STUDENT AND FACULTY PERCEPTIONS OF CAPSTONE PURPOSES: WHAT CAN ENGINEERING LEARN FROM OTHER DISCIPLINES?

Abstract

Capstone Experiences (CE) are meant to integrate and culminate the student experience. The most common CE in the Canadian and American engineering curriculums is the final year design course, but other disciplines also have capstone experiences. This paper presents initial results from a multi-institutional, multi-national survey of faculty and student perceptions of capstone experiences. Here, we investigate three criteria (Values, Skills/competencies, Attitudes) and discuss differences and similarities among the disciplines and between engineering students and faculty. There is good alignment between engineering faculty and students, but values such as openness and compassion are selected at (comparatively) lower rates by engineering faculty and students than by other disciplines. These findings provide an opportunity for engineering educators to reflect on the intentions of their CE; e.g., are these results an intentional outcome of engineering capstones, or an oversight on the part of engineering educators?