The United States graduates about 70,000 engineers each year, and another 30,000 with advanced engineering degrees, according to Daniel Hastings, Dean of Undergraduate Education at MIT. The numbers could be double that. On average about 50% of U.S. engineering students dropout.
John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins argues that we must encourage more U.S. students to choose engineering. He notes that India graduates 450,000 engineers each year and China another 300,000. Actually, those numbers include all graduates in math, science, engineering, and technology, but his point is clear. At the recent Web 2.0 conference John suggested that the US should staple a Green Card to every foreign student's engineering diploma and encourage them to stay in the USA.
Why do students drop out? Student surveys say because the first year of an engineering program is all foundational theory and they don't see the connection to a career in engineering. The second most common complaint is poor quality teachers that are more interested in their own research than in teaching undergraduate students.
Why aren't these professors fired? How is it acceptable that 50% of students drop out? Why are the Deans and Professors of these schools still employed? Some wear it as a badge of honor. Engineering is supposed to be tough and it is expected that students will drop out. However, MIT, Olin College, and other elite engineering schools have dropout rates of less than 2%.
What is being done about this? The Olin College of Engineering has embarked on a mission to redefine engineering education. Today I attended the annual Presidents Council meeting that focused on "Catalyzing Change in Engineering Education". It was a fascinating workshop on what works and what doesn't in engineering education.
Dr. Joseph Bordogna, former deputy director and COO of the National Science Foundation (NSF), says the problem can be solved and Olin College of Engineering is an excellent example of how to do it. What does Olin do?
- Curriculum of engineering design and entrepreneurship. Students start by designing or reverse engineering popular products as a way to learn how things work. This hands on approach, right from the start, makes engineering real. Other engineering schools require students to take foundational courses in physics, thermo-dynamics, chemistry, and math for the first two years. Olin introduces these disciplines as needed throughout the 4 years.
- Entrepreneurship is part of the program - There is a startup incubator on campus. Students are required to create a product, write a business plan, and start a company.
- Internships in Engineering - Students do a a significant, year-long engineering project for an actual client.
- Faculty is measured on teaching success - Olin rewards professors for teaching success as opposed to research and technical papers published.
- Applicants are interviewed - Applicants are required to spend a weekend at Olin before acceptance. During the weekend they participate in team engineering projects to assess their teamwork and technical skill.
- All students receive 100% scholarships - Franklin W. Olin endowed the school sufficiently to provide 100% scholarships for all students.
Obviously all engineering schools can't implement all of these practices. But, some of them would definitely help reduce the high dropout rates. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently signed an agreement with Olin to help transform engineering education. Other engineering schools should consider what they can do to increase enrollments and reduce dropout rates. The continued success of our country depends on it.