History of the Online Master of Engineering Management Program at Rowan University

This paper describes in detail the planning, development, and growth of a new online engineering management program. Planning began for the Master of Engineering Management (MEM) Program at Rowan University in January 2007 with a comprehensive review of 41 engineering management programs nationwide. The goal of this review was to determine the best practices regarding engineering management courses nationwide and the key courses required for an effective engineering management program. In Spring 2007, the proposal for the new MEM program was submitted to the University Senate at Rowan University for university review and approval and to the Academic Issues Committee of the New Jersey President’s Council for state review and approval. The MEM program was approved by the university and the state in Fall 2007 and the first courses in the MEM program were taught as hybrid courses beginning in Fall 2007. Conversion to 100% online courses was completed by Fall 2008. All courses are now offered fully online in an accelerated 8-week format. The program offers two courses per semester with a total of six courses per year. Graduation requirements call for students to complete 10 three-credit courses. Courses are scheduled such that students can complete their degree requirements in five consecutive semesters. Courses are structured such that students can begin the 10-course sequence at any point. To date, the program has admitted 142 students and graduated 79

Infrastructure Education Using the Impacts of Extreme Storms as Case Studies

Our university will begin offering a freshman level course titled “Introduction to Infrastructure” in Spring 2015. A common complaint from students over the years has been that they do not have a good understanding of what civil and environmental engineering is, and what civil engineers do. One of the goals of this course is to provide students with an early exposure to the practice of civil engineering and its importance to society. Our hope is that this will provide freshman with a solid context within which to continue their studies and motivate them to continue in the program. To this end, the primary goal of the course is to introduce freshmen civil and environmental engineers to civil infrastructure. Additionally, given the current state of infrastructure in the United States, the development of this course is of particular importance to the education and development of future engineers Our course will be a 2-credit lecture course consisting of two 75-minute periods per week of about 40 students per section. It will include sections on structural systems, foundations,transportation systems, water and environmental systems, as well as a general overview of the state of infrastructure in the US, along with other topics discussed in this report. Throughout the course, we will emphasize how the quality of infrastructure directly affects the economy and security of the US, and that the next generation of civil and environmental engineers needs to be more skilled and more able to design and create sustainable infrastructure. A significant emphasis will be placed on the impacts of extreme storms on water infrastructure and the impacts of storm surge and flooding on other infrastructure. We believe the emphasis on the impacts of extreme events on civil infrastructure, and water’s impacts on civil infrastructure in general, will provide a strong point of interest with students. It is likely this interest will be even greater at our university because a majority of our students were either directly or indirectly affected by a recent extreme storm event. Additionally, as the impacts of climate change have become measurable and as climate change projections suggest increased frequency and intensity of extreme events, the need to account for climate change in design for infrastructure is becoming more clearly recognized. A fact that is vital to increase reliability and decrease the nation’s risk and vulnerability to the failure of infrastructure in the future. Finally, we are hoping that the emphasis on extreme storms will help us highlight the connection of all civil infrastructure by providing students with a unifying context

Developing Multiple Strategies for an Inclusive Curriculum in Civil Engineering

This is a work in progress paper that focuses on one aspect of Rowan University’s multi-pronged efforts to increase the diversity within the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. Diversity in this case extends beyond the traditional racial, ethnic, and sex diversity to embrace diversity in sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and socioeconomic status among other non-visible elements of diversity. One way to increase diversity within the program is to develop an inclusive curriculum that allows students to engage actively and intentionally with diversity in ways that increase content knowledge, cognitive sophistication and empathic understanding. This work is framed in constructivist learning theory and critical pedagogy which have implications for inclusive curricula and instructional practice. Constructivist learning theory considers learning as an active process in which the learner builds conceptual understanding utilizing prior knowledge and experience and reflecting on those experiences. Critical pedagogy promotes education as a practice of freedom that builds a partnership between teachers and learners, recognizes connections between individual experiences and context, and empowers learners to consider problems that relate to their own lives in order to pose new challenges and build new understanding. This paper describes the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department’s efforts to adopt inclusive pedagogy and curricular content across several courses in the curriculum

Board # 139 : Rethinking Engineering Diversity, Transforming Engineering Diversity (REDTED)

The research project described in this paper is titled “Rethinking Engineering Diversity, Transforming Engineering Diversity (REDTED),” which is part of the National Science Foundation, Revolutionizing Engineering Department (RED) grants. The project is in its first year and therefore what is described in this paper will be a brief overview of the project and some of the work done during the first year. The proposed research is to explore how the representation of women and Underrepresented Minority (URM) students and historically underserved groups will be increased in an engineering department by deploying a multi-pronged approach. The approach includes curricular and extra-curricular reform, which is targeted at the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department at Rowan University and includes: a) Radically changing admission standards to promote excellence; b) Enhancing the perception and understanding of diversity and equality among students, faculty and administrators to create a more inclusive environment; c) Developing Advocate and Allies Mentoring Program for first year, and transfer students; d) Transforming existing engineering curriculum of second and third year from a narrow sub-discipline based approach to a more inclusive, system-based approach; e) Enriching students’ aspirations by providing successful and diverse role models from industry and academia; and f) Developing a model for inclusion of diverse students. The study is unique in that the definition of diversity is expanded to include both visible and invisible aspects. It also takes a comprehensive approach in making engineering more appealing to a more diverse population while also making sure that the diverse students who do choose to pursue engineering find an inclusive and welcoming climate. The first year of the study has been devoted to building partnerships and developing a consistent message. In addition, surveys of students and faculty to get baseline data on the attitudes to inclusivity have also been conducted to inform the strategies to be employed. In addition, faculty workshops to begin the process of modifying the curriculum is also being conducted. In addition, the student peer mentoring program and its structure is also being developed and student workshops are being conducted to develop peer mentoring skills

First-Generation College Students and Othering in Undergraduate Engineering

We have baseline data collected from a sample of all Rowan engineering students in 2015-6, and have analyzed the differences between first-generation engineering students (FGES) and non-first-generation engineering students (Non-FGES) with respect to (a) their perceptions of “otherness” in a variety of situations in engineering at Rowan (FGES do not perceive themselves as “other” in most situations); (b) their background in engineering-related subjects and extra-curricular activities in high school (FGES background differs from Non-FGES); (c) their satisfaction with various aspects of the engineering program at Rowan (there are few differences); (d) their self-confidence as engineers (there are some differences); and (e) their commitment to and belief in a future career in engineering (FGES are strongly committed to, and believe they have, a future in engineering)

Adapting Amid Change: Rowan Glassboro Faculty Perspectives

Please join our Rowan University first-generation faculty panel to discuss the challenges that accompany being first-generation as both educators and students. We have all shifted from the traditional learning and teaching atmosphere to this pandemic-driven Zoom U way of education – this change has had unique effects on first-generation students and how faculty approach teaching. Let us share what these times have been like and how we can improve our approach to better serve first-generation students