(382f) A Curriculum Review Process: A Top-Down Learning Outcome Approach to Revising the University of Dayton Chemical Engineering Curriculum

The University of Dayton recently adopted a new general education standard, the Common Academic Program (CAP) to be implemented starting Fall 2013. To meet the new requirements for the program, the curriculum for the chemical engineering undergraduate degree at UD is in the process of being redesigned by identifying the desired attributes of the UD chemical engineer and the necessary course content required to achieve the associated learning outcomes. This top-down approach to the curriculum, while necessitate by CAP requirements, also has the desire to reduce the number of credit hours associated with the program while maintaining the quality of the education. Due to a lack of a chemical engineering body of knowledge, learning objectives were compiled from current classes, ABET requirements, FE exam topics, ASEE, other university programs, and advising board input to provide an initial list of potential course content. In addition, the revision of the Integrated Engineering Curriculum taken by all students in the UD School of Engineering needed to be accommodated. These learning outcomes are in the process of being evaluated collectively and the revised program curriculum will be proposed with primary emphasis on two student cohorts – those entering the workforce as process engineers and those headed to graduate school. This generated two different sets of important skills for these students. It was determined that all students should possess analytical thinking, problem solving, technical writing, leadership, and collaborative team work. Those headed to graduate school were additionally identified as requiring skills for experimental design and documentation, advanced mathematical skills, laboratory equipment operation and measurements, and the ability to read and summarize technical literature, whereas the process engineers were identified as requiring skills for process analysis and operation, understanding of process and personal safety, and increased understanding of unit operations and equipment. The ability to deliver course relevant content to these two cohorts will be incorporated into the final curriculum proposal presented in Fall 2012 and implemented with the incoming freshman in Fall 2013. The process of identifying and developing the learning outcomes, assignment of the learning outcomes to specific classes, and final curriculum will be discussed.