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Computer Integrated Design & Manufacturing Technology Degree Program at Kean University By Drs. Mohamed Gadalla, John Sladicka, Kamal Shahrabi, Ali Setoodehnia Kean University, Department of Technology, Union 1000 Morris Ave., NJ 07083 E-mail: gadalla@kean.edu
Abstract At Kean University we are in the process of developing a new Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree program in Computer Integrated Design and Manufacturing Technology (CIDMT). This paper will review Engineering Technology and Industrial Technology curriculum currently in existence. The review process is carried out in order to discover new trends in curriculum development and is intended to summarize, highlight, and compare these curriculums.
To develop a successful educational program it must be planned, developed, executed, assessed, reported, and revised. The intention of this work is to focus on the planning phase of this program. Program development, execution, and assessment will be the subject of future work.
Finally, a program document of the new Bachelor of Science degree program curriculum at Kean University will be presented to the Kean University Board of Trustees.
Introduction The department of Industrial Technology (IT) at Kean University currently offers two bachelor degree programs: Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Telecommunication and Information Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology with two options: Computer Integrated Design and Manufacturing CIDM and Electronics. The objectives for the future are to offer a Bachelor of Science in Computer Integrated Design and Manufacturing Technology (CIDMT).
Facts:
Industry Need: Most of industry recruits people that have skills that can be used to turn a profit. Examples of these skills may include: operating and designing computer packages, machines, and/or management and marketing skills
What Engineering and Technology School Provides
Before a product reaches the market two main group of activities takes place, design and manufacturing. Engineering education focuses primarily on the design activities and/or the process design, little or no attention is placed on the manufacturing activities (i.e. preparing the graduates to deal with performing engineering analysis to real world problems). A typical technology school focuses on the manufacturing activities (i.e. preparing the graduates to deal with hands-on type of activities and with some process design)
Technology vs. Engineering
*Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) vs. Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) Electrical Engineering encompasses all areas of research, development, design, and operation of electrical and electronic systems and their components. EET focuses upon the application of engineering principles and techniques to a wide variety of electrical and electronic devices, circuitry, instrumentation, and manufacturing operations.
*Mechanical Engineering vs. Mechanical Engineering Technology The ME program provides a broad based education, with concentration on fundamentals and basic laws as the major tools requisite for the professional practice of mechanical engineering. The goal of the program is to educate engineers who can think, analyze, design, and solve problems. Mechanical Engineering Technology offers a curriculum focused upon the application of scientific and engineering principles to manufacturing, manufacturing processes, quality control, materials, and cost analysis
Industrial Technology vs Engineering and Engineering Technology Industrial Technology is a field of study designed to prepare technical and/or management oriented professionals for employment in business, industry, education, and government. Industrial Technology is primarily involved with the management, operation, and maintenance of complex technological systems while Engineering and Engineering Technology are primarily involved with the design and installation of these systems. [http://www.nait.org]
Curriculum Analysis
It is very important to begin the analysis with the community college. Community colleges serve two main purposes: First to provide associate degree, which generally takes two years. Associate degree represents the fastest way to introduce young workers to the market. In general those introduced to the labor market in this category work at the level of a technician. Secondly many students join community colleges for early preparation in general education and may also include core courses. Summer courses may also be transferred to the university thus shortening their stay at the university and/or reduce their education costs.
Henry Ford Community College at Dearborn [www.hfcc.net] offers many programs; Manufacturing Engineering Technology is one of them. The program is 66 Credit hrs. divided among: required core courses (33 hours), cognate courses (6 hours minimum required), and required general Education Courses (26 hr.) The core courses such as manufacturing process, quality control, and numerical control courses are included. . The cognate courses represent mostly computer related courses such as DOS and Windows operations systems, CAD, etc. and other introductory courses in areas such as basics of Hydraulics, and electricity.
In general Engineering program are intended to cover both the applied and theoretical side related to the topics being studied. It was observed that during the survey many of the engineering schools tend to emphasize hands on type of experience and/or multi disciplinary curriculum.
The manufacturing engineering program offered by University of Michigan Dearborn is an example used to shed further light on these programs [www.umd.umich.edu]. The manufacturing engineering program is composed of 128 credit hrs. These credit hrs are distributed as follows General Distribution (23 hr.), Basic preparation (50hrs.), Professional requirements (55 hrs.), and elective (6hr.). This program as most engineering programs focuses on basic engineering education and is divided among: mathematics, chemistry, physics, programming, and core programs such as thermodynamics and material engineering.
Engineering Technology is a program mainly designed to serve students who want to pursue their educations while they work. Students prefer to have education that focuses on hands on type of experience rather than basic, engineering analysis, or theoretical type of educations.
Example of these programs, is the manufacturing engineering program offered by New Jersey Institute of technology (NJIT, [http://www.njit.edu]). The manufacturing Technology curriculum emphasizes the quantitative methods of manufacturing and production management. This degree prepares the student for work in quality control, work measurement, reliability, cost analysis, CAD/CAM, plant layout, CNC, materials handling and supervision. New students entering this program are expected to have their associates degree and will continue for an additional 66 credit hour that include some technical elective, elective, and capstone courses. Finally a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree can be obtained as a result of fulfilling these requirements. Industrial Technology is a degree that is offered in universities such as: Kean University, Ohio University, and many others. A complete list of schools that offers industrial technology programs can be found at the National Association of Industrial Technology (NAIT) web site [http://www.nait.org]). As an example, the program offered at Kean is (136-137 S. H.) distributed between general education requirements (62 S. H.), Major requirements (74 S.H.). The General requirements is distributed among Core requirements (19 S.H), Humanities 12 S.H., Social & Behavior Science (12 S.H.), Biological & Physical Science (8 S. H.), Mathematics Science 9 S. H., Health & Physical Education (3 S. H.), additional Cognate courses (9 S. H.). The major requirement is distributed among core requirements (13. S. H.), Area of Specialization (34 S. H.), Management (15 S. H.), Guided Elective (12 S. H.), and Communications (12 S. H.)
What is the CIDM Technology Program
Mission Statements The objective of the CIDMT program at Kean University is to provide a quality technology and management education in addition to practical and hands on training. The acquired skills are a culmination of science; hands on experience and computer and system integration centered around a manufacturing and management core.
We believe that such a program will offer an education that can provide the greatest possible opportunity for rewarding and successful professional careers for our graduates.
The Recipient's Career Performance
In designing a curriculum it is best to recognize what is expected from an average student graduating from the CIDMT program.
Student graduating from the CIDMT program are expected to have the following characteristics:
Does the Program Converges or Diverges with the Industry Need?
Looking into the web site of the faculty of engineering science University of Western Ontario in Canada [http://www.uwo.ca], we will find five new programs that did not exist in the 1998 web site. These new programs include the following : Engineering and Medicines Bachelor Degree, Engineering and Business, Engineering and Law, Engineering and Economy, Integrated Engineering Program. Appendix A shows the Program announcement and description of the Integrated Engineering Program. It is clear that their approach is to build Multidisciplinary programs (i.e. mixing different courses from different disciplines to create new programs).
To conclude, the new criteria for engineering and technology curriculum development are to focus on multidisciplinary, hands on, and integrated and multi objectives curriculum (Fig. 1).
CIDMT Curriculum Design and Course Selection Criteria
Before designing a new curriculum it is best to analyze the existing curriculum and recognize the shortcomings and area of improvements. The following shortcomings are apparent in the exiting curriculum (Appendix B).
Appendix A Program announcement and Description of the Integrated Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering Science, University of Western Ontario
Appendix B Program announcement and Description of The Existing CIDM Program Structure
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