Product and system development: Creating a new focus for an electronics engineering technology program
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Beginning in the Fall of 2008, the Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering Technology faculty have been moving their two independent programs to a single program focused on electronic product and system development in order to respond to changing industry need. Through a process that involved internal evaluation as well as external industry involvement, the new curriculum has now been designed, vetted, and improved. Pending University approval, the new curriculum will be put in place starting in the Fall of 2012. The new curriculum not only better suits the need of today's industry customers, it also provides a unique and exciting selling proposition for recruiting. Prospective students are responding well to the new emphasis which is not unexpected. It is clear that when many high school students think of electronics technology, they see themselves working with hands-on technology and understanding/designing real electronics products rather than focusing only on low-level mathematics and theory. Thus, the new focus resonates well with what they envision their future career paths to be. After the initial roll-out of the curriculum, continuous improvement processes will be put into place to ensure that the new curriculum continues to evolve. In addition, the faculty will be working continuously with industry to ensure that the new technical electives remain current and relevant. Finally, as the curriculum is implemented additional publications will be generated to disseminate details of the new courses and feedback from students and industry. 2012 American Society for Engineering Education.
