Forwarded to us by our friends at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE):
[updated 2/10/12] The President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness hosted a ceremony on February 8 with deans of engineering schools that have demonstrated high graduation and retention rates, bringing attention to President Obama’s strategy to create more domestic engineers. The Council also announced a partnership with the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) to develop metrics to formally recognize engineering schools that meet particular graduation and retention levels.
President Obama has stated a goal of graduating 10,000 additional new engineers annually–above the current number of approximately 80,000–primarily through private sector incentives and efforts in engineering schools to attract and retain top talent. The Council is dominated by leaders from companies that rely on a quality STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) workforce and who have a particular interest in the production of more engineers.
ASEE identified appropriate metrics by which to measure retention and graduation rates, identify schools rated as most effective by these metrics, and publicize best practices. The proposed effort builds upon ongoing work on retention being conducted by ASEE with the support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
“ASEE is well-equipped to gather this data, given our close relationship with schools of engineering and engineering technology,” said Don Giddens, ASEE President and dean emeritus of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s department of biomedical engineering. “We share the Council’s concern regarding the ability of our schools to attract and retain top talent, particularly given the technological demands of the workforce of the next century.”
After the metrics are identified, ASEE will conduct an annual assessment of data supplied by university applicants, reviewed and validated between October and an award announcement in February. Institutions must have a college of engineering with a minimum of one Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology-accredited undergraduate program and offer bachelor’s degrees in engineering or computer science.
Founded in 1893, ASEE is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting excellence in engineering and engineering technology education, and advancing research, public service, and the practice of engineering worldwide.
