Incorporating Engineering Standards in the Major Design Experience

1. Incorporating Engineering Standards in the Major Design Experience William E. Kelly Department of Civil Engineering The Catholic University of America Washington, DC 20064 ASEE Annual Conference

2. Outline • ABET Criteria • National Standards Strategy • International aspects • Resources for teaching about standards • Opportunities to enhance general education • Summary

3. ABET Criterion 4 • Students must be prepared for engineering practice through the curriculum culminating in a major design experience based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work and incorporating engineering standards and realistic constraints that include most of the following considerations: economic; environmental; sustainability; manufacturability; ethical; health and safety; social; and political • It could be argued that most, if not all, of the considerations listed include standards aspects either voluntary or regulatory

4. ABET Criterion 3 Engineering programs must demonstrate that their graduates have: (f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility (g) an ability to communicate effectively (h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context (i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning (j) a knowledge of contemporary issues

5. National Standards Strategy

6. International standards and design • Product to be sold internationally • Product manufactured by a transnational company • Engineering documents shared internationally • Health, safety, and environmental regulations • ISO, WTO, U.S. Positions

7. Resources • NIST web site http://www.nist.org • ANSI Web site http://www.ansi.org • ANSI News - on the web • htttp://www.Standardslearn.org

8. Opportunities to enhance general education • Many of the considerations students need to address in design have international aspects and the requisite knowledge and background to deal with these could (must?) come from non-engineering courses or special engineering courses designed to supplement general education. • Courses on technology in society taught from an engineering perspective could enhance the position of engineering programs on campus and help ensure students have the background to fully address the considerations • Remember the ASEE Green Report!

9. Summary • Criterion 4 requires incorporation of engineering standards • Globalization means that international standards as well as national standards should be included. • Criterion 4 “considerations” have standards aspects discussion of which from an engineering perspective can contribute to students general education.