Accreditation Underway

As part of the accreditation process, every engineering program must have educational objectives which are “broad statements that describe the career and professional accomplishments that the program is preparing graduates to achieve.” Our objectives were formulated in 1998 in consultation with our constituents: faculty, students, employers, and alumni. Each year we evaluate how well we achieve these objectives by consulting with our Professional Advisory Board, Faculty, and Graduating Seniors. In addition, we request comments from the readers of the AEM Update and receive limited input from this source. This year we decided to conduct a formal survey of employers to see how well they think that we are achieving our objectives, and if our current objectives are appropriate. Seventeen total responses were received: 13 from private industry, 2 from governmental agencies, and 2 from other entities. In fall of 2005, the IT Dean’s Office conducted a survey of graduates from the Class of 2002. This survey incorporated some questions specific to each engineering program and we included questions on our objectives in this survey (the Dean's survey did not include questions on the appropriateness of the each objective; there were only 9 responses). Due to the small number of responses, we are planning another survey of our own which will cover classes from the past five years.

The objectives, questions and survey results are given below:

Objective 1

To produce graduates with a broad background in aerospace engineering and mechanics, including fluid mechanics, structural mechanics and aerospace systems.

Recent graduates/interns I have known achieve this objective extremely well. Rate this statement from 1-5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strong agree.

Employers 4.75
Alumni 4.11

This educational objective is appropriate for the AEM program at the University of Minnesota.

Rate this statement from 1-5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strong agree.

Employers 4.76
Alumni NA
Objective 2

To produce graduates who can apply their knowledge of aerospace engineering and mechanics to achieve success in the aerospace industry, related government agencies, and other engineering industries.

Recent graduates/interns I have known achieve this objective extremely well. Rate this statement from 1-5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree.

Employers 4.41
Alumni 3.25

This educational objective is appropriate for the AEM program at the University of Minnesota.

Rate this statement from 1-5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree.

Employers 4.65
Alumni NA

Objective 3

To produce graduates with skills in the essential tools used in aerospace and other industries. These include experimental methods, problem-solving techniques, computational methods and engineering design.
Recent graduates/interns I have known achieve this objective extremely well. Rate this statement from 1-5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strong agree.
Employers 4.35
Alumni 3.38

This educational objective is appropriate for the AEM program at the University of Minnesota.
Rate this statement from 1-5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree.
Employers 4.56
Alumni NA
Objective 4

To produce graduates with the ability to both seek out assistance when needed and to learn new skills throughout their careers.

Recent graduates/interns I have known achieve this objective extremely well. Rate his statement from 1-5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strong agree.
Employers 4.41
Alumni 3.78
This educational objective is appropriate for the AEM program at the University of Minnesota.
Rate this statement from 1-5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree.
Employers 4.70
Alumni NA
Objective 5

To produce graduates with the oral and written communication skills needed to successfully work in a modern multidisciplinary environment.
Recent graduates/interns I have known achieve this objective extremely well. Rate this statement from 1-5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strong agree.
Employers 4.17
Alumni 4.00
This educational objective is appropriate for the AEM program at the University of Minnesota.
Rate this statement from 1-5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree.
Employers 4.70
Alumni NA
Objective 6

To produce graduates who can be successful in graduate level work in engineering, as well as in other professional schools.

Recent graduates/interns I have known achieve this objective extremely well. Rate this statement from 1-5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strong agree.
Employers 4.17
Alumni 3.38

Rate this statement from 1-5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree.
Employers 4.47
Alumni NA
The responses by Employers are very good; however, it does appear that there is some concern about communications. Our alumni from the class of 2002 rate the achievement of their objectives less well than employers. However the number of respondents was low and therefore we believe that more data are needed. Therefore, during fall 2006 we are conducting another alumni survey only on objectives. If you are a recent graduate, we would appreciate your comments on how well you believe that your education prepared you to achieve the objectives listed above and whether you believe that these objectives are appropriate for the AEM program at the University of Minnesota. The more specific you can be in your comments, the more helpful your response will be to us. Please e-mail Bill Garrard at wgarrard@aem.umn.edu.