Mechanical Engineering

Learning Outcomes/Goals:

  1. Apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
  2. Application of advanced mathematics including multivariate calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, and statistics
  3. Use of techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools
  4. Identify, formulate and solve engineering problems
  5. Design a system, component, or process
  6. Design and conduct experiments
  7. Design, build and test in mechanical systems area
  8. Design, build, and test in thermal/fluids area
  9. Undertake a major design experience
  10. Communicate effectively
  11. Function on multi-disciplinary teams
  12. Understand professional and ethical responsibility
  13. Awareness of global/societal impact on engineering
  14. Encouragement of life long learning
  15. Knowledge of contemporary issues

Activities in Support of Goal:

1.  The Program Outcomes are correlated directly with the Program Educational Objectives

Assessment Methods:

1.  Senior Surveys: administered in the capstone design course (ME 481)

2.  Alumni Survey: given to individuals two years after they have graduated and focuses on the graduates perspective regarding the achievement of the program outcomes

3.  Senior Focus Group: Standardized questions that are asked to12 to 15 graduating seniors

4.  Course Assignments: For many of the outcomes, course assignments are used to assess the outcomes. This is especially true of technical outcomes. These assignments include exams, projects, reports, and laboratory experiences. The course instructor sets the standard at which the outcome is assumed to be achieved. This standard is termed the minimum competency level and is explained to the instructors to be the assignment score that would indicate the student is competent in the topic or skill but has not necessarily achieved mastery.

Assessment Results:

Metric goals were created for each outcome goal. For a complete list of the Metric Goals, please see the end of the document. The following results are from the assessment tools as well as from comparisons to the metric goals.

  1. In the students’ mind they are achieving the program outcomes.
  2. Alumni Survey results indicate that there may be a problem associated with the outcome involving knowledge of contemporary issues; however, this apparent weakness is not confirmed by either the Graduating Senior Survey or the minutes of the Graduating Senior Focus Group
  3. A summary of the metric goals is in the following chart. . The results of the metric goals clearly demonstrate that the graduates of the program are achieving the Program Outcomes

Table 3.5 Summary Results of Metric Goals

Outcome / Goal
Targets / Goal
Achieved / Level of
Achievement
Basic / 1a
b / 80%
80% / 68%
66% / Marginal
Math / 2a
b
c / 75%
75%
75% / 91%
91%
81% / Satisfactory
Tools / 3a
b
c / 80%
90%
80% / 74%
78%
93% / Marginal
Engr. Problems / 4a
b
c / 80&
85%
95% / 74%
91%
97% / Satisfactory
Design / 5a
b / 90%
95% / 83%
94% / Satisfactory
Experiments / 6a
b
c / 80%
90%
95% / 94%
87%
87% / Marginal
Mechanical Design / 7a
b / 90%
90% / 99%
83% / Satisfactory
Thermal Design / 8a / 95% / 94% / Satisfactory
Capstone / 9a / 95% / 83% / Marginal
Communication / 10a
b
c / 90%
95%
95% / 92%
100%
88% / Satisfactory
Team / 11a
b
c / 95%
95%
95% / 100%
99%
97% / Satisfactory
Ethics / 12a
b / Positive
4.00 / Negative
4.31 / Marginal
Global / 13a
b / Positive
4.00 / None
3.78 / Marginal
Cont. Learning / 14a
b / 4.00
75% / 4.03
76% / Satisfactory
Contemporary / 15a
b
c / 90%
Positive
3.76, 3.89 / 87%
Neutral
4.0 / Satisfactory

Action Taken:

1.  Assimilation of Engineering Mechanics: In 2001 the College of Engineering made a decision to disband the Materials Science and Mechanics. As part of this decision the engineering mechanics, courses, faculty and program were transferred to the Department of Mechanical Engineering. In the two years following this transition, the program expended considerable effort in the assimilation process. This included discontinuing the B.S. in Engineering Mechanics and the B.S. in Manufacturing Engineering (following all the university processes associated with the discontinuance), developing the teaching capabilities for the core solid mechanics courses (ME 221 Statics, ME 222 Deformable Solids, and ME 361 Dynamics), renumbering all of the mechanics courses that came over in a fashion consistent with the department’s course numbering system, and integrating the engineering mechanics faculty into the mechanical engineering program (especially with respect to supervising capstone design projects). The program is now stronger and improved due to these changes, but the process was very challenging.

2.  Creation of Options: Students and alumni have indicated that they would like to see courses grouped together, so that graduates could obtain an emphasis area in mechanical engineering. The MEUCC has developed a policy for the introduction of an emphasis area, called an option, which would be noted on the student’s transcript. Two such options were established following the discontinuance of the two B.S. degree programs from the now disbanded MSM department: manufacturing and engineering mechanics.

3.  Statics: Two problems were immediately identified when the program began teaching statics, ME 221: having a competent and vested instructor for the class and the failure rate for the class. Timothy Hinds was identified as the lead instructor for the course. He significantly improved the course as indicated by student instructional rating scores. To address the large failure rate, the Associate Dean of the College of Engineering studied the math and physics background of the students who had taken the course and found a strong correlation with math background and course grade and a weaker correlation with physics background and course grade. In receiving this information the program quickly changed the prerequisites of ME 221 from MTH 132 Calculus I to PHY 183 Physics I and MTH 234 Calculus III (or concurrently). In the three years that the program has taught the course there has been significant improvement. Much progress has been made in improving ME 221 Statics, and it is somewhat unfortunate that during the spring semester of 2004 the Dean of the College of Engineering decided to administratively move the course to the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, so that the mechanical engineering program will no longer have responsibility for the instruction of statics to its students.

4.  Lower Level Courses: During its retreat at the start of the fall semester of 2003, the faculty discussed a perceived lack of preparation in statics and thermodynamics from program students as the entered upper division classes. Two task forces were formed to investigate the instruction in statics and thermodynamics. Through the College of Engineering data base the Associate Chair obtained grade data for these two classes. These data are shown in Table 3.6 for the 242 seniors in the program as of spring semester 2004. These data are pretty remarkable. Only 4% of the program’s seniors received a grade lower than 2.0 in ME 201 and only 2% received a grade of less than 2.0 in ME 221. If one looks at the percentages of students that received less than a 2.5, our numbers become 10% for ME 201 and 9% for ME 221. Furthermore, there is a remarkable lack of correlation for the students receiving 1.0 and 1.5 in ME 201 and what they received in the other three classes. The data would indicate that the problem is only in the perception of the faculty.

5.  Build and Test Facilities: With all of the design, build, test activities required in the program, the old Industrial Projects Lab, located in the basement of the Engineering Building, had become overwhelmed. In 2000 new space was identified on the first floor of the Engineering Building for these activities, which significantly (approximately 3 times) increased the space available. With contributions from industry, the program now has a new and up-to-date lab for its design, build, and test activities. There has also been considerable updating of the College of Engineering machine shop that now has an operating plan that allows significant student work to go on in the shop.

6.  Control Systems Course (ME 451): Narrative responses from surveys and the focus group indicate that the course with the most negative impact in the program is ME 451 Control Systems. Student concerns include: all theory, no idea why you are studying systems, no application to real world, etc. There are also significant concerns with the lab component for the course that include: ineffective TA’s, a lack of synching between the lab and lecture, broken equipment. The three faculty responsible for this course were informed of these concerns. During the spring semester of 2004, the course content was revised to give a greater focus on the needs of the practicing engineer in the area. For example, the development of state equations went from being a major topic to very brief coverage. The instructor of the course was very pleased with the student reaction to the changes and their very strong performance in the course. Issues associated with the lab component are still being explored.

Future Plans:

1.  Assimilation of Engineering Mechanics: The manufacturing option has been well received by students, but the engineering mechanics option has been much less successful. Two additional options have been considered. An option in product styling was approved by the MEUCC, but it received very negative reviews at a faculty meeting and has not yet received faculty approval. An option in mechatronics was submitted to the MEUCC, but it was poorly received and has not been approved by the committee. Two other options, energy and biomechanical engineering, are in the development stage. All four of the proposed options were presented to the Board of Visitors (BOV) at it fall 2003 meeting, and the BOV was very supportive of this development.

Attachements:

Metric Goals for Program Outcomes

The following metrics have been established as measures of the programs outcomes.

1.  Apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering

a. Eighty percent of the students achieve minimum competency on the ME 361 final exam.

b. Eighty percent of the students achieve minimum competency on the ME 332 final exam.

Comment: As seen in the PEO map for the program, these two courses (ME 361 Dynamics and ME 332 Fluid Mechanics) have a major emphasis on this outcome, and their final exam should provide a good indication as to whether our students are achieving this outcome.

2.  Application of advanced mathematics

a. Seventy-five percent of the students achieve minimum competency on the ME 410 hour exam on heat conduction.

b. Seventy-five percent of the students achieve minimum competency on the ME 451 first quiz.

c. Seventy- five percent of the students achieve minimum competency on the ME 461 first hour exam.

Comment: As seen in the PEO map for the program, these three courses (ME 410 Heat Transfer, ME 451 Control Systems, and ME 461 Mechanical Vibrations) have a major emphasis on this outcome. At certain times during the course the application of advanced mathematics garners more attention, so that hour exams have been chosen as the metric and these should provide a good indication as to whether our students are achieving this outcome.

3.  Use of techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools

a. Eighty percent of the students achieve minimum competency on the FEA Project in ME 471.

b. Ninety percent of the students achieve minimum competency on data processing with spreadsheets in ME 412.

c. Eighty percent of the students achieve minimum competency in using Lab View in ME 461 lab.

Comment: Certain assignments in these three courses (ME 412 Heat Transfer Laboratory, ME 451 461 Mechanical Vibrations, and ME 471 Mechanical Design II) have assignments that require the students to use some of the modern engineering tools taught in the program. These assignments have been chosen as the metric and should provide a good indication as to whether our students are achieving this outcome.

4.  Identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems

a. Eighty percent of the students achieve minimum competency on the convection exam for ME 410.

b. Eighty-five percent of the students achieve minimum competency on the ME 451 final exam.

c. Ninety-five percent of the students achieve minimum competency on the ME 451 Second Formal Lab Report.

Comment: As seen in the PEO map for the program, these two courses (ME 410 Heat Transfer and ME 451 Control Systems) have a major emphasis on this outcome and their final exam should provide a good indication as to whether our students are achieving this outcome.

Table 3.3 Results of May 2003 Graduating Senior Survey

Outcome / Survey Question / Average
1 / 9 / 4.11
3 / 17 / 3.91
4 / 2 / 4.24
5 / 19 / 3.82
6 / 4 / 3.87
10 / 5 / 4.15
10 / 15 / 3.74
11 / 20 / 4.33
12 / 22 / 4.31
13 / 14 / 3.78
14 / 11 / 4.03
15 / 12 / 3.76
15 / 21 / 3.89

Table 3.4 Results of Two-Year-Out Alumni Survey

2000-2001 Graduates