INNOVATIVE SENIOR PROJECT PROGRAM PARTNERING UNIVERSITY AND CORPORATE PARTNERS

摘要

The "Internship in Conjunction with Senior Design Course Credit Pilot" was conceived as a joint initiative between the College of Engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems during 2009. The pilot program was developed in response to resource shortages at Cal Poly to provide course delivery to the engineering students at the university. Recent budget cuts in California's Educational System along with mandatory furlough days for professors during the school year have created new concerns for students as to their ability to complete an undergraduate degree in four years. It has become increasingly difficult to accomplish an on-time graduation plan as schedules are somewhat inflexible and fewer class sections are being offered every semester. Many students are forced into a fifth year of undergraduate studies in order to complete their program requirements. Looking for an alternative solution to this problem, a "credit for experience" internship pilot program was developed. The thought behind to program is to create a partnership between universities and corporate partners whereby working together a program will allow students to complete a required senior design project in conjunction with internships or co-ops at the company's location; allowing students to use company resources towards their project and gain valuable industry experience during the process. An additional consideration in the development of the pilot program is the growing interest in providing relevant and meaningful experiences for minority and underrepresented minority engineering students with relevant work experiences to enhance their education and build a stronger resume of experiences through Internships/Co-ops tied to Senior Projects for credit. The decision behind adding this interest rose from interviews with students, educators and parents associated with University of Texas, Pam Am. A significant number of underrepresented minority students are first generation college students and the families of these students see the completion of the degree in four years as the most important factor in their child's education. Parents therefore, discourage their children from participating in Cooperative Education and extended Summer Internships because schedules would require they remain in college for additional semesters beyond the normal four-year plan. By providing these students with the opportunity to receive credit during extended Internship/Co-op positions, the students would be more qualified for positions post-graduation and maintain an on schedule graduation date. At a time when positions upon graduation are at a premium, the more qualified a graduate can be through relevant work experience during the college years, the more likely the graduate will be considered for employment in industry.