Reappraisal of University-Level Engineering Education

Abstract

The nature of the university education system worldwide, in response to various societal changes, has been changing tremendously in recent years. As summarized by Professor Robert M. Berdahl, the former Chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley, at the National Press Club luncheon in Washington, D.C., on June 2, 1999, there are four national trends in the United States that have the potential to weaken and possibly even threaten the existence of the public university: 1 diminishing public support for public education at all levels: elementary, high school, and university; 2 a growing commercialization of higher education; 3 rising inequality in our citizens’ access to higher education; and 4 the current movement among some major educational institutions and businesses toward providing a degree-oriented university education online. In fact, these statements are generally applicable to many parts of the world to some extent—in particular in Asia, where most universities are public universities almost fully supported by the government. The most prominent factor is the diminishing of public support, in terms of both research funding and operating expenses, for universities. Facing the mounting budgetary pressure, university administrators have to adjust their planning strategy, which may have an adverse impact on the quality of university education. These changes may also impact the traditional values of academicians. The validity of much pride and prejudice of the academician that might be reasonably valid in the past may have to be reexamined. The writer started his engineering career in the industry. His career then threaded through academia both private and public universities , industry, public administration, and academia again. He has worked in the United States and overseas. His observations on these facets and reappraisal of the situation from different angles are presented in this paper. Moreover, the impacts of misconceptions on the quality of engineering education are evaluated, and ways to improve the current situation for the best interest of all parties concerned are suggested. The discussion of this paper concentrates on university-level engineering education. However, most of the discussion may apply to university education in general.