Marquette University College of Engineering

Site Visit Reports

In 2004 a committee from the Marquette University College of Engineering (COE) was assembled by the Dean of the COE to find best practices for undergraduate engineering curricula and facilities to increase the competitiveness of the COE. This committee, which is called the Investigation Committee, was composed of faculty from the COE, an architect from Facilities Services and representatives from OPUS North Corp. The Committee recommends a revised undergraduate engineering curriculum that incorporates discovery learning and a new building to enable the COE to implement the revised curriculum. Perspectives and skills associated with discovery learning are recommended by National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for educating future engineers (The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century, NAE, 2004). Discovery learning is more hands-on, laboratory-intensive, interdisciplinary and experiential than traditional engineering education. The current COE’s facilities do not
enable the COE to implement discovery learning, which limit the COE’s competitiveness and prevents the COE from becoming a leader in undergraduate engineering education.

During early 2005, the Committee conducted web searches for exemplary educational engineering curricula and buildings in the universities that incorporate leading-edge approaches to undergraduate engineering education. The Committee selected 9 schools for visits by Committee members. Seven of the 9 schools were visited in May and June
2005, and pertinent data, along with photographs, were recorded by the site visit team. The site visits were geographically distributed in the U.S., from the west coast (Stanford University) to the east coast (MIT).

The Committee recommends the COE revise the undergraduate curriculum to
incorporate discovery learning. The Committee also recommends the COE adopt the following concepts for a new building, the Discovery Learning Tower (DLT):

Design the DLT to engage students in the entire design process (discovery learning).
Design rooms that can serve both instructional and laboratory needs of classes.
Expose and instrument some of the engineering functions of the DLT.
Minimize impact of the DLT on the environment.
Include large glass walls so people on the outside can see what engineers do.
Design the DLT so it is inviting to visitors and facilitates social interaction.
Incorporate an aesthetic, comfortable area for food service.
Include an exhibition area that can house exhibits.

The concepts listed above, which are a subset of the recommendations in this report, can aid the goal-setting process conducted by the COE constituents during the Fall 2005 semester and the subsequent architectural programming and design of the DLT. The Committee’s work continues with 2 more site visits in Fall 2005, with the possibility of even more site visits. Forthcoming findings and recommendations will be distributed by the Committee’s chair (R.W. Marklin).

Complete Site Visit Reports