Program Purpose

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The purpose of the Department of Mechanical Engineering is to provide a world-class education to undergraduate and graduate students, in an atmosphere enlightened by the principles of the gospel. In accordance with the expectations of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), the department has developed a set of Program Educational Objectives which describe the career and professional accomplishments that the program is preparing graduates to achieve.

Program Educational Objectives

The objectives of the undergraduate Bachelors of Science program in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Brigham Young University are to:

1. Teach the fundamental concepts of math, science, and mechanical engineering in order to produce graduates who demonstrate technical excellence and provide service to their profession, community, family, and church.
2. Instill a desire and ability to learn continuously, both through study and faith, to enable graduates to meet the changing demands of their profession and personal life.
3. Provide practical and open-ended engineering experiences in order to develop graduates who think independently and demonstrate leadership and creativity.
4. Engage students in activities to produce graduates who communicate and work effectively and ethically with people of diverse backgrounds.

Curricular Structure

The BS in Mechanical Engineering degree requirements are shown in the Major Academic Plan (linked in the Undergraduate Catalog link below). The total number of credit hours required for graduation is 130.5. The course work can be broken-down into three main categrories: 1) Mathematics and basic science 2) General education 3) Mechanical Engineering courses. The average time to graduation in Mechanical Engineering is nine semesters.

Undergraduate Catalog

Other Learning Opportunities

In addition to formal coursework, the Mechanical Engineering program supports numerous extracurricular engineering activities. There are four student chapters of engineering societies including: 1) The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) 2) The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) 3) The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and 4) The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Students can also elect to be involved in engineering design teams which compete or collaborate with other schools in designing products such as on- or off-road vehicles, robots for space exploration, and supermileage vehicles. ASME also sponsors an oral presentation contest and other design contests. The department offers non-credit mini-courses in machine shop operations and refresher courses in mathematics are available from the College of Engineering.

Learning Outcomes

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As required by ABET, the Expected Learning Outcomes for the BS degree are listed as a set of Student Outcomes, shown below.

Achievement of the Student Outcomes is ensured by achieving a set of Course Outcomes. Each of the required courses has several Course Outcomes. Instructors have the flexibility to pursue additional learning but the Course Outcomes are required content for the course, regardless of the instructor.

Each semester, the degree to which the course outcomes have been achieved is evaluated by both the students and the instructor. Recommendations for changes in the course outcomes and learning activities are provided by the instructor. The complete list of Course Outcomes and Evaluation Sheets is available.

SO-1. Complex Engineering Problems

An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.

SO-2. Engineering Design

An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.

SO-3. Communication

An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.

SO-4. Ethics and Professionalism

An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.

SO-5. Teamwork

An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.

SO-6. Experimentation

An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.

SO-7. New Knowledge

An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Evidence of Learning

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Direct Measures

Data are collected yearly using the following tools:

1. The senior exit survey
2. Student self assessment of course outcomes
3. Instructor assessment of course outcomes
4. University alumni survey
5. The National Council of Engineers and Surveyors Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam

The data are examined regularly for trends and patterns. In addition, the department conducts a yearly review of this data to determine how well program outcomes are being met, and whether any program outocmes should change. The results of this review are reported to the whole faculty at an annual department retreat.

Indirect Measures

Indirect measures are also collected from our measuring tools which are listed above. Example of indirect measures include the employment rate, acceptance rate at graduate schools, salaries, job quality, and acceptance of our outcomes from industry.

Learning and Teaching Assessment and Improvement

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An ongoing process of assessment and improvement has been applied in the department. The following summarizes the assessment processes followed by the department.

1. Faculty, alumni, and the university are consistently polled concerning the Program Educational Objectives (4) and Student Outcomes (7).
2. Achievement of the Objectives and Outcomes is measured through a set of tools which include the following:
   • The standardized Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam
   • Student surveys of Course Outcomes which are mapped to the Student Outcomes
   • Surveys and feedback from the Mechanical Engineering External Advisor Board (MEEAB)
   • A senior exit survey completed by nearly all graduating students
   • University alumni survey, completed annually
3. An annual assessment report is prepared including identification of strengths and weaknesses relative to the Program Educational Objectives and Student Outcomes and suggestions for changing the Program Educational Objectives and Student Outcomes.
4. Regular (about twice a month) faculty meetings are held where curriculum and program changes are developed and implemented.