Experiences with an Industrial Engineering Dual Diploma Program

Abstract

Abstract Experiences with an Industrial Engineering Dual-diploma ProgramCem S. Karacal & Hasan Sevim, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USAIn 2007, The School of Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE)established a dual-diploma program in Industrial Engineering with Istanbul Technical University(ITU) in Turkey. The program is the first of its kind in Industrial Engineering both in Turkey andUSA. ITU is one of the premier engineering schools in Turkey with very competitive admissionstandards. As part of their studies, the students spend their freshman and junior years at ITU,sophomore and senior years at SIUE. Upon successful completion of the academicrequirements at both institutions, students are awarded a B.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineeringby SIUE and ITU. Students who wish to extend their studies by 18 more credit hours can pursuea B.Sc. degree in Manufacturing Engineering at SIUE as well. The program admits 35 newstudents each year and gave its first graduates in Spring 2011This paper addresses the experiences in designing, implementing, and running such apartnership. The development of the program of study that would meet the graduationrequirements of both institutions was a challenge as most international institutions do not haveas strong general education component as U.S. institutions do. The structural and academiccalendar differences of both institutions and the remedies developed to overcome thesedifficulties are covered. The hard and soft variables that influenced student academicperformance are also discussed in the paper. The results and the analysis of the surveys givento dual-diploma students in terms of academic and nonacademic aspects of the program aresummarized in the paper.The program required significant coordination among various offices of the universities. Thedifferent offices such as registrar, bursar’s office, housing, international office, engineeringstudent services and their role in successful implementation of the program are outlined. Thestudent campus life along with cultural and attitude differences experienced are discussed tohighlight other than academic factors involved in such programs. The on and off campusinternship opportunities and practical training chances provided to these students are alsocovered in the study. The scholarships opportunities provided to some of the outstandingstudents in the program as part of SIUE’s campus internalization effort are mentioned.