February 2015 Page 1(32)

Washkewicz College of Engineering’s Strategic Plan: 2014 to 2019

Vision We aim to be the engineering school of choice for students of all backgrounds and via engaged

teaching and research empower sustainable urban living.

Mission Our mission is to provide a world class, engaged engineering education, graduating Ready-to-Go-

Engineers prepared to solve real world engineering problems.

Values We value diversity

We value excellence in education, research and engagement

We value partnerships within the community and engagement with the regional workforce

Major Initiatives for the Five Year Plan 1. Expand innovation and funded research activities

2. Enhance and strengthen our educational programs

3. Review and Improve College Operations

February 2015 Page 2(32)

Washkewicz College of Engineering Strategic Plan 2014-2019

ia technological innovations, engineers are the drivers in the development of new technology

and innovations that improve the quality of life. Operating in an urban setting, and considering

that more than half of the world’s population now live in urban areas, the Washkewicz College of

Engineering of CSU focuses its research and teaching priorities on enabling Sustainable Urban Living.

The Washkewicz College of Engineering will address these challenges by focusing teaching and research

initiatives on the needs of Northeast Ohio. We will center our activities around Innovative

Manufacturing, Human Health, and Designs for Sustainable Living. With a multicultural faculty, staff and

student body, we will continue to build on President Berkman’s diversity initiative, as we embrace

inclusiveness and equity to create a welcoming environment for all members of the College.

Introduction racing its roots back to Fenn College, which was founded in 1923, the Washkewicz College of

Engineering provides a tradition of high quality engineering education, where basic and applied

research are central to the mission of the College. Assisted by outstanding students, our faculty has

developed a strong national and international reputation for cutting-edge research. Funding from major

corporate sponsors, such as Parker Hannifin, and governmental organizations, such as NASA and NSF,

have helped CSU to become a key contributor to the rapid technological changes that lead to regional

and national economic development.

Now, well into the 21st century, science and engineering have become increasingly interconnected

and interdependent. In developing a new model for engineering education, we will shift our educational

model to an even more engaged, relevant and welcoming experience, one in which collaboration with

industry will provide an environment where practice and experience energizes the theory of the

classroom. Moreover, studies have shown the importance of engineering students being actively

engaged with students from other colleges on campus, e.g. business and arts, in order to prepare them

for future success as engineers. Therefore, the Washkewicz College of Engineering will prepare

engineering students with technical knowledge that is strengthened through the skills of

entrepreneurship, creative innovation, leadership and lifelong learning.

V

T

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By upgrading our program, our students will be provided with greater intellectual development

opportunities that will facilitate superb technical capabilities. The ability to communicate well and work

as part of a team, in conjunction with a greater understanding of the economic, social, environmental

and international context of engineering, will prepare students to be ready to serve the needs of the

future. By developing innovative approaches to curricula, rethinking traditional teaching modes, utilizing

e-learning tools and providing the student with a “blended” learning experience, where the use of

online resources and direct interaction with instructors is optimized, we will increase the number of

graduating seniors. This strategy will also help in continuing to develop our identity for graduating

Ready-to-Go-Engineers. Revising and modernizing the curriculum will make the course selection more

flexible, and thereby increase student choices. The optimization of online resources, the introduction of

projects that span the curriculum, the expansion of the co-op program, and the development of

interdisciplinary, industrially sponsored capstone projects/courses (Senior Design Projects) will enhance

students’ experiences. Depending on the interests of students and the needs of the participating

corporations, capstone projects may have team members from outside the College of Engineering, such

as students majoring in business, sciences or humanities. Additionally, by attracting a more ethnically

and socially diverse student body, which reflects our regional demographics, we will be positioned to

take full advantage of local talent and provide upward mobility within a broader talent pool.

Why Engineering? o profession unleashes the spirit of innovation like engineering. From research to real-

world applications, engineers constantly discover how to improve our lives by creating

bold new solutions that connect science to life in unexpected, forward-thinking ways. Few professions

turn so many ideas into so many realities. Few have such a direct and positive effect on people’s

everyday lives. We are counting on engineers and their imaginations to help us meet the needs of the

21st century.”

The National Academy Press – Changing the Conversation: From Research to Action (2013)

There is no doubt that engineers provide the foundation for the wellbeing and prosperity of the

humanity. Engineers enable, invent and build new products, constantly evolving our society. From

innovation in the health profession to the manufacturing floor, engineering innovations enhance the

quality of life for humanity.

Engineers also belong to the top earners in the society for individuals with a bachelor degree (see

for example http://www.thebestschools.org/blog/2012/07/02/best-paying-careers-bachelors-degree/

listing seven engineering professions among the top ten earners). Moreover, the unemployment rate

after graduation is one of the lowest of all majors.

Thus, it is important to invest in engineering. The investment pays off for the society as well as for

the individuals pursing such a degree.

“N

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State of the College ashkewicz College of Engineering currently has five departments and multiple programs at

the undergraduate and graduate level as summarized in Table 1. Even though there are some

differences between each program, all programs have increased in enrollment (head count) over the last

five years, for a total of a 48% in the undergraduate enrollment and 15% in the graduate enrollment.

Table 1: Departments and programs in Washkewicz College of Engineering

Department Number of Faculty (incl. Lecturers) AY 2015

Undergraduate Degrees

Master Degrees Doctoral Degrees

Chemical and Biomedical 11

Chemical Eng. Chemical Eng. Biomedical Eng.

Chemical Eng. Applied Biomedical Eng.

Civil and Environmental 9

Civil Eng. Civil Eng. Environmental Eng. Engineering Eng.

Civil Eng.

Electrical and Computer

15 Electrical Eng. Computer Eng.

Electrical Eng. Software Eng.

Electrical Eng.

Mechanical 12 Mechanical Eng. Mechanical Eng. Mechanical Eng.

Engineering Technology

4 Electronic Eng. Tech. Mechanical Eng. Tech.

Table 2: Historical Enrollment in the College of Engineering

Fall 2009

Fall 2010

Fall 2011

Fall 2012

Fall 2013

Fall 2014

1 year increase

5 year increase

Chem and Biomed

u/g 79 92 101 112 148 200 35% 117%

grad 70 89 94 92 94 99 5% 11%

Civil and Env.

u/g 104 113 108 109 110 130 18% 15%

Grad 70 59 48 46 55 66 20% 12%

Elect and Comp.

u/g 215 245 228 251 266 270 2% 10%

Grad 164 207 204 182 218 272 25% 31%

Mechanical u/g 205 196 215 243 300 356 19% 82%

Grad 105 93 92 69 88 108 23% 16%

Eng. Tech ELET 40 46 51 37 42 52 24% 13%

MEET 38 42 38 35 51 94 84% 124%

pre-eng/undecided 178 211 265 381 401 283 -29% 34%

graduate undecided 26 30 26 18 6 4 -33% -87%

Total u/g 859 945 1006 1168 1318 1394 6% 48%

Grad 416 478 464 407 461 549 19% 15%

W

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Faculty aculty is the heart and soul of an academic institution. An engineering school must maintain a

critical mass of faculty to fulfill accreditation requirements and to secure efforts in key teaching

and research areas. By expanding the College’s faculty, we will attract more students and generate more

research, and thereby increase revenues, along with obtaining more visibility and recognition.

The Washkewicz College of Engineering currently has 48 tenured/tenure-track faculty members, and

3 lecturers, totaling 51 faculty members. Over the last two years, several faculty have retried, and we

have hired seven new tenure track faculty. The new members are Drs. Jalalpour and Lee in the Fall

2013, and Drs. Halloran, Kim, Schearer, Wirth and Zhang in the Fall of 2014. Moreover, we have added

two lecturers to the college Dr. Atherton and Dr. Aidja, both in the Engineering Technology program.

Over the next few years, we expect several faculty members to retire. This will provide an

opportunity to refocus and prioritize the teaching and research efforts in engineering. For example of

the 7 tenure track faculty moving that are planning to move to if Computer Science is reallocated to

Engineering, one has submitted his paper work for retiring, and three have indicated that they will retire

“very soon.”

Table 3: Departments and Faculty (AY14-15) in Washkewicz College of Engineering.

Computer Science Faculty: number based on who has committed to move to Engineering.

“Faculty retiring” are the number of faculty who as of 3/20/2015 have submitted paper work for

retiring

Department

Current Number of Faculty

in AY2014-15

Faculty

retiring

Approved Faculty searches for

AY 2015-16 as of 3/20/15

Expected

Faculty in

AY 2015-16

Tenured

(or track) Lecturers Visitors

Tenure

track Lecturers Visitors Total

Chem and Biomedical

11 0 1 1 1 1* 0 12

Civil and Environmental

9 0 1 0 0 0 1** 10

Electrical and Computer

15 0 0 2 1 1 1 16

Mechanical 11 1 2 2 0 1 13

Engineering Technology

2 2 1 0 0 0 1** 5

Computer Science 7 1 0 1 1 1 1 10

*The current visitor will be replaced with a lecturer based on an ongoing search **Extension of current visitors

F

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Strategic Initiatives ur strategic initiatives will directly support our vision and mission, and will have (1) college and

university wide importance and/or impact; (2) clear goals, expectations and/or opportunities;

and (3) greater benefit than cost.

1. Expand Innovation and Funded Research Activities ngineering is fundamental and essential for solving the challenges facing the modern society.

More than half of the world’s population live in urban environments, and these urban and

suburban areas continue to increase. Thus, the Washkewicz College of Engineering will focus our

research activities on enabling Sustainable Urban Living, which includes designs for sustainable living,

job creation and improved quality of life. Therefore, our overarching goals revolve around Innovative

Manufacturing, Human Health, and Sustainable Design. These are underpinned by our strategic research

fields which include Advanced Materials, Biomedical Engineering, Robotics and Controls, Sensors and

Networks, Clean Energy and Environment, and Sustainable Infrastructure, as shown in the figure. These

are still broad areas, and defining key research clusters with the cross disciplinary areas will enable us to

conduct meaningful and impactful research. These areas of research will serve as a foundation for

innovation and entrepreneurship. We will also enhance existing and develop new key partnerships

outside the College and the University to leverage our resources. This strategy will include conducting

targeted searches for new faculty members, and pursuing grants funded by government agencies and

corporate and community foundations.

Together, these initiatives will propel us to a pivotal role in providing an excellent engineering

program for our students, while generating novel technologies and innovations that lead to

entrepreneurial opportunities and the creation of high quality jobs in Northeast Ohio.

Research Clusters

Our research efforts and future faculty hires will be based on selected research clusters that

underpin our goal of Sustainable Urban Living. Defining key research clusters will enable us to conduct

meaningful and impactful research targeting Innovative Manufacturing, Human Health, and Sustainable

Design. Each of these research clusters is interdisciplinary, involving multiple faculty and departments

inside and outside the College. The clusters

include: Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Energy

Systems, Biomedical Materials, Clean Water,

Healthcare IT, Human Motion and Robotics,

Medical Devices, Nanomaterials, Smart

Manufacturing, and Sustainable Infrastructure. In

addition, there are several important focus areas

within departments, such as Cyber Security

heavily investigated in Electrical and Computer

Engineering, and Transportation in Civil and

Environmental Engineering.

O

E

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We have core strengths in all of these areas

and focusing on these clusters will build,

strengthen and augment our current efforts. Via

concentrated research and strategic hires, we will

reach the pinnacle of excellence in these fields.

Developing a critical mass of research active

faculty members will help the College attract

sizable grants, funded by governmental, private

(foundations) and industrial sources. We will also

pursue funds for endowed professorships in these

and other related areas.

We will continue to enhance and develop our

numerous ongoing collaborations with local

organizations and companies, including MAGNET, NASA-GRC, the Cleveland Clinic and Parker Hannifin.

These collaborations provide for future innovation, research and development opportunities, as well as

strengthen our student co-op program.

Laboratories

The upcoming renovation of Fenn Hall will be critical in developing an academic environment that

promotes innovation, discovery and entrepreneurship, and facilitates collaboration with local industry.

To serve those needs, we will also model our laboratories around these research clusters.

The Laboratory for Research and Innovation (multiple laboratory rooms) will be a central and

flexible space that can be configured based on current needs. All engineering faculty, their students and

collaborators will have access to this space for interdisciplinary engineering research and innovation.

The fundamental design will provide for flexible, optimized uses. Once a project is completed, the space

will be reconfigured quickly for other initiatives, thus maximizing its utility.

This new state-of-the-art facility will accommodate many types of research. For example, rooms

equipped for wet-lab research will be of interest to those conducting research in biomedical, chemical,

environmental, and materials related projects. Other spaces will be fitted with more open-ended usage

in mind, such as applications for robotics and control, mechanical testing, and computer simulations.

A key feature will allow for collaborations with industry, designed to spark innovation. Space will be

allocated where industrial partners can conduct testing on specialized equipment. Start-up companies –

perhaps based on discoveries by faculty and students – will be able to access research-oriented

equipment to further their innovations. A current partnership example is that between the Washkewicz

College of Engineering and the Ahuja College of Business, which assists engineering faculty in

transforming their innovations into viable and salable products.

Moreover, we will enable Workforce Training in our laboratories as appropriate. The Workforce

Training will provide continuing education and training to professionals currently employed in the

regional industry, so that employees can play key roles in their companies and companies can adapt and

thrive by utilizing new technologies. We will develop a variety of flexible training programs, depending

February 2015 Page 8(32)

on the needs of interested professionals and their

companies. In addition, through collaborations with various

organizations such as MAGNET, we will connect with small

and medium-sized companies to help in their development.

Additionally, each professional who completes the training

sessions will be given a Certification of Completion.

2. Enhance our Educational Programs

2.1 Undergraduate programs

ndergraduate education is the foundation of an

academic institution. The success of the students

is the success of the institution. The Washkewicz College of

Engineering has the unique strength and major advantage in that we graduate Ready-to-Go-Engineers,

which companies engage fully as productive engineers immediately following graduation. It is critical for

us to build on and enhance our current undergraduate program. In doing so, we will increase the

number of graduating seniors, while maintaining our recognizable identity as a college that graduates

outstanding engineers. To this end, we will significantly improve recruitment and retention, and reduce

time to graduation.

The modern engineer works in a rapidly changing, multidisciplinary environment, thus, it is critical

for engineering students to learn to work and thrive under such conditions. This can be accomplished

by providing students with a broad base of engineering skills, and by providing flexibility within their

area of specializations. By upgrading our curriculum, we will create customizable programs for students.

These curriculum changes will embrace the use of online resources, encourage engagement in co-ops

and offer opportunities for industry-sponsored capstone projects.

The College increased its undergraduate student credit hours by more than 40% between AY 2009

and AY 2013. This is the highest increase for any college at CSU, and it is worth noting that engineering

students generate almost 50% of their total student credit hours in other colleges (for science, math,

and general education requirements). In AY 2008 and AY 2012, the college graduated 98 and 175

U

Goals: • Increase the number of graduating seniors • Increase enrollment of dedicated students • Remain recognizably the CSU Washkewicz College of Engineering • Graduate high quality engineers deemed “Ready-to-Go Engineers” Actions Needed: • Improve recruitment • Retain students • Reduce time to graduation by striving for 3 credit courses, with 125-128 credit hrs for graduation Expand Opportunities: • Create modernized, customizable curriculum to increase students’ choices • Utilize online education • Encourage interdisciplinary, industrially sponsored Senior Design

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students with a bachelor degree, respectively, corresponding to an 80% increase. We will continue to

build on our success in recruiting and retaining students by increasing the number of graduating seniors,

with a target of graduating 250 students in AY2019. We can accomplish this increase by improving

recruitment, retention, and student learning. In addition, we need to adopt a model for teaching for the

future, as the expectations and requirements of the students will change with the new generation of

incoming students. We must be alert, flexible, and innovative to attract and retain future students by

anticipating future trends in engineering education, while preserving our rigor in regards to educational

goals.

As the college moves forward, we will review our current inventory of educational programs. As

mentioned in the narrative above, there are ample opportunities to create new programs, since having a

broad range of alternative educational pathways for students is not only a great recruitment tool but

also paramount for successful job placement upon graduation. However, in reviewing and optimizing

current program offerings, we must optimize our resources to satisfy future student enrollment and job

market projections. Thus, as we add new program and start new initiatives it is as critical to review

current programs. Below are some examples of opportunities.

Secure Accreditation

All undergraduate programs, except the Mechanical Engineering Technology Program, are

accredited by ABET. With our philosophy being if it is worth doing, it is worth doing well, we will review

the accreditation process of all programs to ensure successful accreditation during future evaluations.

Engineering Technology

Engineering Technology (ET) has traditionally been one of the most popular majors for our

community college transfer students. It also provides a venue for our students who want to obtain an

engineering degree, but do not have the necessary background in math and physics to pursue such a

degree. While staffed by only two tenured faculty and one lecturer, ET graduates more students than

some of our other engineering departments. We are currently considering how to best restructure the

program. 1

Restructure Computer Engineering and Computer Science

Computer Science (CS) is currently housed under the College of Business. This is a highly unusual

arrangement, as in other institutions in the country CS is typically part of the College of Engineering. We

will continue to investigate alternatives, such as merging CS with our current Electrical and Computer

Engineering Department. 2

Recruitment

Fenn Academy is our venue for reaching out to high schools in the region. Currently, we have 45

high schools which we work directly with to educate students and teachers about engineering. We visit

them and vice versa. We also arrange for high school students to visit local industry, including the

1 One avenue is to provide a track so that students also receive a competency in business, such as Supply Chain

Management or Industrial Distribution which is as of March 2015 being considered. 2 As of March 2015, this move is moving forward.

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Engineer for a Day event where each student spends a day with an engineer in a company. During Fall

2013, we appointed a faculty director to enhance these activities.

Over the next few years, we will expand these activities, including: (1) target and focus on K-12

schools that are likely to send their graduates to CSU including the development of a pipe-line through

MC2, the high school located at CSU; (2) coordinate outreach efforts with the College of Education and

Human Services; (3) engage current undergraduate students to interact with K-12 students; (4) enhance

our outreach to high school teachers, guidance counselors and parents to educate them about

engineering education and the engineering profession overall; (5) develop strong collaborations with

community colleges to facilitate the process for students to transfer to our programs; (6) broaden the

educational path for engineering students. We will also develop a pathway for high school students to

be engaged in our co-op program even before the graduate from high school. Moreover, we will work

with community colleges such as Cuyahoga Community College and with MAGNET, to develop a

pathway for non-traditional and first generation college students to proceed from high school

graduation to an Associate Degree and then to a Bachelor’s Degree.

Retention

One of our challenges in retaining our students is that most of their first year classes (mainly in

math, physics and other sciences) are taken outside of our college. Currently, our freshmen students

only take one 3 credit-hour class in engineering in their first semester. To increase our retention, we

propose the following:

(1) Enhance the curriculum, including optimizing the first two years of study by: (i) engaging our

students early in engineering studies to show the applications of math and physics to real-life

engineering processes and problems; (ii) engaging instructors in math and the sciences to incorporate

engineering topics and connections with engineering in their classes; (iii) enabling students with diverse

backgrounds to obtain the foundation needed by providing a range of skills, including the ability to think

in three dimensions (something that is mostly learned from hands on experiences) and improved study

habits, (iv) encouraging students to become active in engineering student organizations and societies;

(v) streamlining and modernizing our courses and graduation requirements.

(2) Enhance advising and mentoring of students. Anecdotally, we lose students who are doing well in

their introductory classes (e.g., math and physics), citing their loss of interest in engineering because of

lack of exposure to engineering early on. Currently, we require that students meet with their

mentor/advisor at least once every academic

year, for multiple-term registration. This

effort will be enhanced by requiring

mentors/advisors to reach out to students

with a set of discussion topics designed to

assess the student’s progress in our program.

This will build on the university-wide concept

of Intrusive Advising created to guide

freshmen students from all disciplines. We

will expand on this idea, with our Engaged

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Advising approach.

(3) Make attendance mandatory in freshmen and sophomore classes, as it is well established that

class attendance is key for student success.

(4) Improve the quality of teaching (see below).

(5) Develop a five-year program for students who are defined as pre-engineering to include co-op

opportunities and ensure their full engagement with and successful completion of the program.

(6) Strengthen the college’s co-op program, allowing for a flexible curriculum for our students.

(7) Strengthen the support for student organizations by providing adequate space, funding and

guidance.

The Engineering Incubator

Appropriate infrastructure is a core part of engineering education. Our students are highly sought

after by companies in Northeast Ohio. They are appreciated for their hands-on education, resulting in

Ready-to-Go-Engineers upon graduation. To build upon this strength, we will build a Maker Space in the

new addition to Fenn Hall, where students will have access to equipment for building prototypes and

where they can interact across departments and classes.

Primarily, but not exclusively, focused on undergraduate education, the Maker Space will provide an

interdisciplinary, hands-on education beyond the classroom. In addition to taking the required

fundamental engineering lab courses and working on design projects that span the four years of study,

students will have the ability to work on their own innovations. Additionally, we will encourage

students from other disciplines, (e.g. the arts, business and sciences), to become involved in design and

innovation.

The Maker Space will provide integrated project management, prototyping and experimentation

spaces with an emphasis on experiential learning and collaborative team building. It will strengthen the

core of undergraduate courses in design and experimentation, provide opportunities for industry and

alumni involvement in undergraduate programs, and further enhance the college’s reputation as a well-

respected leader in hands-on learning through educational innovation and technology.

The Maker Space will be an important part of our capstone course Senior Design. We will enhance

the current course by providing multiple options for students, including structured industry-sponsored

Senior Design Projects. The outcome will be functional prototypes to the extent this is feasible. We will

also have a venue for student organizations to include their projects – as appropriate – as a Senior

Design project. Yet, another alternative path for students will be to develop their own ideas for

inventions and partner with students from the College of Business, thereby fostering an environment of

innovation and entrepreneurship.

Student Learning

Teaching should be of the highest level of excellence. Our ultimate goal is to educate students that

are not simply ready for the future, but will help to create the future. Via our active engagement with

local industry, we will help students secure high quality jobs, where they can make significant

contributions. We will enable faculty to improve upon their teaching, by including active teaching

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evaluations as well as peer mentoring, and award excellence in teaching. We will also recognize

scholarship in teaching, for example publishing innovative and successful pedagogy in high quality, peer-

reviewed journal publications.

High quality teaching goes far beyond the

classroom lecture. In fact, in many subjects, where

lectures traditionally have been the norm to

disseminate course material and explore problem-

based learning, learning studios are now favored

instead. In these learning-based environments,

students are more engaged and retain their newfound

knowledge significantly better.

To monitor and facilitate the changing teaching

and learning environment, we will encourage

continuous teaching improvement methods for our entire engineering faculty. In collaboration with

other colleges at CSU, we will develop and utilize teaching evaluations that will serve as guides for

faculty members seeking continued improvement. These evaluation methods will also be used for

annual faculty evaluations.

New Programs

An engineering education can roughly be divided into two parts: fundamentals – which includes

mathematics, physics and engineering science – and state-of-the-art engineering. The fundamentals last

a lifetime. However, the National Academy of Engineering estimates that the half-life of the state-of-

the-art engineering knowledge is approximately 5 years. What we teach today in many of the upper

level classes might be obsolete within 5 years! Thus, engineering students need to be exposed to an

education that prepares them not only for the current workplace but also the future. To this end, we

will explore the possibility of developing a undergraduate program that is interdisciplinary, provides a

solid foundation in engineering but also allows for students to focus on topics of interest, including

business (e.g., 4+1 towards an MBA) and law (4+2 towards a degree in patent law), or special interest in

engineering such as wind power. Moreover, we will review options for enhancing the Engineering

Technology program, including exploring a combined engineering-business degree.

Online Education

Online education is rapidly evolving as an alternative means for effective learning. It is critical for

our future success to fully utilize this strategy for disseminating educational content. A large number of

schools already have fully on-line options for Master’s degrees in various engineering disciplines, and

the State University of New York is planning provide full Bachelor Degrees online. Furthermore, the

Council of the Deans of Engineering in the State of Ohio has a taskforce developing ideas on how state

engineering colleges can collaborate via on-line learning. The Washkewicz College of Engineering will

actively pursue and implement online education alternatives, both to enhance the campus experience

for current students and to reach off-camp

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2.2 Graduate Programs

strong graduate program is essential when addressing the science, engineering and technology

skills associated with solving the great challenges of humanity. A graduate education in

engineering provides both: (1) a professional education focusing on Master’s degrees in engineering;

and (2) a research education to train the next generation of engineering innovators and scholars.

The student credit hours generated by graduate students increased by 11% from AY2009 to AY

2013. Over the course of our five-year strategic plan, we will work towards significantly increasing this

rate of credit hour enrollment.

Master Degree Programs

With our increasing technologically advanced society, a Master’s (rather than a Bachelor’s) degree in

engineering is often expected ‒ or even required ‒ by employers. Most engineering schools now offer

the Master’s degree as a professional degree, rather than as the traditional first step towards a research

degree. As part of our curriculum revision, we will enhance and expands the offering of Course Only

options to satisfy the needs of local industry and students alike. These students will be expected to be

self-funded, either from their own resources or from their employers. In addition, we will develop

partnerships with local industry to support their specific employee skill needs. For example, we can

create tracks where students can select a combination of courses geared towards their and their

employer’s particular interests. Options for online education will also be incorporated.

In addition, we will review and enhance our research based Master’s degree programs, and

encourage students to pursue our doctoral degree.

Doctoral Program

The College currently offers a Doctor in Engineering (D.Eng) program, rather than a Doctor of

Philosophy (Ph.D.) program. National Science Foundation (NSF) and other organizations consider these

two degrees equal and many European countries consider the D.Eng to be the more prestigious degree.

Nevertheless, there is a perception among our students and our peer institutions here in the US that a

D.Eng is of less prestige and value than a Ph.D. Furthermore, there is a notion (anecdotally) that it is

harder for our graduates to secure the more coveted employment positions due to the naming of our

degree.

Thus, we will transform our D.Eng to a Ph.D., as we enhance and improve our research programs.

This will provide an excellent opportunity to review, from a holistic approach, how our research

education is conducted. We must create a stimulating research environment for our doctoral students,

where they can strive, exchange ideas and build a foundation towards research and innovation. To

develop a viable Ph.D. program, we will improve recruitment, instruction and retention. The qualifying

exams will be reviewed to make sure we have high quality doctoral candidates in our program, including

an assessment of their ability for creative thinking and research competencies.

We will increase the number of full-time doctoral students whose support will be primarily via

externally funded research projects. In part with the college’s assistance in securing scholarships as a

recruitment tool, we aim to double the number of doctoral students over this five-year period.

A

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2.3 Enrollment Prediction

he current enrollment and the predicted enrollment for FY 2020 for the Washkewicz College of

Engineering are summarized in Table 4. The prediction is based on a detailed analysis of past

enrollment trends and estimated future trends for each program (such as national trends), which are

summarized in Appendix A. As a benchmark, Table 2 shows the past enrollment in the College for the

last five years.

To predict the enrollment, each program has been considered separately. The short term history

has been considered as well as national and regional trends. In general, we believe that the graduate

programs will continue to grow, in particular the Master Degrees program in Electrical and Computer

Engineering, as well as in Mechanical Engineering. There is also potential to grow these programs in

Chemical and Biomedical, and Civil Engineering. The MS programs in Environmental Engineering and

Engineering Mechanics needs to be reviewed for sustainability. Moreover, we predict that the

undergraduate programs will continue to grow in particular in Mechanical Engineering. Chemical, Civil,

Electrical, and Computer Engineering will also grow but to a lesser extent.

Table 4 Current and predicted head count in the Washkewicz College of Engineering

FY 2015* Prediction FY 2020

** 5-year %Increase*

Under- graduate

MS Dr.E. Under-

graduate MS Dr.E.

Under- graduate

MS Dr.E.

Engineering Only

1,398 486 73 1,865 607 107 20.5% 37.9% 46.6%

Computer Science

250 100 0 250 120 0 0% 20% 0%

Total 1648 586 73 1935 790 107 17.4% 34.8% 46.6%

* Based on “The daily enrollment report” from September 7, 2014

** Assuming that Computer Science has moved to the Washkewicz College of Engineering

3. Review and Improve College Operations

3.1 Faculty

aculty is the heart and soul of an academic institution. An engineering school must maintain a

critical mass of faculty to fulfill accreditation requirements and to secure efforts in key teaching

and research areas. By expanding the College’s faculty, we will attract more students and generate more

research, and thereby increase revenues, along with obtaining more visibility and recognition.

The Washkewicz College of Engineering currently has 48 tenured/tenure-track faculty members,

and 3 lecturers, totaling 51 faculty members. We expect that with the move of Computer Science, 5

tenured faculty members will move along with one college lecturer to engineering. To accommodate

the predicted enrollment growth through FY 2020, we request additional faculty hires which would

bring the number of faculty to 77 -82 members, including 10 -12 college lecturers. The higher numbers

will be needed if Engineering Technology is reinvested in. Thus, in addition to the Computer Science

faculty moving to the college, we need to add another 20 to 25 faculty members. This is summarized in

T

F

February 2015 Page 15(32)

Table 5 below. The detailed breakdown of the number of faculty in each department for each year is

included in Appendix B.

Table 5 Current faculty size and predicted faculty size to provide the teaching and research levels

required to meet the demands of increased student enrollment. The higher number corresponds to if we

reinvest in Engineering Technology, corresponding to 3 additional t/tt and 2 additional College

Lecturers.

Tenured/tenure track College Lecturers Total

Number of Faculty FY 2015 48 3 51

Moving from CS 7 1 8

Predicted Faculty FY 2020 66-69 11-13 77-82

Total New Positions Needed 11-14 7-9 18-23

Figure 2 on the next page shows the student-to-faculty ratio in the College for FY2015 and FY2020.

In that figure, student-to-faculty ratios are compared with the average student to faculty ratio for

engineering schools in USA. This is based on data from the American Society of Engineering Education,

ASEE, and polling from 360 engineering colleges. The ASEE data does not include college lecturers, while

the data from our college does. If college lecturers were excluded from our calculations, our student-to-

faculty ratio would increase significantly. Hence, we believe that the request of 75 -80 faculty members

is very modest.

Faculty development and mentoring will be of high importance as the College embarks on hiring

new faculty. We will develop a faculty mentoring program, so to guide Assistant and Associate

Professors in teaching and research initiatives, as well as towards promotion and tenure. New faculty

will be expected to pursue a significant research portfolio that is sustained via externally funded

projects. Teaching methodologies are changing, and newer faculty members will be expected to readily

adapt and evolve in supporting the next generation of students’ learning needs. This will be a

generational shift that will be carefully monitored via the soon-to-be implemented mentoring program.

February 2015 Page 16(32)

Figure 2 The number of students per faculty in Washkewicz College of Engineering (WCE), current and

predicted for 2020. Benchmarked with the average number of students per faculty according the American Society

for Engineering Education, ASEE, 2013, based on polling 360 engineering schools in the US. Note: ASEE numbers

includes only tenure/tenure track faculty, while our numbers also includes lecturers. Thus, the numbers for our

student-to- faculty ratio should be higher.

4.2 Staff

taff is critical for a well-functioning organization and we currently have a highly competent and

hardworking, albeit small, College staff. As the number of students and faculty grows, along

with increased research activities, additional staff will be necessary. Presently, the Dean’s office has a

total of five staff members (one administrative coordinator, one budget manager, two members

working on student success, and one co-op manager).

The College has 15 staff members within all departments, including technicians. This corresponds to

a ratio of 0.28 staff per faculty, which is by far the lowest at CSU. The second lowest ratio is in the

College of Business at 0.34. However, considering the profile of the teaching and research activities

among various colleges (e.g., need for technicians), the College of Engineering should have a ratio closer

to the that of the College of Science and Health Professions, which is 0.39. This data is summarized in

Appendix C.

As the college continues to grow, staffing needs will be continuously evaluated. Consequently, the

college request to increase the college staff from its current 15 to 26 over the five year period in order

S

February 2015 Page 17(32)

to provide reasonable service to our students and faculty. This request includes moving two positions

that are currently on temporary funding to permanent funding. A summary of the request is outlined in

the table below, and a detailed discussion included in Appendix C.

To optimize the resources of the University, staff members will be “cross-trained” as appropriate.

Table 6: Additional staff needed for the college ‒including department secretaries and technicians‒

in the next five years (FY15 – FY19)

*This number does not include the two positions currently on temporary funds.

** Currently, the Dean’s office secretary and the co-op coordinator are both on temporary funds. We request

these positions be moved to permanent funds starting FY 16. Thus, three new positions plus two converted from

temporary to permanent are requested in FY16.

***The Student Engagement and College Communications Coordinator positions are urgently needed, which we

request to start in January 2015.

****Not included in the general request but noted here.

3.3 Space Utilization:

enn Hall is the home of the Washkewicz College of Engineering. As the former site of a car

dealership, the building was not originally built with research and teaching in mind. After years

of neglect, Fenn Hall is long overdue for renovation and modernization. Current state funding will be

used for renovating parts of the basement, as well as the crumbling façade and part of the roof.

Based on the generous gift from Mr. and Mrs. Washkewicz and remaining state funding an

approximately 30,000 sft addition to Fenn Hall is being planned. This addition will be located between

the current building and Chester Avenue, on the playground that was abandon when the child care

center closed.

Currently FY 15 FY 16 FY 17 FY 18 FY 19

Total Number of Permanently Funded Staff

(for the entire college)*

15 17 23 26 26 26

Student Advisor 1

Co-op Coordinator 1**

1

Student Engagement 1***

Budget Assistant 1

College Communications Coordinator

1***

Dean’s Office Secretary 1**

Department Secretary 1 1

Lab specialist/technician 1 1

Advancement Staff****

1

F

February 2015 Page 18(32)

This plan clearly leaves gaps in renovation of the current building and the need for modern space. To

bridge this budget gap, we will continue to pursue donations, with particular focus on revenues

generated through naming rights for research and teaching laboratories.

Fenn Hall was a car dealership before it became an academic building.

Specific Renovation Plans

A modern engineering curriculum, along with advanced research and entrepreneurship, is enabled

via modern and flexible facilities that can accommodate a wide-range of activities within an

interdisciplinary setting. By renovating Fenn Hall, we can build a transformative program with a holistic

approach to engineering education and research.

The total assignable space in Fenn Hall is approximately 120,000 ft2. Currently, almost 15,000 ft2 is

not under the college’s control. Of the total assignable space, engineering has about 29,000 ft2

dedicated research space. During the next five years, as the number of faculty research activities grows,

approximately 35,000 ft2 of additional research space will be needed. Improving the existing layout of

Fenn Hall will provide a short-term solution as the building becomes saturated by an increase in faculty

and student body. Due to the current internal layout, there is a significant amount of “lost” space: (i)

load bearing columns are situated at inconvenient locations, impeding the view of the front of the room

from half to two thirds of the seating area within each of the class and meeting rooms; (ii) rooms are

oversized, with only half of the space being used during classes; (iii) in several cases, due to current

curricular structure and scheduling, only one undergraduate laboratory course occupies one room; and

(iv) the basement is in extremely poor condition, rendering it nearly unusable. Such problems of

underutilization can be solved by renovation, with the walls and spaces within being holistically

redistributed.

To optimize use of the current space, we will build flexible, multi-purpose laboratories and

classroom facilities. Undergraduate laboratory equipment will be stored and rolled out as needed.

Thematic applications will be used to stimulate students’ interests (e.g., illustrating fluid dynamics from

the perspective of flow around an airfoil, flow in a blood vein, or the flow of a river) by putting subject

matter into perspective. With flexible space and laboratory set ups, instructors and students will have

February 2015 Page 19(32)

access to a range of experiments, as well as the ability to design their own. Changing undergraduate

laboratory layouts, thereby making them more flexible, will be accomplished through tech-fees and

donations. This holistic approach of utilizing technology fees for long-term gain will make

modernization of our teaching labs feasible.

To best utilize the space in the college, a space committee will be formed who will first develop

general guidelines and procedures for allocating space and then recommend space allocation to the

dean. As appropriate, requests will be forwarded to the University Space Committee.

In order to accommodate the projected increase in students and personnel, the following space is

necessary in addition to what is available in Fenn Hall today:

20,000 sqf of research labs, where approximately 5,000 sqf are wet-labs with fume hoods.

24 new offices, including offices for the computer science faculty, approximately 4,000 sqf

5,000 sqf to house graduate students funded for research and teaching assistants.

Accommodate 100 more students in Simulations and Computational Instruction Labs.

Access to seven 60 seat classrooms.

Updated equipment for teaching laboratories to accommodate more students in each lab

session.

Detailed Analysis of Space Needs:

Additional Research Space

The estimated need for research space is based on current usage per faculty. Currently, 36 faculty

have assigned research labs. The total area of the research labs is 35,000 sqf. Thus, the average research

lab space is approximately 1,000 sqf. Some of this space can be obtained inside Fenn Hall by relocating

IS&T’s general purpose computer lab (FH 128) elsewhere on campus.

We assume three tenured/tenure-track faculty and one college lecturer will be moving to

Engineering when Computer Science is transferred here. In addition, we expect to hire 14 new tenure-

track faculty and 6 college lecturers over the next five years (this excludes the number of replacements

for retirements; see below). We do not have any additional offices in Fenn Hall, so 24 new offices are

needed. Approximately 15 office spaces could be gained in Fenn Hall if the suite currently occupied by

Health Sciences was reassigned to Engineering. Based on the range of existing faculty offices in Fenn

Hall, an average of 160 sqf per office is reasonable; thus, a total of 3,840 sqf of new office area is

necessary.

In addition, through retirement and attrition, it is anticipated that 13 faculty will have to be

replaced. Out of these, 6 will need new research space, however, no additional office space is needed.

New research space for 20 (14 new and 6 replacement) faculty would be necessary. This translates

to 20,000 sqf of new research area which will have to be identified.

Additional Teaching Space

A. Simulation and Computation Labs (for instruction only):

February 2015 Page 20(32)

We need to double our capacity for teaching tools associated with engineering simulations and

computations. Currently we can seat approximately 100 students per class period, but we will need to

double that capacity. We need four 50-seat labs, each with the ability to be partitioned into 30 and 20

seat labs when needed.

B. Classrooms:

We need seven additional 60-seat classrooms, each with the ability to be partitioned into 40 and 20

seat classrooms when needed. Currently, the College has four mid-size classrooms ranging from 40 to 44

seats plus a small auditorium-like classroom with a maximum of 65 seats. Having five engineering

classrooms in Fenn Hall is insufficient, as many engineering classes are being taught in other buildings,

such as the Chester Building or Main Classroom Building. Twelve total classrooms, with seven being

larger and more flexible than our current classrooms, will satisfy our needs.

NOTE: In Fall 2014, the College offers a total of 167 class sections. Thirty-six out of 167 (22%) are

being taught outside the Fenn Hall. We currently use 5 classrooms in FH, which are now too small.

However, with increasing engineering enrollments, and 350 Computer Science students joining the

College in fall 2015, a need for seven 60-seat classrooms is predicted.

C. Laboratories for Teaching:

We do not anticipate any additional need for space for our required laboratory courses. Rather, the

equipment needs to be modernized and flexible so multiple labs can be conducted in the same space.

3.4 Operating Budget

he initiatives outlined above can only be implemented via a strong institutional support system,

which requires the development of a sustainable budget model. Unfortunately, the permanent

budget was eliminated for the College of Engineering a few years back, but we will work with the Budget

Office and the Provost’s Office to develop a budget model for the College. We will also work with

Advancement to develop a strategy for increasing donations to the College. Through budgeting and

philanthropic efforts, we envision reaching our goals, including all aspects of the Fenn Hall renovation

and the creation of named professorships, undergraduate student scholarships, fellowships for graduate

students, and funding for various student organizations.

The Washkewicz College of Engineering currently does not have a permanent operating budget. The

budget was removed for FY2012 when the university was going through significant budget cuts. The last

three years, including the current fiscal year, the college has operated on temporary funds from the

Provost’s Office and the University, on Indirect Cost Returns (SCR), Vacancy Savings, and on the Dean’s

Discretionary Account.

The budget request is summarized in Table 4, with full documentation in Appendix D.

FY2015 budget is based on expenditures from FY2014 plus the cost for one new faculty member.

The annual operating budget increase is proportional to the increase in enrollment. The relatively large

increase from FY15 to FY16 stems from the assumption that the Computer Science Program will move to

Engineering. NOTE: The salaries for the faculty moving to Engineering are NOT included in the

Permanent Budget in the table.

T

February 2015 Page 21(32)

We request to move the department chairs from a 9-month salary base to a 12- month salary base.

We request additional funding to cover startup costs for new faculty and preparation of research

labs as needed. The upgrades are only basic upgrades to comply with current general requirements.

3.5 Review Administrative Processes, Protocols and Standards

n order to optimize the University’s and the College’s resources, it is important to have effective

and meaningful processes, protocols and standards. Of high priority is to document and

implement processes for the college, and to review the current ones. These will be included in the

College’s Business and Administrative Manual which will be updated as needed and, at a minimum,

reviewed annually.

I

February 2015 Page 22(32)

Appendix A Predicted Faculty Hires for FY 2016 to FY 2020 in the Washkewicz College of Engineering

The prediction of student credit hours for the Washkewicz College of Engineering is summarized in

Table A.1 and detailed in Tables A.2. Following methods and assumptions were made:

(1) The historic enrollment data of each program was reviewed and assessed. Some programs have

increased significantly during the last few years, and we believe they will continue to increase but at a

lower rate (e.g., Chemical Engineering BS program). Other programs, such as Civil Engineering BS

program has had a lower rate of increase.

(2) National trends in engineering education predicts a continued increase in enrollment

Based on these two observations, each program was assessed for the likely annual increase in

enrollment, to predict the total enrollment in the College (Table A.2). For example, the BS program in

Chemical Engineering doubled in three years, but clearly this rate of increase will not be sustained.

However, we believe that we will have a continued increase based on the student interests, and assume

30 more students for Fall 2015 and thereafter an additional extra 10 students per year (Table A.3). Each

program has been reviewed in such manner and the increase for each individual program is presented in

Table A.2.

Table A.1 Current and predicted head count in the Washkewicz College of Engineering

FY 2015* Prediction FY 2020

** 5-year %Increase*

Under- graduate

MS Dr.E. Under-

graduate MS Dr.E.

Under- graduate

MS Dr.E.

Engineering Only

1,398 486 73 1,865 607 107 20.5% 37.9% 46.6%

Computer Science

250 100 0 250 120 0 0% 20% 0%

Total 1648 586 73 1935 790 107 17.4% 34.8% 46.6%

* Based on “The daily enrollment report” from September 7, 2014

** Assuming that Computer Science has moved to the Washkewicz College of Engineering

February 2015 Page 23(32)

Table A.2 Current and predicted head count for the Washkewicz College of Engineering

Programs

# students 9/7/14 Fall 2015 Fall 2016 Fall 2017 Fall 2018 Fall 2019

u/g MS Dr u/g MS Dr u/g MS Dr u/g MS Dr u/g MS Dr u/g MS Dr

Chemical Engineering 200 31 5 230 31 6 240 33 7 250 34 8 250 35 8 250 35 8

Biomedical Engineering 34 29 0 35 29 0 35 29 0 35 29 0 35 29 0 35 29

Civil Engineering 129 55 6 135 65 6 140 75 7 145 80 7 150 85 7 155 90 7

Environmental Engineering 3

0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Mechanics 3

0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Electrical and Computer Eng. 168 227 22 178 260 24 188 270 30 195 280 36 205 290 40 210 300 44

Computer/Software Eng 112 28

115 30 0 120 33 0 125 36 0 130 39 0 135 40 0

Engineering Tech --Elect 52

50 0 0 50 0 0 60 0 0 60 0 0 60 0 0

Engineering Tech --Mechanical 94

90 0 0 90 0 0 110 0 0 130 0 0 130 0 0

Mechanical Engineering 356 85 11 390 100 11 420 115 14 430 130 16 440 145 18 450 150 19

Pre-engineering 283

290 0 0 290 0 0 290 0 0 290 0 0 290 0 0

Undecided 4 20

5 20 0 5 20 0 5 20 0 5 20 0 5 20 0

Total w/o CS 1398 486 73 1483 547 76 1543 581 87 1610 615 96 1660 649 102 1685 670 107

Computer Science 250 100 0 250 100

235 105

235 110

245 115

250 120 Total including CS 1648 586 73 1733 647 76 1778 686 87 1845 725 96 1905 764 102 1935 790 107

February 2015 Page 24(32)

Appendix B Predicted Faculty Hires for FY 2016 to FY 2020 in the Washkewicz College of Engineering

The Washkewicz College of Engineering currently has 48 tenured/tenure-track faculty members, and

3 lecturers, totaling 51 faculty members. To accommodate the predicted enrollment growth through FY

2020, the college should reach 75 faculty members, with 65 being tenured/tenure-track and 10 being

college lecturers. We expect that with the move of Computer Science to Engineering, 3 tenured faculty

members will move along with one college lecturer. Thus, we would need to add 14 new tenure-track

positions and 6 lecturer positions in Engineering. Out of the 14 tenure-track positions, one is already

approved, being unfilled from our previous year’s search.

Table B.1 shows the distribution of faculty hires for the next five years.

Table B.2 shows the possible research expenditures and indirect cost return for FY16 to FY20 of the

new hires since FY2013. Three scenarios of average, $100,000, $150,000 and $200,000 in research

expenditures, including $31,034, $46,522, and $62,069, respectively, in indirect cost returns starting two

years after their start date.

Table B.3 shows and estimate of the faculty distribution per department for FY 2015 to FY 2020. We

predict 14 new tenure track positions, and 8 new lecturers.

February 2015 Page 25(32)

Table B.1 Distribution of faculty hires from FY 2015 to FY 2020 in the Washkewicz College of Engineering (Excluding fringe)

Total

Hires

Tenured and Tenure Track Lecturers

New Positions Salary Replacement Savings

Salary

Total startup Total Lab

renovation

New

Positions

Salary

Fall 2015 6 2 $85,000 2 $30,000 $1,200,000 $120,000 2 $140,000

Fall 2016 9 1 $425,000 5 $75,000 $1,800,000 $180,000 3 $210,000

Fall 2017 9 4 $255,000 4 $60,000 $2,400,000 $240,000 1 $70,000

Fall 2018 8 3 $255,000 3 $45,000 $1,800,000 $180,000 2 $140,000

Fall 2019 7 4 $170,000 3 $45,000 $2,100,000 $210,000 0 $0

Total 39 14 $1,190,000 17 $255,000 $9,300,000 $930,000 8 $560,000

Grand Salary Increase: $1,495,000

Total Required Startup: $9,300,000

Lab Renovations: $930,000

Comments: All funding is based on FY2015 salary values. Average salary for tenure-track faculty: $85,000; Current average salary for

tenured/tenure -track: $100,000. Average salary lecturer: $70,000

Table B.2 Predicted annual increase in Research Expenditures and Indirect Cost return for new faculty hires in the Washkewicz College of Engineering

Average Annual Research Expenditure

assumed at $100,000

Average Annual Research Expenditure

assumed at $150,000

Average Annual Research Expenditure

assumed at $200,000

Year

Increase in

Research

Expenditures

Increase in

Indirect Cost

Return

Increase in

Research

Expenditures

Increase in

Indirect Cost

Return

Increase in

Research

Expenditures

Increase in

Indirect Cost

Return

FY 2016 $200,000 $62,069 $300,000.0 $93,103.45 $400,000 $124,137.93

FY 2017 $700,000 $217,241 $1,050,000.0 $325,862.07 $1,400,000 $434,482.76

FY 2018 $1,100,000 $341,379 $1,650,000.0 $512,068.97 $2,200,000 $682,758.62

FY 2019 $1,700,000 $527,586 $2,550,000.0 $791,379.31 $3,400,000 $1,055,172.41

FY 2020 $2,500,000 $775,862 $3,750,000.0 $1,163,793.10 $5,000,000 $1,551,724.14

February 2015 Page 26(32)

Table B.2 Distribution of faculty hires from FY 2015 to FY 2020 in the Washkewicz College of Engineering for

each Department (t/tt = tenured/tenure-track faculty)

FY 2015 – Actual Number of Faculty

Total t/tt lecturer visitors New positions

CBE 12 11 0 1 12

CEE 10 9 0 1 10

ECE 15 15 0 0 15

CS 8 7 1 8

ET 5 2 2 1 5

ME 12 11 1 0 12

Total 62 55 4 3 62

FY 2016 – Predicted* Number of Faculty

Total t/tt lecturer visitors New positions

CBE 12 11 1 0 0

CEE 10 9 0 1 0

ECE 16 14 1 1 1

CS 10 7 2 1 2

ET 5 2 2 1 0

ME 13 11 1 1 1

Total 66 54 7 5 4

* Six retirements are announced, including one in CS

FY2017 – Predicted Number of Faculty

Total t/tt lecturer New positions

CBE 13 12 1 1

CEE 10 9 1 0

ECE 18 16 2 2

CS 10 8 2 0

ET 5 3 2 0

ME 14 13 1 1

Total 70 61 9 4

* The numbers include visitors, allocated to t/tt or lecturer for simplicity

February 2015 Page 27(32)

FY2018 – Predicted Number of Faculty

Total t/tt lecturer New positions

CBE 13 12 1 0

CEE 10 9 1 0

ECE 19 17 2 1

CS 11 9 2 1

ET 6 4 2 1

ME 16 14 2 2

Total 75 65 10 5

FY2019 – Predicted Number of Faculty

Total t/tt lecturer New positions

CBE 13 12 1 0

CEE 10 9 1 0

ECE 20 17 3 1

CS 12 10 2 1

ET 6 4 2 0

ME 18 15 3 2

Total 79 67 12 4

FY2020-Predicted Number of Faculty

Total t/tt lecturer New positions

CBE 13 12 1 0

CEE 10 9 1 0

ECE 21 18 3 1

CS 13 11 2 1

ETE 6 4 2 0

ME 18 15 3 0

Total 81 69 12 2

February 2015 Page 28(32)

Appendix C Predicted Staff Hires for FY 2016 to FY 2020 in

the Washkewicz College of Engineering

Staff structure in College of Engineering at a Glance The college administration is performed/executed by the Dean and two Associate Deans, one for

Academic Affairs and one of Operations. The Dean’s office has only two support staff members: one

administrative assistant and one secretary. However, the secretary is on temporary funds for FY15. The

college also has one Budget Manager.

The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs supervises the Manager for Student Affairs and Advising

and the Manager for Engineering Student Programs. Currently, there is one advisor reporting to the

Manger of Students Affairs and Advising, but no staff under the Manager for Engineering Student

Programs.

The Associate Dean of Operations supervises the Manager of Co-Op program, one co-op

coordinator on temporary funds, one computer specialist and three technicians.

Moreover, the Departments of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Civil and Environmental

Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering have one department secretary each. Electrical and Computer

Engineering has 1.5 department secretaries and Engineering Technology has 0.5. The two halftime

positions are filled by one person.

In summary, the College currently has 15 full-time staff members on permanent funds plus

another two of temporary funds. Based on data from 2013, this is the lowest number of staff per

faculty of any college at CSU.

The two staff positions that are on temporary funds must be renewed for FY2016, either on

temporary funds, but preferable on permanent budget.

Future Staff Request The Washkewicz College of Engineering requests to increase the College staff from the current 15 to

25 over the five year plan in order to provide the services our students and faculty need as we grow.

Below is a summary and justifications of the staff requests.

Student Advisor (1 additional position)

Currently, the College has only two staff members in advising, including a manager for advising.

However, the manager spends about half her time on other important duties, such as teaching

New Student Orientation (ESC 100) each fall semester, administering all college scholarships and

a range of student oriented position.

February 2015 Page 29(32)

The College has more than 200 new freshmen students plus more than 100 transfer students

each year. New student enrollment is predicted to increase substantially over the next five

years.

Currently, our “pre-engineering students” are temporarily advised by the University’s special

advising office. However, these students should be advised by engineering advisors to ensure

their successful integration into engineering. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide this

service with our current level of staffing.

The College’s new undergraduate fall enrollment has increased by 85% (F’08-F’12). The College

SCH for Fall ‘14 exhibits a 22% increase over Fall ‘13 (as of September 25, 2014), the only college

in the university with SCH increase.

Adding the Computer Science Program to engineering will result in a 25% increase in

engineering enrollment for FY16.

Adding an additional advising staff member will help address these needs and provide better

service to our students.

Co-op (2 additional, including making a temporary position permanent)

The engineering co-op program has grown very rapidly from less than 10 students a few years

ago to 60 today with another 140 waiting to be placed in the coming year.

A strong co-op program will lead to a strong recruitment, retention and job placement for the

students. However, it requires significant effort to maintain such a program. Currently, we have

one program manager and one temporary staff member for this program in FY15.

It is essential to convert the temporary position to permanent funding starting FY16.

One additional staff member in FY17 is also needed as the program continues to grow.

The co-op program provides an excellent opportunity for our faculty to connect with local

industry. This will, in turn, lead to external funding from industries.

Student Engagement: Recruitment and Retention (1 position)

The College has realized a steady, and more recently, fast growth in student enrollment over the

last 5 years.

The increased enrollment can be partially attributed to our unique recruitment mechanism,

Fenn Academy, that affiliates with more than 40 local high schools.

The college leads the University with an 80% retention rate. In addition to highly engaged

faculty, our program in Student Engagement includes student organizations, a lunch-time

lecture series for undergraduate students, and a wide range of additional student activities.

All these activities have been handled by only one program manager, with some help from

students. We are at a point where a single person can no longer handle all these activities.

To maintain a steady increase in enrollment, one additional staff member in FY16 is needed.

Budget Assistant (1 position)

The research awards for the College have steadily increased in recent years. During the 2013

calendar year, for instance, the College received $5 million dollars in external funding from 21

grants. A tremendous amount of time is required to manage these current grants, not to

February 2015 Page 30(32)

mention the new grants coming in for 2014. All grant expenditures are handled by the Budget

Manager.

In addition to many existing scholarships in the College, the recently established $5 million in

Parker scholarships requires more accounting work to keep track of account balances.

The College of Engineering also has several active student organizations which design and build

everything from Baja cars, to bridges to concrete canoes. All these student activities require

constant tracking of expenditures.

Our newly established industry sponsored senior design projects require accounting work.

One additional accounting staff member is needed in FY16.

Director of Communication and External Affairs (1 position)

The Director of Communications and External Affairs will develop and manage partnerships

between industry, alumni and the community for the betterment of the College, as well as the

management of all College external communications.

Department Support Staff (2 positions)

The College projects adding 14 new tenure-track positions and 6 lecturer positions in five years.

The new faculty will be hired in departments with growing enrollment such as Mechanical

Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering.

About 350 Computer Science students (undergraduate and graduate) are expected to join our

Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in Fall ‘15, there is an urgent need to add an

additional secretary in FY16 to the existing 1½ secretaries in that department (where the other

half of a secretary’s time is for Engineering Technology Department). Mechanical Engineering is

the fastest growing undergraduate program in engineering. We see a strong need to add second

secretary to that department in FY17.

Lab specialist/technician (2 position)

As the College grows, we will need more technicians to help support our educational efforts. In

particular, maintaining and setting up equipment for students and faculty requires the help of

skilled technicians. We also must manage the growth in students due to the move of the

computer science program

We project a need to add two additional technicians in FY17.

February 2015 Page 31(32)

Additional staff needed for the college ‒including department secretaries and

technicians‒ in the next five years (FY15 – FY19)

*This number does not include the two positions currently on temporary funds.

** Currently, the Dean’s office secretary and the co-op coordinator are both on temporary funds. We request these

positions be moved to permanent funds starting FY 16. Thus, three new positions plus two converted from

temporary to permanent are requested in FY16.

*** The Student Engagement and College Communications Coordinator positions are urgently needed, which we

request to start in January 2015.

Currently FY 15 FY 16 FY 17 FY 18 FY 19

Total Number of Permanently Funded Staff

(for the entire college)*

15 17 22 25 25 25

Student Advisor 1

Co-op Coordinator 1**

1

Student Engagement 1***

Budget Assistant 1

College Communications

1***

Dean’s Office Secretary 1**

Department Secretary 1 1

Lab specialist/technician 2

February 2015 Page 32(32)

Appendix D Faculty and Staff in Selected Colleges

The table shows the distribution of staff and faculty among the colleges at CSU. Engineering has by

far the lowest number of staff (per faculty but also per student –not shown). The staff number includes

“technicians.” Considering the need of technicians in engineering to help with labs etc, the need for

staff in engineering is in general higher than in most other colleges.

Business Education & Human Services

Engineering Liberal Arts

& Social Sciences

Sciences & Health

Professions

Urban Affairs

Staff 26 38 15 55 46 12

Faculty 76 64 54 149 117 24

Staff /Faculty

0.34 0.68 0.28 0.37 0.39 0.5

*Staff does not includes “funds available”

*Staff includes technicians

** Faculty includes lecturers and visiting faculty