Higher-Education Partnerships in Engineering and Science

Abstract

Widely shared concerns in the U.S. engineering profession have fostered the evolution of technologies and organizations that today are centered in the National Technological University (NTU). Most engineering graduates enter the work force with a baccalaureate degree today, as they did in 1900, despite the enormous complexity of modern technology. Furthermore, accelerating technological change makes career-long learning a necessity. NTU is a cooperative effort by 35 major engineering colleges to provide for the graduate and continuing education needs of today's busy, mobile engineer, technical professional, and manager. These campuses are linked by satellite telecommunication to more than 325 locations nationwide. By means of instructional television, engineers at their job sites can literally tune in to courses offered by top teachers and experts. This article discusses not only the networking technologies but also, and perhaps more important, the unique partnership driven by visionary leaders from the corporate sector, leading engineering schools, and the federal government.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

1. Russel C. Jones , Alternate Formats of Engineering Education, Proceedings of the 1989 Frontiers in Education Conference, American Society for Engineering Education (1989).

2. Lionel V. Baldwin and Kenneth S. Down , Educational Technology in Engineering (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1981), surveys the evolution of engineering instructional television.

3. Joseph Pettit and W. Hawkins, eds., “Final Report: Goals of Engineering Education,” Journal of Engineering Education, Jan. 1968, pp. 369-446.

4. L.V. Baldwin et al. , Workshop on Continuing Education for Engineers at Midcareer (Fort Collins: Colorado State University, Aug. 1974).

5. Thomas L. Martin, Jr. et al. , Focus on the Future: A National Action Plan for Career-Long Education for Engineers (Washington, DC: National Academy of Engineering, 1988).

6. Frank P. Doyle , “People Power: The Global Human Resource Challenge for the Nineties” (Paper delivered at the World Management Congress, New York, 23 Sept. 1989).

7. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment , Linking for Learning: A New Course for Education (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, Nov. 1989).

8. Harvey R. Stone , A Comparative Analysis of Interactive and Non-Interactive Video Delivery of Off-Campus Graduate Engineering Education (Newark: University of Delaware, 1990).

Raymond E. Morrison , Continuing Professional Development—Developing Experts through Videotaped Programs, ASEE 1988 Annual Conference Proceedings (Washington, DC: American Society for Engineering Education, 1988), 1:169-171.

10.

10. Marilyn Elaine Mays, “The Historical Development and Future of the National Technological University” (Ph.D. diss., University of North Texas, Denton, 1988).