Development Of A Manufacturing Processes Course For A Bse Program: Sights, Sounds, Smells, And Student Learning

Abstract

Manufacturing Processes Course Development for a BSE Program: Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Student Learning Abstract

The development of an upper division elective course in manufacturing processes for a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree program is presented. The development is justified via the program history and by recalling traditional manufacturing and mechanical engineering educational curricula. The course’s relationship to program educational objectives, which map into ABET assessment criteria, and how the course relates to other courses in the program are presented. Specific expected educational outcomes identified for the course are also presented. The text selection process is included. The course scope, prerequisite coursework, lecture topics, content delivery methods (including multimedia tools), activity scheduling, lab component issues, and incorporation of industrial tours are addressed. Assessment of student learning via in-class exercises, short papers, tour journals, and exams is discussed. Results of a student survey concerning the first course offering are presented. The necessity of the course in light of the increasing emphasis on engineering design education and globalization is argued.

Institution and Program Overview

The University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin) is a primarily undergraduate institution offering an ABET-accredited Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree with concentrations in civil, electrical, industrial, and mechanical engineering disciplines. Implemented on a semester schedule, the degree program consists of a 50-hour core curriculum for all concentrations, 51 hours of general education requirements, and 27 hours of concentration-specific upper division curricula, including 9 hours of electives. Thus, the degree comprises 128 credit hours. Passing the NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering Exam is a further requirement for graduation. There are approximately 250 students and ten full-time-equivalent faculty members.

Need for Course

To provide wider educational breadth for upper division mechanical and industrial concentration students, engineering department faculty in those concentration areas determined that a course in manufacturing processes would be a beneficial addition to the courses offered for those two concentrations. The mechanical concentration upper division elective courses comprised energy systems, signals and systems analysis, automated production systems, and manufacturing systems, which was on the books but had not been taught recently. Manufacturing systems’ course number was retained and the course title and description were updated to describe what is now titled ENGR 474 Manufacturing Processes, the subject of this paper. The industrial concentration upper division electives comprise human factors,