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The University of Tennessee College of Engineering 114 Perkins Hall Knoxville, TN 37996-2012 |
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| Newsletter
of the UT College of Engineering |
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| Dean Jerry Stoneking died unexpectedly on November 16, 2001. Dr.
Stoneking had served as the College of Engineering dean since 1993,
and joined the COE faculty in 1975. UT Acting President Emerson Fly said the university will sorely miss Stoneking's many contributions to UT engineering and academics. "Jerry Stoneking's death is a tragic loss to his family, the university, our community and the engineering profession," Fly added. The COE has established the Dr. Jerry E. Stoneking Memorial Fund in honor of Dr. Stoneking's many years of devotion to the university and the college. Please contact the Engineering Development Department at (875) 974-2779, or send an e-mail to engdev@utk.edu for more information. |
Dean's Message
In this article, the term extended education includes those instructional activities that extend beyond the traditional classroom; e.g. web-casting, short courses, continued education, distance education, etc.Computers and the Internet are changing the face of higher education. They are influencing the way courses and programs are designed and delivered.
Nowhere is this more prevalent than in engineering education. Engineering colleges throughout the country are embracing these new methods and technologies. Those that do not participate risk falling far behind in quality of service to students and industry and tarnishing their reputations.
In recognition of the importance of these facts, the College of Engineering (COE) has incorporated into its Strategic Plan the goals of integrating modern information technologies into our educational activities and striving to better serve our constituents through broader offerings in Extended Education.
Toward that end, the COE has made strides in academic applications of Information Technology and Extended Education. Last year I asked Dr. Tom Kerlin, a COE emeritus professor, to serve as the college's first Extended Education Coordinator. He did an outstanding job of establishing an action plan and organizing our efforts.
Dr. Kerlin recently retired and I have appointed COE associate professor Dr. Wes Hines as his replacement. His activities will include strategic planning, bringing information about new methods and technologies to the faculty, facilitating information sharing among engineering faculty, identifying and pursuing grant opportunities and developing and implementing marketing activities.
Because of the efforts by interested and committed faculty members, our most recent activities have produced significant results. Faculty have been implementing computer simulations, providing online notes, providing course-related chat rooms, collecting assignments online and providing online grading information to students in connection with on-campus courses.
Extended education offerings have also grown, with course enrollments reaching about 0.5 percent of nationwide engineering extended education course enrollments, equal to the collegeÕs share of on-campus engineering enrollments in the U.S. Full academic programs have also been developed. A Master's degree in engineering management is in operation and a Master's degree in nuclear engineering was recently approved. A cooperative program with Monash University in Australia brings a Master's program in maintenance management to U.S. students via extended education.
Furthermore, graduate certification programs requiring 12 hours of course work are offered in nuclear criticality safety and maintenance and reliability engineering, and we have plans to expand to other technical areas.
The COE's strategy is to establish a leadership position in extended education and incorporate an information technology element to our educational mission. Information Technology (IT) will effect on-campus teaching through the establishment of IT-enabled classrooms; development of a support infrastructure for IT in the classroom; acquisition of hardware and software needed for effective IT applications in an academic setting; provision of training and support in IT for the faculty; and the establishment of appropriate incentives and rewards for faculty and their innovations in IT.
Extended education courses and programs will grow with a goal of capturing 1.5 percent of U.S. engineering extended education course enrollments by 2005.
"Suitable for framing" offerings will include emphasis on graduate certificate of credit awards as well as a Master's degree. An expanded program of professional short courses will be developed in conjunction with the academic course and program developments.
Undergraduate extended education offerings will focus on special student needs such as satisfying course requirements for matriculation from community colleges. Clearly, extended education and information technology represent more than educational fads that will slowly fade away.
The College of Engineering, in recognizing their importance and relevance to engineering education in the 21st century, will continue to seek ways to ultimately provide better service to our students and to our partners in industry.
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