Subcontracting the Senior Design Project in Civil Engineering

Abstract

The criteria of Engineering Accreditation Commission EAC of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology ABET state that “students must be prepared for engineering practice through the curriculum culminating in a major design experience based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work and incorporating engineering standards and realistic constraints that include most of the following considerations: economics; environment; sustainability; manufacturability; ethical; health and safety; social, and political.” For civil engineering, the program criterion states that “The program must demonstrate that graduates have...the ability to perform civil engineering design by means of design experience integrated throughout the professional component of the curriculum; an understanding of professional practice issues. . . .” The civil engineering program at Minnesota State University, Mankato MSU , was approved by the Minnesota State Universities and Colleges in fall 2000. One of the goals during the development of the program curriculum was to offer students a realistic major design experience that meets ABET criteria. A 2-semester course sequence CIVE 401 and CIVE 402 , for a total of 5 credit hours, was therefore included in the senior year of the curriculum. This senior design course description is not that different from senior design course descriptions found in other civil engineering programs. We believe that the senior design course at MSU is unique in the way that it is organized to integrate the design experience throughout the curriculum and to prepare the graduates to make immediate impact as new engineers. The first two senior design projects completed since the inception of the program were Cargo Facilities Addition at the Mankato Regional Airport completed by five students in 2002–2003, and Pedestrian, Traffic, and Parking Improvement at Minnesota State University, Mankato, completed by four students, in 2003–2004. Despite the small class size, the projects were comprehensive. A team of 11 students worked on the third project, under way as of