Civil Engineering Program Accreditation
The Civil Engineering Program at Lafayette College is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012, telephone: (410) 347-7700. The Civil Engineering Program has been designed to satisfy the established program educational objectives and the program outcomes and to fulfill the mission statements of the College, engineering division, and the program. The mission statements of the College, division, and program are provided below in addition to the established program educational objectives.
Lafayette mission statement: In an environment that fosters the free exchange of ideas, Lafayette College seeks to nurture the inquiring mind and to integrate intellectual, social, and personal growth. The College strives to develop students' skills of critical thinking, verbal communication, and quantitative reasoning and their capacity for creative endeavor; it encourages students to examine the traditions of their own culture and those of others, to develop systems of values that include an understanding of personal, social, and professional responsibility, and to regard education as an indispensable life-long process.
Engineering Division mission statement: Embracing the mission of Lafayette College, the Engineering Division will offer engineering programs, which prepare graduates for entry-level professional engineering practice, further study at the graduate level, or careers where an engineering education will contribute to their success. The engineering curricula will blend innovative engineering education with the opportunities available in the liberal learning environment at Lafayette.
The Engineering Division, with support and assistance from the Lafayette administration, will: actively participate in the matriculation of highly qualified students; maintain the facilities and staff to provide a hands-on learning experience for engineering students; and recruit and nurture a cadre of faculty who are dedicated to excellence in undergraduate teaching, scholarship, and service to the College and the professional community.
Program mission statement: To provide a broad civil engineering education integrated with the liberal arts and emphasizing student-faculty interaction.
Program Educational Objectives
The program educational objectives are intended to be broad general statements that describe how the program will satisfy constituency needs in the most general terms possible but having sufficient specificity to establish what the program is not trying to achieve. The program educational objectives were developed for the civil engineering program at Lafayette using each of the eight criterions of the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012, telephone: (410) 347-7700. The program educational objectives are student-focused (Criterion 1) and are intended to provide each student with the necessary skills required to practice civil engineering (Criteria 3, 4 and 8). The program educational objectives also prescribe the need to maintain sufficient and competent faculty, adequate facilities, and sufficient financial and institutional support (Criteria 5, 6 and 7). The following are the Educational Objectives developed during the Advisory Board meeting in May 2006.
While we recognize that some of our graduates will, because of their broad education, choose to follow career paths outside of civil engineering, the graduates who are practicing engineers will:
- be able to tackle unfamiliar problems and demonstrate an ability to understand, formulate, analyze, design, and provide solutions in the field of civil engineering.
- demonstrate professional responsibility, addressing social, cultural, economic, sustainability, and environmental considerations in the solution of engineering problems in both local and global settings.
- work well in multi-disciplinary teams and appreciate the value of multiple perspectives in engineering problem solving
- explain and defend their solutions and communicate effectively using graphic, verbal, and written techniques to all audiences
- 5) value mentoring, life-long learning and developing talents of others
And by accomplishing these objectives become effective leaders in engineering.
Program Outcomes
The BSCE degree Program Outcomes have been developed specifically to support the Program’s Educational Objectives. At the same time, the Program Outcomes also relate to ABET's outcomes (a) through (k) of Criterion 3. The Lafayette College BSCE Program Outcomes are near-term objectives and have been developed such that, upon graduation, the students will have the following six Outcomes:
I. Tools for lifelong learning
Students will master the fundamental skills in engineering, math and science required to begin the study of civil engineering and which are essential for the understanding and advancement of civil engineering analysis and design. Students will also acquire backgrounds in the social sciences and humanities, which are necessary for their personal and professional growth and maturity. Areas of study required to meet these goals include:
a. Math – through calculus and differential equations
b. Science – science courses including at least one semester each of chemistry and calculus-based physics
c. Engineering Science – statics, fluids, and strength of materials
d. Computer Use – drafting software, use of spreadsheets, and familiarity with programming concepts
e. Numerical Analysis – an introduction to approximate solution methods, finite difference method, and matrix methods and applications in civil engineering
f. Understanding of Uncertainties Involved in Civil Engineering – fundamentals of probability and statistics and the application of those fundamentals to civil engineering problems
g. Social Science and Humanities – a program selected by the student in consultation with a department advisor designed to meet the student’s educational, personal, and career goals
II. Civil Engineering Concepts
Students will master fundamentals of civil engineering by taking one course in each of the following six areas. Students will also obtain design experience and develop advanced knowledge by having a design experience within four of these six areas.
a. Construction
b. Environmental
c. Water Resources
d. Geotechnical
e. Structural
f. Transportation
III. Fundamental Civil Engineering Skills
Students will be exposed to and will have hands-on experience in each of the following areas:
a. Laboratory and Field Testing
b. Critical Literature Search and Review
c. Understanding and Applying Design Codes and Standards
d. Teamwork – ability to work on teams including multidisciplinary teams
e. Engineering Economics
IV. Communication Skills
Students will master the communication skills for technical and general audiences required for professional success. Skills will be developed in the following areas:
a. Writing – including technical, informative, and persuasive
b. Oral
c. Graphical and Visual
V. Understanding of Civil Engineering in Society
Students will develop an appreciation of the role of the civil engineer in society and learn strategies for approaching ethical and professional issues. Areas of study required to meet this goal include:
a. Engineering Ethics
b. Engineering Professionalism
c. Contemporary Engineering Issues
VI. Engineering Design
Students will have experience in developing solutions to open-ended engineering problems.
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