Enhanced Curriculum for Undergraduate Engineering Adult Learners in Industry

1988年，工程与矿业学院（SEM）与工业界合作，建立了三个远程学习本科工程项目，与相应的传统校园学位并行提供。这一举措为学生提供了接受工程教育的机会，否则，由于地点和时间表的原因，他们无法接受工程教育。远程学习的学生，由于他们的非专业经验，有不同于传统学生的需求、期望、动机、知识基础和技能。因此，必须修改课程以有效地满足学生的需求，结合他们的经验知识基础和技能清单，同时确保符合ABET认证标准。教师制定策略以在远程学习环境中获得最大的教学效果也至关重要。“工业本科工程成人学习者强化课程”的利益相关者包括工程教育工作者、工业和本科成人学习者。项目目标包括：(a)完成远程教育学生和传统教育学生基于认知和表现能力的广泛比较；(b)加强课程以满足成人学习者的独特需求，同时坚持ABET标准；(c)发展教师的能力，以加强非传统学习者的教学；(d)使用总结性和形成性技术评估项目成果；e)传播记录ABET认证的工程本科远程学习项目演变的结果。

The School of Engineering and Mines (SEM) in a partnership with industry in 1988 established three distance-learning undergraduate engineering programs, offered in parallel with corresponding traditional on-campus degrees. This initiative gave access to an engineering education to students who, because of locations and schedules, otherwise could not pursue an engineering education. The distance-learning students, by virtue of their paraprofessional experience, have needs, expectations, motivations, knowledge bases, and skills that differ from those of traditional students. Thus, the curricula must be modified to meet students' needs efficiently, incorporating their experiential knowledge base and skills inventory, while simultaneously ensuring validated compliance with ABET accreditation standards. It is also critical that faculty develop strategies for attaining maximum teaching effectiveness in the distance-learning environment. The stakeholders for the "Enhanced Curriculum for Undergraduate Engineering Adult Learners in Industry" include engineering educators, industry, and undergraduate adult learners. Program objectives include: (a) completing a comparison of a broad range of cognitive and performance based competencies of distance-education students and traditional students; (b) enhancing curricula to meet the unique needs of adult learners while adhering to ABET standards, (c) developing faculty members' competencies needed to enhance teaching of non-traditional learners; (d) evaluating program outcomes using summative and formative techniques; e) disseminating results which document the evolution of an ABET accredited, undergraduate distance-learning program in engineering.