ABET Information
Mission
Consistent with the mission and goals of WPI, the Manufacturing Engineering Program (MFE) program at WPI is designed to provide our graduates with a superior and innovative experience in appropriate disciplines in engineering, mathematics, science, manufacturing technology and management. This experience should launch them towards, and support their growth in, fulfilling careers in the wide variety of manufacturing industries primarily. This educational experience is intended to inspire professional, critical thinking for engineering design and problem solving, and a passion for life-long learning. It should prepare our graduates to deal with technical, scientific, humanistic and societal issues locally and globally throughout their careers.
The mission of WPI's Manufacturing Engineering Program, as approved by the associated faculty and the MFE Advisory Board, is to provide students with the opportunity to master and apply fundamental knowledge in the field of Manufacturing Engineering, laying a foundation for future learning while preparing students for professional, engineering practice and for careers in applying and shaping the technological evolution of manufacturing.
We strive to accomplish this by fostering a learning community in which superior, innovative, undergraduate and graduate educational opportunities are integrated with world-class research, and with service to the profession and the manufacturing industry locally, nationally and internationally.
Program Educational Objectives
The educational objectives of the MFE Program describe the expected accomplishments of graduates during the first few years after graduation. The current objectives have evolved from a consideration of the outcomes for the MFE program, which have been based on those listed in ABET's criterion 3. In the spring and summer of 2000, the Objectives for the MFE program were re-drafted. Consideration was given, in the drafting, to the Objectives of the IE program and the ME Department, to the results of the alumni surveys and to the competency gaps that were identified by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers as part of their Manufacturing Education Plan. These Objectives have been approved by the MFE associated faculty and the MFE Advisory Board, and are listed in following Table.
| 1 | Manufacturing Engineering Knowledge and Design Skills | Graduates should have the knowledge and skills to design and enact solutions for complex, dynamic manufacturing engineering problems faced by industry and society, using current concepts and technology. |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Communication Skills | Graduates should be able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, using electronic tools and graphical representations. |
| 3 | Teamwork and Leadership Skills | Graduates should be able to serve and lead the organizations that employ them, with good interpersonal and teamwork skills and with an understanding of professional ethical responsibility, and national and global contemporary issues. |
The educational objectives of the Manufacturing Engineering Program are consistent with the mission and goals of WPI as well as the ABET Criteria 2000. The MFE program objectives describe fundamental knowledge in terms of breadth and depth, as well as an ability to design systems. Students are encouraged to develop a mature understanding of themselves by acquiring the skills needed to act as change agents in organizations and through interactions with faculty and other professionals. Laboratory facilities are designed to enhance faculty/student interaction and to provide students with opportunities to apply knowledge directly.
Administrative processes in place or under development are designed to ensure that the MFE program planning addresses ABET Criteria 2000 and reflects the commitment of the Institute to continued educational improvement and innovation.
Constituencies
The Program is first and foremost responsible to the students graduating from the program, and the success of the graduates is the success of the program. However, in order to produce successful graduates, the Program must be sensitive to the needs of industry and other potential employers. The Program has identified students, alumni, potential employers, and the faculty as the primary stakeholders in the program. The Program keeps the stakeholders informed about what is going on in the department and obtains input from them in various ways. The main vehicles of communication are summarized in the following Table.
| Constituent | Information | Input |
|---|---|---|
| Students | Program Web Page Meetings with Faculty Meetings with Prog. Dir. | Course Evaluations Meetings with Prog. Dir. Exit interviews Self - review (MQP) |
| Alumni | Institutional Publications Program Newsletter Program Web Page | Alumni surveys MFE Advisory Board |
| Employers | Program Web Page WPI's CDC office | MFE Advisory Board Ad hoc Surveys Meetings through CDC office |
| Faculty | Faculty Meetings | Faculty Meetings Meetings with Prog. Dir. |
Summary of major stakeholders and how the MFE Program communicates with them
Assessment of Program Objectives
The review of program objectives is closely linked to the review of program outcomes. The responsibility for the assessment of the program lies primarily with the MFE Program Director and the MFE Undergraduate Program Committee. The Committee gathers the necessary data and initiates actions to correct any deficiencies.
Assessment of Program Objectives is accomplished primarily through the Alumni survey and through advice from the MFE Advisory Board. In the fall of 2000, the MFE Advisory Board was asked for input on the Program's outcomes. Based on the input from the advisory committee, no changes were made to the MFE Program's outcomes. We plan to review the outcomes with the Advisory Board periodically.
The Alumni survey for 2001/2002 is designed to be suitable for all alumni of WPI, not only Manufacturing Engineers, and the questions are therefore not exactly aligned with the MFE objectives. However, each of the three objectives is addressed by at least two questions. The questions are sorted by objectives in Table 2.4. The average responses of alumni graduates in 1986, 1991, 1996, and 1999 are listed in the four columns on the right. The first two are the responses of all WPI alumni and the second two are responses of MFE grads. In the two pairs of columns, the first number is an evaluation of how important the competency is; the second number is an assessment of how good the WPI preparation was. In both cases, the scale ranges from 1 to 5, with 5 denoting a competency that is always useful and an excellent preparation. The results allow an evaluation of both how appropriate the objectives are (first column) and how well WPI meets those objectives.
| Objectives | All WPI | All WPI | MFE Grads | MFE Grads | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Survey items | Imp. | Prep | Imp. | Prep | |
| 1. MFE Knowledge and Design Skills | |||||
| 1.1 | A fundamental knowledge of my major discipline | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.2 |
| 1.2 | Formulating and solving problems in my field of professional practice | 4.5 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 4.3 |
| 1.3 | Ability to design a product, process, or systems | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 4.0 |
| 1.4 | Understanding the need for life-long learning | 4.1 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 3.2 |
| 2. Communication Skills | |||||
| 2.1 | Communicate effectively orally | 4.7 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 3.5 |
| 2.2 | Communicate effectively in writing | 4.6 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 3.5 |
| 3. Teamwork and Leadership Skills | |||||
| 3.1 | Ability to take a leadership role in a professional project | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.7 |
| 3.2 | Using process skills necessary to be an effective member of a team | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
| 3.3 | Understanding and applying the code of ethics for my chosen profession | 3.9 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 3.3 |
| 3.4 | Understanding how my professional work impacts society | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
| 3.5 | Understanding current societal issues | 3.5 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 2.5 |
| 3.6 | Taking part in civic or community service | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 2.8 |
Table 2.4 Alumni evaluation of Program Objectives: importance and preparation at WPI on a 1-5 scale sorted by objective.
Importance: 5 = always useful 4 = often useful 3 = useful 2 = occasionally useful 1 = never used
Preparation: 5 = excellent prep. 4 = good prep. 3 = adequate prep. 2 = slight prep. 1 = no prep.
From the Table we can see that the alumni rate the objectives highly in importance. The MFE majors rate the items relating to Objective 1, disciplinary knowledge and design skills, highest of all and higher than the WPI alumni overall. Communication skills are next in importance, closely followed by leadership skills. Items 3.3 to 3.6 are less indicative of leadership skills than 3.1 and 3.2, so they might be given a lesser weight in deciding the appropriateness of Objective 3, although they are still supportive. The largest gap between importance and preparation relate to societal issues. However, most of the largest gaps are in the areas of MFE knowledge and design skills. The preparation in these areas is clearly satisfactory and is rated by the alumni as good to excellent, with the exception of the life-long learning item where the preparation is still adequate to good. The equipment and efforts associated with the Haas Technical Center for Computer Controlled Machining should help to address these gaps.
It is clear that the alumni place a high value on the skills and attributes embedded in the objectives. The MFE alumni find most of these skills and attributes that make up the objectives somewhere between always and often useful in importance and assess that their preparation was mostly good to excellent.
Curriculum and Program Objectives
The Manufacturing Engineering Curriculum meets the Program Objectives in the following way:
Objective 1 is met by several courses in mathematics, chemistry, and physics; a strong core in engineering sciences; laboratory experience in both physics and chemistry, as well as by laboratory courses; and from the Realization and Capstone Design categories. These activities consist of both courses and the Major Qualifying Project.
Objectives 2 and 3 are met primarily by project work. Such work consists of the Interactive Qualifying Project, the Major Qualifying Project, and projects done in courses.
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