Engineering Programs In Canada Research Articles

Accreditation of undergraduate engineering programs in Canada and what it means for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals

ABSTRACT Achievement of the targets set for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) requires commitment and leadership from governments, and input and feedback from numerous collaborators. Professional engineers are one group of such collaborators who must ensure that their designs, projects, and practices enable sustainable development. This article discusses how the accreditation process for undergraduate engineering programmes in Canada confirms that accredited programmes are preparing graduates for careers in which they will be prepared to meet the challenges of striving towards the targets set by the UN SDGs.

Development and Delivery of an Electric Circuits Course Featuring Competency Based Assessment for First Year Engineering

Most common-core first year engineering programs in Canada include an introduction to electric circuits and electromagnetic physics. The launch of the RE-ENGINEERED first year program at the University of Saskatchewan has provided an opportunity to try something different in this arena. The RE-ENGINEERED program includes a “spine” of electric circuit analysis and the related physics that runs through both semesters of the first year.
 The modular and highly integrated structure of the RE-ENGINEERED program has allowed for accelerated courses that take advantage of timely learning in other courses. In the fall term, students are introduced to direct-current, resistive circuit analysis in a six-week, fifteen-contact-hour module. In the winter term, they experience an accelerated physics course which covers the electricity, magnetism, capacitance, and inductance concepts often taught in tandem with basic circuit analysis. The students then finish the winter term with an intensive course on alternating-current circuit analysis.
 The fall term course fully adopts the competency based assessment system of the RE-ENGINEERED program, and uses in-house-developed quizzes and tutorials on the most basic concepts and calculations to scaffold students to solving more complex circuit analysis problems. The course forgoes a hands-on lab component and focuses on circuit simulation using an open-source simulation package. Concurrent math and MATLAB courses introduce required linear algebra concepts just in time for use in the circuit analysis problems.
 This paper describes the development and delivery of the fall term course, including how the learning outcomes were synthesized and then used as the basis for the development of all other aspects of the course to ensure constructive alignment. Instructor and student impressions of the first delivery of the course are presented along how lessons learned will be applied to modify the course for future offerings.

Structural Timber Design in Curricula of Canadian Universities: Current Status and Future Needs

Due to the efficiency, sustainability, and advances in firefighting technologies, the allowable height for wood buildings was increased from 4 to 6 storeys in 2015 and will be further increased to 12 storeys in the 2020 edition of the National Building Code of Canada, as a result of the advent and application of mass timber products. To match the development in the industry and the increasing need in the market for highly skilled timber engineers, structural timber design curricula at the university level must evolve to train the next generation of practitioners. At most Canadian universities, structural timber design courses are mainly provided in civil engineering departments. In this study, 31 accredited civil engineering programs in Canada were reviewed for structural wood design content at undergraduate and graduate levels based on two surveys conducted in 2018 and 2020. In the 2018 survey, the percentage of structural timber design content was estimated and compared with other engineering materials (e.g., steel, concrete, and masonry), and a similar survey was repeated in 2020 to determine if any significant changes had occurred. In early 2021, two complementary questionnaires were sent to the instructors of timber-related courses across the country to collect quantitative information, including enrollment statistics, percentage dedicated to timber design in combined material courses, and potential topics deemed critical to support the design of modern timber structures. Based on the responses provided, and also on the availability of resources and the research ongoing, the content for five advanced-level courses is proposed to address the needs of the timber design community. The findings presented in this paper will assist the timber industry, government agencies, and educational institutions in effecting potential changes to university curricula to educate the next generation of timber design professionals who will possess the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the challenges in designing modern mass timber structures.

A REVIEW OF HOW LIFELONG LEARNING IS PLANNED AND ENACTED IN CANADIAN ENGINEERING PROGRAMS

Lifelong learning is a vital competency for navigating contemporary industry and society. Canadianengineering programs are expected to instill lifelong learning in students by the time they graduate. While lifelong learning initiatives, interventions, and assessment instruments are often proposed, there is no clear consensus on how the graduate attribute should be addressed at the program level. As a first step towards a possible consensus, this research investigates how the lifelong learning graduate attribute is operationalized in Canada. By reviewing indicator definitions and scholarly research, we answer three questions: 1) How do different engineering programs in Canada define lifelong learning in terms of knowledge, skill-based, and attitudinal indicators? 2) How do different engineering programs in Canada enact content, pedagogy, and assessment to influence the development of lifelong learning in students? and 3) How does this compare toconceptualizations of lifelong learning in the broader education literature? This review found different interpretations of the CEAB definition of lifelong learning: some institutions emphasize self-directed learning skills, including identifying and addressing knowledge gaps, while few emphasize attitudes such as curiosity and commitment to lifelong learning. Many Canadian instructors are taking steps to address lifelong learning in their teaching practices, but deliberate teaching and assessment of lifelong learning across programs is rare. Compared to lifelong learning frameworks in the broader literature, Canadian programs appear to emphasize lifelong learning skills and some metacognitive knowledge over attitudes. Skills are likely easier to defineas indicators and assess, but it is unclear whether a focus on skills leads to an internalized lifelong learning orientation.

THE ROLE OF SUB-DISCIPLINE CHOICE IN WOMEN’S ENROLLMENT AND SUCCESS WITHIN CANADIAN UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING PROGRAMS.

In Canada, the proportion of female students in engineering is considerably lower than the proportion of female students in higher education. Using Tinto’s (1993) theories concerning social and academic integration, this study investigated the relationships between the proportion of female undergraduate engineering students, and the proportion of female faculty, and departmental lead faculty. Using descriptive statistics, the study established that distinct and persistent differences exist in the proportions of female enrolment among schools and among sub-disciplines. This paper addresses a gap in the literature concerning the impact of sub-discipline choice on women's engagement and success within undergraduate engineering programs in Canada. The proportion of female students was found to vary considerably across the sub-disciplines, from 48% in biosystems to 15% in software engineering [14]. The paper will present female sub-discipline enrolment trends over time and discuss the impact of sub-discipline choice and institutional factors on female students' successful academic and social integration within Canadian engineering schools.

DEVELOPMENT OF “INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING” COURSES FOR FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENTS: A FOCUS ON STUDENT ATTITUDES

Many students entering an engineering program have a strong appreciation of the importance of math- and science-based skills for their future career as an engineer, but often have little grasp of what it means to be entering a professional college. For this reason, many engineering programs in Canada include some form of an “Introduction to the Engineering Profession” in their first-year program. The University of Saskatchewan’s College of Engineering has been working toward the launch of a completely redesigned first year program. This project has afforded the College an opportunity to apply a novel and transferable approach to shaping this “Introduction to the Engineering” experience. The structure of the proposed new first year program has allowed for short and intensive “Introduction to Engineering” modules, which bookend each of the regular session terms. This timing makes them an orientation for the program, allowing for timely deep dives into matters of importance to engineering students: study skills, time-management, teamwork, self-assessment, support services, student well-being, ethics, academic integrity, and health and safety. The timing of the modules also allows for completion of term-long assignments and reflection on both personal and academic growth. This paper describes the process employed to develop the course learning outcomes, schedule of topics and activities, and syllabi. The process focused on over-arching target attitudes, such as “I am on the path to becoming a professional”, and ensured constructive alignment between these attitudes and the learning outcomes, learning activities, and assessment. The nature of the process made it easy to clarify what was essential to include in the courses, and to make a compelling case for the importance of the courses in the context of a myriad of foundational technical topics.

A snapshot of engineering education in Canada

Although all accredited engineering programs in Canada are assessed by the same governing body, each institution has its own set of expectations regarding its distribution of effort, the types of research conducted by its faculty, and the way it delivers its curriculum. Individual departments and programs each have their own strengths and challenges, but collectively they share the responsibility of educating tomorrow’s engineers.This paper presents a summary of the results of a descriptive study examining three aspects of engineering education in Canada: the balance and types of research, teaching, and service that engineering educators are doing, the level to which engineering educators are engaging with engineering education research, and the look and feel of the learning environment that undergraduate engineering students experience in accredited engineering programs in Canada.

CENTRALIZED OUTCOME-BASED ASSESSMENT PROCESS AT MCGILL UNIVERSITY

Abstract - Compliance with the Graduate Attributes and Continual Improvement criteria is an essential component of the accreditation of engineering programs in Canada. In response to this requirement, McGill University’s Faculty of Engineering established a centralized process in which 1) a uniform organizational structure was established, 2) a set of common graduate attribute indicators was developed, 3) the current Learning Management System (D2L) was integrated into the assessment of the graduate attributes, 4) universal indirect assessments for all programs were designed, 5) consistent data analysis and interpretation processes were implemented, and 6) standardized guidelines for continual improvement were created. The implementation of this process, its strengths, and recommendations to increase its efficiency and sustainability are discussed in this paper.

CELBEST Project: Design and Implementation of the First Engineering Education-specific Assessment Tool for Professional Communicative Competence

Following the 2010 review of engineering programs in Canada by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial University introduced a number of changes to its undergraduate program in order to align with the new CEAB outcome-based accreditation approach [1-3]. As programs’ accreditation begun to be reviewed for progress toward assessment of graduate attributes (G.A.), the 12 graduate attributes as defined by the CEAB became de facto the undergraduate program outcomes at Memorial. This paper provides an overview of the Faculty’s approach to the development and progressive assessment of communication skills as Graduate Attribute (G.A.: 07) in such a way that is aligned with CEAB accreditation requirements while taking into account the unique challenges and opportunities inherent in its program.

EVALUATION OF INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS IN ENGINEERING DESIGN TEAMS

The curriculum of accredited engineering programs in Canada must culminate with a significant design experience where students must demonstrate an ability to work in teams. The determination of individual grades for work products submitted by a team is however a challenging task. To deter students from free riding on the efforts of their teammates, every team member should not simply receive the same grade. Individual grades in the senior process design course at the University of New Brunswick are determined by first assigning a team grade to team deliverables and then adjusting each team member’s grade up or down using a multiplier. The value of the multiplier is based on peer and mentor evaluations and on the level of participation of the student in course activities. The peer ratings collected in 2014-2015 are generally higher than the mentor ratings, likely because of peer pressures to give high ratings. The bias is greatly reduced however when the evaluations are normalized by dividing the rating for each student by the team average. Because of this bias, the mentor evaluations should complement the peer ratings when providing formative feedback to students and determining individual team member grades.

INDUSTRY PERCEPTIONS OF GRADUATE ATTRIBUTE COMPETENCIES

Through the CEAB accreditation program, graduate attribute competencies are currently being standardized throughout the engineering programs in Canada. Challenges of these requirements are in understanding the implementation process and determining the outcome levels of the students. This study went outside of the university environment to determine the outcome levels found in graduated students. It consisted of a series of interviews with two groups of engineers working in a major energy corporation in the Province of Manitoba. One group consisted of senior engineers with a minimum of 15 years experience while the other was of new graduates with at minimum 18 months of service. The groups were asked questions on job requirements for new graduates with a follow-up survey on levels of competency for each graduate attribute. This paper describes the process and the analysis of the information. Results were consistent between both groups but show levels of competency at lower levels than determined from a student perspective at time of graduation

CREATING FACULTY BUY-IN: LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING CEAB GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES

In 2009 the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) announced its intention requiring all undergraduate engineering programs in Canada to utilize twelve graduate attributes for assessing the capacities of its students. In response, engineering faculties across the country have been experimenting with creating processes that incorporate these graduate attributes as a means to stimulate program improvement to achieve curricular and program innovation. Many of the support resources (like the inter-university collaboration EGAD, for example) have focused largely in three directions – definitional, programmatic and information management challenges faced by different engineering programs.Less attention has been given to identifying and addressing leadership challenges faced by faculty administrators in piloting curricular and programmatic changes such as the CEAB graduate attributes. We argue that these challenges result from fundamental features of university educational culture: faculty members place great value upon autonomy in their workplace, and likewise expect a high degree of intellectual independence in designing courses. The introduction of CEAB attributes, together with the mandated changes they will bring to course design, is perceived by faculty members as an external imposition. Such a perception we suggest introduces some scepticism in the faculty about its efficacy leading to a disengagement from the change process. Thorough attention to these cultural factors impacting on graduate attributes adoption is crucial to the implementation of successful curriculum development.Describing these challenges in detail, this paper will outline some pathways that can circumvent these impediments to curricular innovation.

Engineering and Social Justice through an Accreditation Lens: Expectations and Learning Opportunities for Ethics and Equity

The inclusion of Ethics and Equity as one of the twelve essential attributes mandated for accredited engineering programs in Canada represents a unique opportunity for engineering educators. Never before has the term equity been included in criteria for accreditation. To apply professional equity in the practice of engineering requires our students to learn about world affairs and diverse ways of life, about historical and sociological frameworks for exploring their own global frames of reference, and those of others, about current and historical examples of engineering approaches to making our world more equitable, and about how all of this can be used to integrate equity into their practice of engineering. Three settings in which we can provide our students with opportunities to learn about these concepts include humanities courses, an engineering equity core course, and immersion throughout coursework in engineering core courses. Ideally, a combination of the three should be implemented.

CEAB's Graduate Attribute 3.1.3: Investigations – Is it really possible for engineering graduates to possess this attribute?

Starting 2014, engineering programs in Canada will be evaluated by CEAB based on twelve Graduate Attributes and institutions must demonstrate that their graduates possess these attributes at the time of graduation. One of these attributes is “Investigations” which is defined by CEAB as “an ability to conduct investigations of complex problems by methods that include appropriate experiments, analysis and interpretation of data, and synthesis of information in order to reach valid conclusions.” This is similar to one of ABET's student outcomes which states that students attain "an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data". In this paper, it will be argued that with the current curriculum of most, if not all, engineering schools in Canada, it is almost impossible for graduates to possess this attribute unless a compulsory course is introduced to specifically teach the subject. Proper design, conduct, and analysis of experiments of complex problems cannot be learned by osmosis or by doing standard labs where the procedure and analysis methods are given. Engineering educators and graduates thinking that somehow that the skill to design, conduct and analyze experiments will be learned in an engineering program do not fully appreciate the myriad of issues that are involved with experimentation to study a complex problem. Examples of these issues include: a large number of variables, multiple responses with conflicting objectives, linear or nonlinear responses, interaction among variables, etc. In this paper, these issues and many others will be discussed. How they can be addressed will be discussed and a course that will help graduates achieve competence in “Investigations” is also proposed.

CAPSTONE DESIGN IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO

All engineering programs in Canada must culminate in a significant design experience. This paper describes the capstone design course in the Mechanical Engineering Program at the University of Western Ontario. Self-selected student teams choose from several types of projects: faculty-defined projects, student-defined entrepreneurial projects, student design competitions, and industry-sponsored projects. These choices accommodate a wide range of interests and career goals. The primary sources of project funding are industry sponsorship fees and matching funding through the Ontario Centres of Excellence Connections Program. The majority of project expenses are for parts, materials, prototype construction and testing.