The curriculum goals of the unit, as currently stated in the catalog or other departmental documents, are as follows: (from the catalog)

"The educational objective of the architectural engineering program is to develop graduates who acquire the broad knowledge and skills necessary to successfully begin and sustain a career, and to become leaders who advance the state-of-the art, in one of four core disciplines of the building industry:

  • electrical and lighting systems
  • heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems
  • structural systems
  • construction engineering and management"

During the last review period, how has the department/program assessed how well it has accomplished its curriculum goals?

A number of assessment instruments are administered by the College of Engineering & Applied Science that gather data relevant to AREN.  These assessment tools and dates applied since the previous annual assessment report are:

  • Senior Survey (data from December 2011 and May 2012 graduates) – assessment of program outcomes
  • Post-Graduation Surveys (given to alumni approximately 6 months after they graduate; data from May/Aug 2011 and December 2011 available in this cycle)
  • Alumni Surveys (data from summer 2012 surveys of 2007 graduates) – assessment of program objectives

In addition, all graduating students are required to take the national Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam.  The results of this exam are released approximately 6 months later, so the fall 2011 and spring 2012 results are available.  These results help us assess both our program outcomes and objectives.

The Faculty Course Questionnaires (FCQs) administered by the University are also used to assess individual courses.  Questions related to the program outcomes have been added to the FCQs for required courses.  These data help us assess which specific courses are helping us meet our program outcomes.

The Joint Evaluation Committees (JECs) in the Department of Civil, Environmental, & Architectural Engineering (CEAE) review the objectives, outcomes, and that the curriculum supports these goals when they meet.  There are multiple JECs in CEAE representing each sub-discipline and each meets on a 3-year rotating basis.  The JEC is composed of at least three practicing engineers from disciplines covered by the particular JEC, preferably with experience employing program graduates, at least one faculty member from each discipline covered by the particular JEC, and at least one current undergraduate student from the discipline covered by the particular JEC.  The building systems JEC met in spring 2012.  The findings and recommendations of the JEC’s are communicated to the Curriculum Committee who has the responsibility for recommending curriculum changes for approval by the faculty as a whole. The Department Executive Committee and Chair are responsible for allocating teaching, facilities and material resources to implement changes.

What has the department/program concluded with respect to the outcomes of its undergraduate curriculum?

We have concluded that the AREN program is strong, with appropriate objectives and outcome goals that are being met and serve our students and the profession.  The senior design course is very successful.      The building systems JEC met May 11, 2012.   The committee included four practicing architectural engineers.  Professor John Zhai coordinated the meeting, five additional CEAE faculty and one AREN student also participated.  There were 15 general recommendations. First and foremost, the JEC endorsed the new curriculum (described below with item 4).  Most of the recommendations pertained to content in specific courses (i.e. provide more coverage on written specifications and codes; add a BIM workshop into CVEN 3246; more emphasis on core principles of sustainability; etc.). Some recommendations pertained to course sequencing in the new curriculum and course requirements (i.e. consider removing CVEN 2012 Geomatics from all tracks except structural and construction management). There were also 2 to 3 specific recommendations for the capstone design course, mechanical systems track, and lighting & electrical track.

What changes in the curriculum or in major requirements have occurred as a result of your assessment of your undergraduate program?

New ABET program-specific criteria went into effect for AREN degrees starting with the fall 2012 assessment cycle. These proposed criteria were published with the 2011/2012 guidelines. Given these changes, the highly successful ABET program review in 2011/2012, and feedback from the student and alumni surveys, curriculum revisions were proposed for the AREN degree.  The largest change was to increase the flexibility of the curriculum.  The highlights of the revised curriculum are:

  • Increase AREN 1316 Introduction to Architectural Engineering from 1 to 2 credits, in order to be consistent with GEEN 1500 Introduction to Engineering; allow students the option of taking AREN 1316 or GEEN 1500.
  • Add GEEN 1400 Engineering Projects as a required course for AREN majors.
  • Remove AREN 2406 Introduction to Building Construction; distribute this content into other courses such as AREN 2050 Engineering Systems for Buildings.
  • Students select two proficiency level courses with design content in the 4 sub-discipline areas instead of being required to take all four courses.
  • Students select one concentration area from among the four sub-disciplines; two 3-credit courses in the concentration.
  • Add lab content into AREN 3010 Mechanical Systems for Buildings (required for all students) and AREN 3540 Illumination 1; don’t offer AREN 3130 Building Energy Lab.
  • New curriculum has 12 credits of technical electives (previously only 6 credits) and 3 credits of free electives (previously none).
  • ARCH 4010 Architectural Design Studio was increased from 3 credits to 5 credits (more similar to an earlier version of the curriculum when it was 6 credits).

The curriculum was approved by a vote of the CEAE faculty at the April 12, 2012 meeting. Despite the fact that the new curriculum was not yet published in the 2012/2013 catalog, incoming first year students were advised to start the new curriculum. Subsequently, the revised curriculum was also approved by the College’s Undergraduate Education Council (UEC) in fall 2012.  The curriculum will be published in the 2013/2014 catalog.