Quality planning in engineering education: Analysis of alternative implementations of a new first-year curriculum at Texas A&M University
Academic Article
Overview
Additional Document Info
View All
Overview
abstract
In general terms, traditional strategic planning maybe described as a mechanism for generating a set of targets and approaches for achieving the established purpose of an organization. For it to be effective, a strategic plan must serve as the basis for creating a set of well-defined operations that align with the organizational goals and strategies. Because the task of generating an effective plan requires knowledge, time, patience, and persistence, not all organizations are prepared to devote the time and energy that is required to produce a meaningful plan. It is the intent of this paper to describe an approach to quality planning which was used to make major auricular changes in the first-year engineering education program at Texas A&M University. The planners' intention in this instance was to apply quality function deployment matrices, systems engineering concepts, quality management principles, and multi-attribute utility analysis to the evaluation of curriculum alternatives in an effort to make the planning process less complex and more systematic.
