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Educating the Engineer of 2020: Adapting Engineering Education to the New Century
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GUIDEPOSTS TO THE FUTURE 41

Retention (%)
100
Caucasian Takers
90 90 Caucasian Non-Takers
86
Asian Takers
82 79
80 79
77 Asian Non-Takers
74
73
70 73 Latino Takers
68 70
68
64 Latino Non-Takers
62 61
60 59 60
58 African American Takers
54
50 50 African American Non-
44
44 Takers
40
Third Fifth Seventh
Semester of Engineering
FIGURE 4-1 Long-term retention rates of students taking freshman design course
(“Takers”) compared to students that did not (“Non-Takers”). The data total 2,581
students with 1,035 students who took the FYEP course and 1,546 students who did
not take the course. The sample includes 2,057 men and 524 women with 2,063 Cau-
casian students (80%), 190 Asian students (7.4%), 160 Latino students (6.2%), and 35
African American students (1.4%). SOURCE: Knight et al. (2003).

An example of a scheme for introducing design activities is illus-
trated by the curriculum of Olin College of Engineering (see paper by
Kerns et al. in Appendix A), which was developed by the faculty with
feedback from a cohort of 30 students who were part of Olin’s initial
class. The system that Olin’s faculty developed includes roughly 20 per-
cent design activities in the first year, with the design tasks constructed
in such a way that deep content knowledge of materials/engineering
principles is less necessary than use of tools (software packages, rapid
prototyping equipment) and the application of creativity. By the final
year, students are engaged in design activities roughly 80 percent of the
time, and greater content knowledge is expected. Note that these design
experiences are in both team and individual settings and that students
are often responsible for self-directed learning—and teaching their fel-
low students—in areas that will support a more effective and innovative
design solution.
A separate approach to introducing design into the curriculum is
modeled by what is known as “service learning” or “experiential learn-
ing.” The Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) pro-

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