social dimension
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61
Simplicity and active participation are essential to the effectiveness of
educational technology.
Delivery Systems
The first modern educational technology, though now little used
despite its proven effectiveness, was radio. Other audio transmission
systems are recordings Records and tapesJ and telephone. Telephone
lines can also be used for document and video transmissions. Delivery
was a problem in the older ITV systems tapes, examinations,- and
papers required transportation. Now courses can be sent over any dis-
tance and used throughout any area if a large, aggregated audience can
justify the expense of using a satellite. Subcarriers of the signal can
deliver examinations. Even the problem of aggregating a large audience
can be solved by taping the signal at each receiving location for later
broadcast.
The Appalachian Community Service Network uses satellite trans-
mission to offer college courses and adult education in more than 2.5
million homes. AMCEE can distribute videotaped courses to engineers
throughout the nation. The Public Broadcasting System uses lower
power signals received by special antennas for its National Narrowcast
Service to carry a wide variety of both postsecondary and precollege
programs {Grayson, 1982:24-25J. The National Technological Univer-
sity published its first bulletin for the 1984-1985 academic year. It
included 100 master' e-level courses, of which 24 were listed in its class
schedule for fall 1984. They were scheduled to be offered at 7 of the 15
institutions Including the University of AlaskaJ that indicated the
intention of cooperating in the venture [Baldwin, 1984J .
Costs of Instructional Systems
The costs of video and computer-based instructional systems can be
great, but so can the savings in time and the effectiveness for learning.
Costs for live production increase greatly when a lecture, demonstra-
tion, or course is produced for repeated use the time required can be
multiplied by as much as 100, or by even more for the commercial
quality required for nationally broadcast programs jGrayson, 1983J.
However, the economies of scale are likewise multiplied. In 1980 about
500 colleges and universities enrolled 20,000 students in courses that
were based on the viewing of such programs as The Ascent of Man and
supported by additional course materials [Licklider, 1979:4-5J.
The costs of computer-assisted instruction; CAIJ can be even greater
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ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
than those of instructional television, although with CAI the invest-
ment is in professional time rather than in hardware and visual
resources; most producers will not make the effort required. It takes
100 to 1,000 hours of development time to create one hour of high-
quality CAI tutorial materials, and techniques have not been discov-
ered to reduce the creation time significantly while maintaining high
quality. And in cases of rapidly changing subject matter, massive revi-
sions can keep costs high. However, in most cases programs can be
upgraded progressively, year after year, without attenuation due to for-
getting. And the very best programs unlike the best human teach-
ers can be replicated inexpensively and distributed widely.
Uses of Video-Based E-T
While the applications of instructional television are as varied as
human ingenuity permits, the basic applications parallel instructional
activities: lectures, demonstrations, laboratory work, tutoring,
reviewing, off-campus teaching, presentations and critiques, and job
placement interviews and career guidance.
The only difference in the effectiveness of instructional television
from that of live lectures and presentations is flexibility of viewing
Time, place, and numbers of viewers). While this flexibility allows
students to review lectures or to view some for the first time, students
sometimes stop viewing the lectures after the novelty of ITV wears off.
The attitude of undergraduates is frequently unenthusiastic even
though learning has been proved to be unimpaired, and is sometimes
even enhanced by outstanding instruction, when material is presented
. . .
on te evlslon.
Classroom demonstrations are possible through ITV during lectures
and recitations. In large lecture rooms, oversized screens are mounted
on either side of the hall for close-up viewing by all students. In labora-
tory courses, ITV allows close viewing of microscopic experiments and
simulations of experiments, machinery, and processes that cannot be
duplicated on campus. A special, related technique is the "electronic
blackboard" {see Gupta, 1981), which is a method of sending television
images to remote classrooms that are wired for two-way discussions
between students and instructors. The advantages are participation in
many locations; taping and reuse of discussions; and, after the capital
outlay, cost savings. It is difficult for instructors to relate to remote
students, but this can be done to some extent via the electronic black-
board since instructors can speak directly with students. Electronic
blackboards also incur additional costs for delivery of homework and
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exams, counseling, and administrative coordination; in addition, each
link in the network costs $30,000 per year to operate.
ITV offers a convenient way to present off-campus graduate and con-
tinuing education at the work site and at other locations. Junior col-
leges that have agreements to articulate their programs with senior
colleges might begin to offer the senior college courses to students who
are still on the junior college campuses. High schools in remote areas
can receive precollege math and science from ITV. Off-campus uses of
E-T offer some of the best opportunities for innovation, since these
sites are so new and are rarely under the direct control of the institu-
tion's regular system of governance. The cardinal rule for this kind of
arrangement is "Pay as you go" i. e., maintain self-sufficiency so that
the use of E-T for off-campus purposes does not face the same financial
constraints it faces in other academic programs (Baldwin and Down,
1981:32, 41, 73J.
Review of lectures and other course work with a tutor through the
use of ITV during recitation or in small tutoring sessions (as is required
in PSI) is an improvement over the discussion of a lecture that must be
recalled from memory.
Project presentations can be videotaped for the student to review
with an evaluator. The same sort of technique is useful in practicing for
or in actually doing interviews during career placement to help grad-
uates polish their job-searching techniques. Videotapes of interviews
with leading engineers and other key people E.g., employers, students,
guidance counselors) and documentary information about the profes-
sion can also encourage students to investigate careers in engineering.
Audio-Based E-T
Audiocassettes have prompted the eerie image of a classroom with a
cassette player on the teacher's desk facing a room full of corresponding
cassette recorders, but the idea also suggests that students and teachers
alike are at home with at least one medium of educational technology.
The taping of speeches and musical events is commonplace. The use of
cassettes appears to be limited only by the limits of ingenuity. Some
faculty, for instance, require a blank audiocassette with each laboratory
or other report. The instructor uses the cassette to record comments,
which are keyed on the student's written report by red-penciled num-
bers and underlined passages. Voice tone adds a personal dimension to
the tutoring. More important, the relative speed of speaking versus
writing makes the task less time-consuming and more complete.
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Computer-Based E-T
ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
In the 18 months preceding May 1982, the number of computers
available for instruction in elementary and secondary schools
increased by one-third, to 97,000. Market surveys indicate that the
number will increase by over 300 percent lay 1985. Manufacturers are
now offering large discounts on personal computers to universities that
are committed to using them extensively and/or are undertaking major
experiments in the application of computers to education and related
endeavors. Apple Computer has established the "Macintosh Consor-
tium, " with discounts of 60 percent to 24 institutions. IBM and Digital
Equipment Corporation alone and together are supplying, and some-
times working with, groups of universities and individual institutions
on special projects.
Barriers to Computer Use
In spite of the developments referred to alcove, wide use of computers
lags behind its potential because most faculty have yet to master com-
puter use and not enough of them are involved in development of
software. Software development requires large expenditures of money
and faculty time, and dissemination of hardware is limited. To over-
come such barriers, CONDUIT, a nonprofit university consortium, has
established a national clearinghouse for microcomputer-l~ased instruc-
tional materials to collect and evaluate instructional programs and to
disseminate information about them {Grayson, 1982:15~.
Potential for Learning
A 1980 review of 59 studies of computer-l~ased collegiate education
showed that the computer made a small but significant contribution to
the effectiveness of teaching students at all aptitude levels, raising
scores on examinations by about one-quarter of a standard deviation
{Grayson, 1983:364~. Whether or not computer-assisted instruction is
significantly laetter than other teaching techniques, its main value is
for individualized learning. Computers can focus the student's atten-
tion on central problems rather than on routine calculations: For exam-
ple, in a word processing mode the emphasis is on composition and
revision rather than on routine correction and retyping.
Computers foster the discovery and organization of ideas. Computer
languages give students new approaches to thinking, new ways of deal-
ing with information and knowledge. Their requirement of specificity
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forces concreteness on otherwise vague or abstract ideas. Computer
modeling permits students to concentrate on the individual parts of a
complex concept and then to put the parts together without losing
track of any of the parts. Beyond these immediate advances is a longer-
term development-that of human adaptation to some of the complex
information structures and formal languages that are "natural" to the
computer. Heretofore, natural languages have dominated human
efforts to preserve and transfer knowledge and have been challenged
only on narrow fronts-by the languages or symbolism of mathematics
and the special terminology of scientific or technical fields. But the
computer appears to be introducing powerful new ways of representing
ideas and relationships among ideas; these new representations may
someday be as significant to education as the computer itself {Licklider,
1979:61.
Educational Uses of Computers
Among the simplest and most time-saving uses of the computer in
teaching and learning are drill and practice in certain types of skills,
particularly in mathematics. Fully computerized instruction has been
used successfully in such courses as accounting, calculus, and com-
puter programming, and its use will increase, at least in appropriate
sub ject areas. As it does, it will become more and more possible to offer
student-managed home study{Licklider, 1979:7~.
Another important use of computers in education is that of accessing
not only the catalog of the local library but also, through international
computer networks and the interlibrary loan system, many of the hold-
ings represented by the collective catalogs of most of the world's major
libraries. The greatest problem with this use of computers is the cost to
libraries; without sufficient support from public and private agencies,
the user will have to pay for such service [Rosenberg, 1983J.
Computers can also store data and documentary information as a
base for case studies, which helps the student practice investigation
and analysis and find the best solutions to real-life problems. Further-
more, interactive computers can allow an instructor's intervention to
influence the unfolding of such "real-life" situations-gaming.
Another flexible use of CAI that is especially important for the educa-
tion of engineers is interactive graphics for computer-aided design/
computer-aided manufacturing CAD/CAM design applications.
Interactive graphics offers pedagogical and industrial advantages that
are particularly helpful to human intervention in complex designs. Not
only is interactive graphics useful for practice in analysis and synthesis,
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66
ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
but it also helps develop intuitive and visualization skills; and it allows
testing, trial and error, and correction in design. * Computer graphics
encourages intuition, rather than exact calculation, because of the
instantaneous reporting of results. The industrial advantages are reduc-
tions in design time, in expensive experimentation, and in time
between design and production.
Simulation is closely related to interactive graphics. Once a student
has separated chemicals from a mixture several times in a laboratory,
simulations can reinforce procedures learned there by allowing the
student to analyze many other mixtures. While the computer does not
wet the hands of the undergraduate hydrodynamicist, it costs much
less than a real physical model, flow laboratory. Simulation is certain to
play an important role in engineering education of the future {Alameda,
1983: 107J.
Many people question whether the benefits of the undergraduate
laboratory justify the effort required of both students and faculty they
describe undergraduate laboratory work as an infinite sink for time and
effort and some look to the computer as a substitute that will make
the work more manageable. The computer can remove the tedium of
data acquisition and data reduction for many experiments without
eliminating student effort in the analysis of the results. That analysis
aims at the goal of undergraduate study, namely, understanding of the
principles and methods of science and engineering. Furthermore, auto-
mated laboratory systems can sometimes detect, report, and react to
subtle changes in experimental conditions better than unaided systems
can. Computer-aided instruments are also capable of producing greater
precision, accuracy and reliability in data taking, and the data collected
are in digital form, ready for postrun computer processing. Ultimately,
however, educational technology must be viewed as an effective sup-
plement, not as a substitute, for learning laboratory procedures. The
computer is best used to enhance learning in the laboratory and to
refine experimental findings there ~Saltsburg et al., 1983:81-83J .
Computer-managed instruction {CMIJ is a further dimension of this
educational technology. The Educational Testing Service has investi-
gated how computers can simultaneously test a student's ability and
provide instruction by encouraging the student when he or she arrives
at correct answers or by giving hints and allowing the student to try
again when errors are made ~Grayson, 1983:362J. Such interactive
* See Baldwin and Down (1981:66-68), summarizing M. J. Wozny, "Interactive
Graphics for Engineering Education," Professional Engineering 48iJune 1978) :14-18.
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67
techniques can also show the instructor when many students in a class
have not mastered a concept; course materials can then be revised as
needed. Also, the more advanced word processors can identify punctua-
tion and grammatical errors, freeing the teacher to concentrate on sub-
stance, writing style, clarity, and organization of ideas.
The systems described above have great potential for elaboration.
Some have demonstrated that they can score tests, keep records of each
student's mastery of major objectives, prompt students end refer them
to sources of help, flag student problems for instructors, keep track of
supplemental assignments, manage course assignments efficiently,
and provide data for evaluation of course results [Grayson, 1984: 13-
14~.
The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends
that faculty weave computer use into the fabric of engineering curric-
ula. Administrators must treat this incorporation of computers as a
"mainline77 activity by allocating a percentage of the budget to the
endeavor.
Combined Technologies
Random-access videodiscs give ITV the same interactive and feed-
l~ack capability that computers have. They also allow forms of visual
instruction beyond the text and graphics of CAI. The videodisc resem-
bles a long-playing record and can store 30 or 60 minutes of full-motion
video on each side. The optical or laser disc can store 54,000 slides, one-
half hour of continuous-motion pictures, or a combination of the two,
because it can code and display each of its frames individually. The disc
lends itself to a dynamically programmed format for stand-alone use or
in conjunction with an external computer in an interactive mode.
IBM has one of the most elaborate videodisc training systems in its
36 Guided Learning Centers for small-business-systems customers.
Each center offers 20 training programs of one to five days on three
videodisc players, remote control units, TV monitors, audiocassette
recorders, and surrogate computer terminals for completing student
exercises. During the first year of operation of this program {1980),
21,000 customers completed40,000 student-days of instruction (Gray-
son, 1984:28-30~.
Twenty-one engineering colleges and universities have joined under
AMCEE to produce and distribute videotapes of courses, seminars, and
other materials for off-campus use. One type is the "candid class-
room," which allows the viewer to hear and see everything that the on-
campus students do. The other type is produced in a television studio.
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ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
General Electric Company has produced a series of nine videotaped
courses on electronics applications for the continuing education of its
engineers and engineering managers throughout the world. By 1982,
after less than two years of operation, 7,000 people had enrolled in these
courses jGrayson, 1984:28-30~.
Conclusions
To enter fully into the current age of technology and to take full
advantage of the powerful resources offered to education, there must lee
encouragement in the form of policy and fiscal support from federal
and state governments, from private sources, and from educational
institutions. Faculty participation in the development of educational
technology is also essential. Such participation is difficult for many
faculty members, and, for some faculty {for reasons already cited) the
change will be slower than is acceptable. Engineering education will
have to depend on the professional pride of some faculty to respond
once they are convinced of the advantages of bringing the new technol-
ogies into their classrooms. Student acquaintance with technology
through videogames and aggressive advertising by hardware manufac-
turers will probably spur this pride more quickly than has been the case
in the past.
Once convinced of its importance and of the need for it, we must
define the place of educational technology within the educational
process in order to take full advantage of it. An overall systems
approach to the use of educational technology must be developed so
that it is known what goals are being sought, how technology will
support these goals, and how their accomplishment will be measured .
Such an approach is essential, since the costs associated with imple-
menting educational technology will be exceptionally high.
The Panel on Undergraduate Engineering Education recommends
that the engineering profession undertake a comprehensive study-
an cl immediately implement its findings- about how to make educa-
tional technology more efficient and how to improve both the process
of education and the reaming experience. Funding by government,
foundations, and industryis essential to achieve this result.
References and Bibliography
Alameda, George K. 1983. "Data Acquisition and Analysis With Computers," The
Undergraduate Engineering Laboratory New York: The Engineering Foundation).
Baldwin, Lionel V. 1984. "The Education Marketplace: Role of Video," IEEE Spectrum
{November).
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Baldwin, LionelV., end Kenneth S. Down. 1981. Educational TechnologyinEngineer-
ing [Washington, D. C.: National Academy Press J.
Deringer, Dorothy K., and Andrew R. Molnar, eds. 1979. Technology in Science and
Education: The Next Ten Years {Washington, D.C.: NationalScience Foundation).
Grayson, Lawrence P. 1982. "The Delivery of Engineering Education Through Tech-
nology." Unpublished manuscript submitted to American Society for Engineering
Education.
Grayson, Lawrence P. 1983. "Leadership or Stagnation? A Role for Technology in Math-
ematics, Science and Engineering Education," Engineering Education {Febru-
aryJ :364.
Gupta, Madlin S. 1981. "Remote Teaching by Electronic Blackboard," Engineering
Education 72{NovemberJ :163-166.
Licklider, J. C. R. 1979. "Impact of Information and Technology on Education in Sci-
ence and Technology," in Technology in Science Education: The Next Ten Years
{Washington, D. C.: National Science Foundation).
National Science Foundation. 1982. Characteristics of Doctoral Scientists and Engi-
neersin the United States: 1981 (Washington, D.C.: NSF).
Rosenberg, Victor. 1983. "Library Automation Reaches Out to the PC," PC Magazine
(NovemberJ: 509-512.
Saltsburg, H., R. H. Heist, and T. Olsen. 1983. "A Micrc~computer-Aided Chemical
Engineering Lab, " in The Undergraduate Engineering Laboratory (New York: Engi-
neering FoundationJ.
"Women in Engineering." 1983. Notes prepared for Advisory Committee to Assistant
Director of the National Science Foundation for Engineering, July 11.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
engineering faculty
