Work in progress — All aboard the engineer of 2020? Programs chairs´ and faculty members´ reports of curricular emphases

This work-in-progress paper presents initial findings from Prototype to Production, an NSF-funded, national benchmarking study of engineering education. The sample included 86 program chairs and 1,119 faculty members from six fields on 32 campuses. Surveys asked chairs and faculty how much curricular emphasis their programs and courses place on 25 topics and skills advocated in The Engineer of 2020 report from the National Academy of Engineering. The paper explores the extent to which faculty members´ and chairs´ responses are congruent and whether their reports vary by discipline, type of institution, and type of course. Results suggest that most programs and courses continue to stress technical engineering content. Some programs and faculty, however, are addressing professional topics such as globalization, contextual awareness, leadership, and diversity. Analyses indicate few discrepancies between faculty and chairs´ reports, or among different institutions or engineering disciplines. However, certain topics tend to be emphasized more in first-year and capstone design courses than in required and elective engineering courses.