Stephen M. Phillips, Ph.D., P.E.Professor of Electrical Engineering

Director of the School

School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering

Arizona State University

Tempe

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

ECEE School - AcademicsBSE retention: 89% FTFT

Freshmen (persistence at ASU)

BSE 33% minorityBSE 50% have >= 12hrs transfer

credit

On-line BSE Fall 2013110 in Fall 2013220 in Spring 2014430 in Fall 2014

~ 300 PhD~ 800 MS+MSE~ 1300 BSE ~65 T/TT faculty

BSE EE

PhD

Total Masters

Number of enrolled students

Fall semester

MS thesis

BSE online

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

Number of ASU online Degree Programs

Online EEStarted F13

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

Undergraduate programs by number of degree

seeking students

Academic units control programs, partner with

ASU-online

Spring 2014

430 Fall 2014

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

Students

ASU face-to-face 22 years oldASU online 32 years old

ASU online EE 32 years oldASU online software eng 30 years oldASU online eng mgmnt34 years old

Online EE enrolled Fall 13 110 Spr 14 220 Fall 14 430+

Transfer credit average >60 cr hrs

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

Students enrolled Fall 2014 BSE program online face2f totalFirst time Freshmen 21 126 147New transfer 179 56 235Continuing 210 667 877Returning (from leave) 20 15 35

Total BSE 430 880 1310

Grad ProgramNew 18 312 330Continuing 33 667 694

Total grad 51 973 1024

Total 408 1923 2331

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

Student profile BE EE program AY 2013-14 online face2f

Selectivity: Admitted/Applied 31% 67% – online has more unqualified applicants

Yield: Enrolled/Admitted 63% 52%– online more likely to enroll

Veterans 33% 7%– 168 veterans enrolled online

Female 11% 11%UR Minority 19% 26%AZ resident 15% 75%International 0% 15%Starbucks 0% ?

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

One online approachMany engineers seek perfection given tools: video editing … watch yourselfProduce, debug, produce, pilot-deliver, debug, produce, deliverInstructional designers are key:

– modules, on-demand examples, prerequisite topics, quizzes, exams

[With permission of Prof. Marco Saraniti]

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

One online approachOffice hours via Skype with pdf capture for participantsPopular with on campus students and online (students Skype in anywhere)Popular with faculty (can do it from anywhere with tablet and stylus)

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

One online approachLabs: hardware kits, simulations, web controlled experiments

Do licenses allow remote access? Matlab usually allows Cadence usually does not

International embargoes International export control

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

One online approachASU offers entire BS EE program online (labs, electives, gen. ed., …)

– Gen ed, science, math done first, engineering lower division next, upper division labs lastInstitution negotiates agreements with other states (each one is different!)Institution provides platform, instructional support infrastructure, experts

– Instructional designers are key, must be a team with faculty, technology mattersABET program accreditation achieved: same program, different delivery

– ASU EE currently the only ABET accredited BS engineering program offered 100% onlineAppropriate faculty incentives (cash, teaching release, handshake)

Few online first-time freshmen, many have 60 xfer hours, special needsAlmost all working, many veterans, active military, most part-timeAdvising challenges (xfer credit, military deployment, “old” courses …)Motivated, mature students allows SOME scaling, retention?Out-of-state tuition discounted

Labs: hardware kits, simulations, web controlled experiments, CADOffice hours via Skype very popular (for on campus too), forums/chat roomsProctor-U: exam authentication

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

I live over 200 miles from any traditional college, so online courses are the only way I can obtain a degree. I have been out of school for over 30 years and am looking forward to the challenge that awaits . . .

– Michael P.   I am a non-traditional student. I . . . earned an Associates of

Science in Mathematics the spring of 2010. Shortly there after I took two years off from completing a bachelors degree, because it was impossible to find an accredited academic institution that offered an A.B.E.T. recognized engineering program with courses outside of the nine-to-five schedule or online.. . . .

- Jason E.

Why Online Engineering?

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

I work full time as an electrical designer for an engineering firm and am taking the plunge to get my degree in Electrical Engineering. My wife and I thought I was the only person crazy enough to tackle this while working full-time with two kids, but after reading other introductions I am glad to see there are many other crazy people out there!

- James R.

I'm working towards an electrical engineering degree in the hopes that when my second enlistment is up we will have a stable home without worries when it comes to finding work. Being a single mom in the military is tough . . .

– Alycia B.

Why Online Engineering?

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

ABET and online programsDisclaimer: I do not represent ABET (but interact with ABET often).

From the ABET web page http://www.abet.org/online-programs/

What is an Online Program?

Many academic programs in higher education have at least some content offered online, including individual courses, homework assignments, and class research projects. What constitutes an "online" program is not always well-defined. In addition, the percentage of online content for any academic program changes frequently.

The vast majority of ABET-accredited programs are offered mostly on-site.

The following ABET-accredited programs are offered in a 100-percent online format. This list is updated annually in October.

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

ABET accredited 100% online programs

ABET considers the following 11 programs at 9 schools to be 100% online:

Applied Science Accrediting Commission– 1 BS in Applied Science Program (Oakland U, Occupational Safety and Health) – 1 Associates in Applied Science Program (Trinidad St Jr College, Occupational S & H)

Technology Accrediting Commission– 2 BS Engineering Tech. Programs (Thomas Edison St College, Nuclear Energy Eng

Tech, U Southern Mississippi, Construction Eng Tech)Computing Accrediting Commission

– 3 BS Information Technology/Information Systems (Regis U, Walden U)– 1 BS Computer Science, 1BS Networking (Regis U)

Engineering Accrediting Commission– 1 MS Engineering program (AFIT Systems Engineering)– 1 BS Engineering program (ASU Electrical Engineering)

Other accredited BS Electrical Eng. programs that are “mostly” online– U North Dakota (labs on campus)– Clemson U (EE courses) – U Stony Brook (upper division courses)– Morgan State U (2+2)– Others under development

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

Separate program or same program

Separate program approach requires separate accreditation. – Cannot be accredited until the first student graduates (but is then can be retroactive).– Initial review is likely to be intense

Same program approach (every “path” must meet accreditation criteria)– Admissions requirements and processes, transfer evaluation, advising, tracking progress– Curriculum, prerequisites, electives, faculty qualifications, support departments – Assessment (collect separately), continuous improvement, constituent buy-in– ** Laboratory experiences, teamwork, capstone design, placement services

Risk of same program: If online path fails, original program fails with itRisk of separate program: Potential low enrollment prior to accreditation

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

Notifying ABET of change

II.H. Changes During the Period of Accreditation

II.H.1. The institutional administrative officer responsible for ABET accredited programs will notify the ABET Senior Director for Accreditation Operations of changes that potentially impact the extent to which an accredited program satisfies ABET accreditation criteria or policies. A third party may also notify ABET of a change to an accredited program.  The institution provides ABET with detailed information about the nature of each change and its impact on the accredited program. Such changes include, but are not limited to:…II.H.1.b.(2) Methods or Venues of Program Delivery

E.g. Changing from offering 10% of the program online to 100% onlineYou can expect ABET to require an immediate interim report

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

One online approachExam authentication

– Several vendors, Who pays for service?Different student profile

– few first-time freshmen (some special needs students)– few full-time (most enroll in 2 courses / semester, 7.5 week format)– mostly working (know how to network)

Advising challenges– Transfer credit– Military deployments– Old courses, take again?

Motivated, mature students!– Allows SOME scaling (currently 2X number of students)– Faculty-student interaction cannot be neglected (not everyone should teach this way)– Not shy about complaining (but some try to enroll in too many courses)

Suggestions for success:– Let some one else do the first program if possible (history?)– Select program carefully (student demand, capacity to deliver, open mindedness)– Select and reward a few faculty VERY carefully (these few will help recruit others)– Roll out deliberately (when do you want your president to announce it?)

FULTON schools of engineering electrical, computer and energy engineering

Questions and considerationsProgram vs. Collection of courses or skills?

ABET accredits programs (not courses, not instructors, not students)– Required for licensure in many fields of professional practice (PE)

Employers currently recruit from programs and value the accreditationWould employers hire someone with a collection of MOOCs?

Most programs only accept transfer credit from other accredited programs– MOOCs that appear on a transcript likely to be transferred for credit– Some programs allow student to “test out” of courses

MOOCs appear to have value in building a specific skill– Could be similar to an industry focused “short course”– Would a company pay for this?– Who would authenticate the user?– Academic integrity might be a concern.

My guess: University based programs remain strongly subscribed