Environmental Scan - Engineering Technology: Academic Program

2012-2017 Academic Strategic Plan for
The Department of Engineering Technology

The mission of the Department of Engineering Technology is to prepare professionals for innovation and leadership careers in the global industrial marketplace, for the purpose of positively contributing to the well-being of the economy of the State of Texas. This mission is fulfilled by:

• Providing student-centered programs which ensure that graduates are accomplished in technical expertise, business practices, industrial management, teaming, communication and leadership skills, lifelong learning, social awareness and ethical responsibility. National accreditation and state-of-the-art laboratory facilities will ensure that applied, experiential learning is exceptional.
• Engaging in applied research and developing partnerships with multiple stakeholders as a means of providing solutions to industrial problems and/or effecting enhancements in pedagogy.
• Providing a premiere graduate program that fosters professional development and applied research skills.

Departmental Vision for the 2012-2017 Strategic Plan

While the curricula for our Concrete Industry Management (CIM) and Construction Science and Management (CSM) programs have been the beneficiaries of a good deal of attention in recent years, other programs in the department’s repertoire have not received the same level of timely revision. As a result, these programs have become dated and stale. Much of this strategic plan is focused upon addressing this concern. Our current master’s degree program dates from 1995, and after 16 years, is rather badly in need of modernization. Several of our undergraduate Engineering Technology (ET) and Industrial Technology (IT) specializations are likewise in need of revision. The broad vision for our strategic plan is to secure the future viability of these programs by bringing their respective curricula up to date and by securing the new faculty, staff, and funding resources necessary to support these initiatives.

Top Five Strategic Goals for the 2012-2017 Plan

1. Revise the curriculum of the existing master’s program so as to render it more contemporary and more relevant to the changing mission of the department, college, and university (Initiative 1.5).
   • Change the name of the degree to Master of Science with a major in Technology Management.
   • Increase the emphasis upon professional preparation for careers in industrial management (Initiatives 1.5 and 3.9).
   • Strengthen the core curriculum and discipline-specific specializations by increasing the major from 24 semester hours to 30. Reduce the cognate minor from 12 to six hours.
   • Provide a six-hour thesis option for full-time graduate students who may have ambitions of further graduate study. Provide a three to six-hour directed project option for part-time students who are employed full-time in industry (Initiatives 1.5 and 3.9).
   • Increase the emphasis on applied research.
   • Continue efforts to recruit international students. Grow total enrollment in the program and the proportion of full-time students in the program.
   • Add four new GIA positions subject to growth in the program; two if enrollment can be increased from the present 35 and sustained at 55, and two additional if enrollment can be increased to 70 (Initiatives 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8).
2. Revise the curriculum of the existing Engineering Technology (ET) and Industrial Technology (IT) programs and specializations so as to render these more contemporary and more relevant to the changing mission of the department, college, and university (Initiative 1.5).
   • Assume greater “ownership” of the Environmental ET specialization by creating new departmental courses, and by introducing appropriate courses from other college departments, having direct relevance to this discipline and integrating these courses into the Environmental ET curriculum (Initiatives 1.5 and 3.9).
   • Add a new tenure-track faculty line in Environmental ET to provide needed teaching and research support for this rapidly growing specialization (Initiatives 1.2, 1.3 and 1.7).
   • Convert the existing Construction ET specialization into a Civil ET specialization by creating selected new departmental courses having direct relevance to this discipline and integrating these courses into the ET curriculum (Initiatives 1.5 and 3.9).
   • Add a new tenure-track faculty line in Civil ET to provide needed teaching and research support for this specialization and to provide cross-coverage support for Environmental ET (Initiatives 1.2, 1.3 and 1.7).
   • Add a new Lab Services Technician position with credentials specific to Civil/Environmental ET to provide needed technical lab support for these programs (Initiatives 5.2, 5.3, and 5.8).
   • Assume greater “ownership” of the Electrical ET specialization by creating new departmental courses having direct relevance to this discipline and integrating these courses into the Electrical ET curriculum (Initiatives 1.5 and 3.9).
   • Add a new tenure-track faculty line in Electrical ET to provide needed teaching and research support for anticipated growth in this specialization (Initiatives 1.2, 1.3 and 1.7).
   • Consolidate the existing IT General and IT Manufacturing majors into a single new major to be named Technology Management (TM) having specializations in Manufacturing Technology, Electronics Technology, and Technology Education (Initiatives 1.5 and 3.9).
   • Grow enrollment across the board in all ET specializations and in the new Technology Management major. Grow enrollment in Concrete Industry Management (CIM). Stabilize and manage enrollment levels in Construction Science and Management (CSM) and initiate a process of defining and establishing appropriate metrics for demonstrating excellence in CSM (Initiatives 3.7 and 3.9).
3. Work with the university administration to promulgate an academic affairs policy and procedure statement that will create and define “professional” faculty appointments. Similar to the existing “clinical” faculty appointment, the proposed professional faculty appointment would allow individuals who possess an appropriate combination of degrees, professional experience in industry, and professional licensure and/or certifications to hold rank and full-time teaching appointments in academic units whose mission it is to prepare graduates for professional careers in industry (Initiatives 1.4 and 1.5).
   • Once defined and officially sanctioned by the university, add the following professional faculty lines at the appropriate time, as indicated by program enrollment and related departmental initiatives: Add two new professional faculty lines in Construction Science and Management. Add one new professional faculty line in Concrete Industry Management. Add one new professional faculty line in Manufacturing/Mechanical ET (Initiatives 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, and also 1.6 by way of freeing tenure-track faculty to teach graduate courses and concentrate on research).
4. Seek and maintain appropriate accreditation from nationally recognized accrediting agencies for all department programs (Initiatives 3.5, 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9). This will include;
   • Foundry Education Foundation (FEF) certification for the foundry program (re-certified in fall 2011);
   • American Council on Construction Education (ACCE) accreditation for the Construction Science and Management program (fall 2012);
   • National Steering Committee (NSC) accreditation for the Concrete Industry Management program (spring 2013);
   • American Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation for the Engineering Technology program (projected fall 2016);
   • Association of Technology Management and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) accreditation for the master and bachelor degree programs in Technology Management (subject to curriculum revisions and re-naming objectives cited in departmental goals 1 and 2 above) (Initiatives 3.5, 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9).
5. Work with the university administration to renovate existing space in the R. F. Mitte building to accommodate the educational and research missions of our current Construction Science and Management, Concrete Industry Management, and Environmental ET programs, and in anticipation of planned new programs in Civil ET and Civil/Environmental Engineering (The Ingram School of Engineering is cooperating with our department in planning for the facility requirements of these new programs, which will share many teaching labs in common.) (Initiatives 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6). Work with the university administration to plan new teaching labs, to be located either in Mitte or in the proposed new Engineering and Science building, that will support the educational and research missions of our current Manufacturing/Mechanical ET programs (Our department is cooperating with the Ingram School of Engineering in planning for the facility requirements of Manufacturing/Mechanical ET.) (Initiatives 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6).