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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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Volume VIII, Number 2 |
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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Volume VIII, Number 2 |
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Integrating Economic Analysis Into the Engineering Curriculum Kim Needy and Karen M. Bursic, engineering, believe that engineering
economic analysis “is a core engineering competency that plays a vital
role in decisions made by engineers.” At Pitt, however, economic analysis
remains confined to two separate courses in the department curriculum. Although students are well-trained in the skills of their field, the necessity of cost-effectiveness in their future careers is not emphasized enough. “It all comes down to cost. When they go out into the workforce, they need to be able to economically justify their ideas,” Kim Needy emphasizes. The ACIE grant will allow Needy and Bursic to conduct and implement a three-part program. The first phase is to perform a needs assessment for engineering economic analysis in the eight engineering disciplines at Oakland and in the engineering technology program at Johnstown. The second phase will modify the course content for the engineering economic analysis courses based on the needs assessment. The third phase will integrate the material into other courses in each of the engineering disciplines by developing an Engineering Economic Analysis Template. The template will be a “how to” for engineering economic analysis, allowing a student to determine if a proposed engineering solution is economically feasible. The Center for Instructional Development & Distance Education will help install the template on a Blackboard Website, thus making it available to all students in the Pitt engineering program. This is only the beginning, according to Needy and Bursic. Results of
the project will be presented at future conferences such as the American
Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference. “This project,”
they assert, “cuts across not only the engineering division but also
across all campuses.” Needy and Bursic point out, “This will increase
the recognition and visibility of the University of Pittsburgh’s School
of Engineering as one of the leaders in the current move to improve
engineering education across the nation.” | |||||
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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Center for Instructional
Development & Distance Education |
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Needy and Bursic believe their project, Integrating Engineering Economic
Analysis into the Engineering Curriculum, will help make economic analysis
far more central to the engineering curriculum.