The Richwood Report

This just in via the SME Daily Executive Briefing. It seems we have studied real hard and found out that if education is all theory and no practice, the world ends up with engineers who can't wire a relay or torque a bolt and this can make real problems when we want something that has to be actually built instead of just talked about. We seem also to have learned that engineers need to know something about things besides science. Language and history, for instance. Lots of people in industry have known this for a long time. It says a lot about higher education in the United States that studies like these have been written for years and yet the alienation of higher education and practical studies continues to grow. Here's the quote from the Chronicle of Higher Education:

"The National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Engineering, and others have been warning for at least two decades that American engineering education is too theoretical and not hands-on enough," and a "new Carnegie report...reinforces those warnings." The report indicates "that a widespread emphasis on theory over practice...discourages many potential students while leaving graduates with too little exposure to real-world problems and ethical dilemmas." While "millions of dollars" have been offered "through a coalition of universities to try to break up old styles of teaching," many schools "still couldn't overcome the 'cultural issue of change' among faculty members." There have been some successes, however. Georgia Tech's biomedical engineering program uses a "problem-based approach" that "helps attract and teach many types of engineering students, especially women, who have been traditionally reluctant to consider engineering."

Further quote from the Munster, IN Times reports that Valparaiso University wants more well-rounded engineers:

"Valparaiso University's (VU) College of Engineering wants to prepare future engineers for the 21st century, unleashing creative potential through a combined liberal arts education and engineering experience." During a recent program "to familiarize local leaders with regional innovation," Kraig Olejniczak, dean of the Valparaiso College of Engineering, "said today's problems are so complex that engineers need to know about public policy, economics and the need to communicate effectively."