Adapting BME programs to the new millennium

Changing demographics and characteristics of biomedical engineering undergraduate and graduate students demand adaptation in BME programs that aim to be successful in the new millennium. Demographically, the total number of college-aged students is declining or holding steady, depending on data source, while the number of students enrolling in BME is increasing. For science and engineering as a whole, the percentage of Caucasians and Asians choosing to major in science and engineering is holding steady or declining while the percentage of African Americans, Hispanic, and native Americans choosing science and engineering is increasing. Similarly, while the number of males earning degrees in science and engineering is relatively steady, the number of females earning such degrees is increasing. Of all engineering programs, biomedical engineering has the greatest proportion of women students. In addition to demographic changes, characteristics of student populations in engineering programs are changing. Engineering students and their parents are more informed consumers of educational offerings and have increasing expectations of a BME program. Disturbingly, engineering students are more likely to cheat than their peers in other majors and the percentage of those cheating is increasing. These many factors present challenges that must be addressed by BME programs wishing to be at the forefront of education in the new millennium. This talk includes a more detailed presentation of demographic and student characteristic trends followed by discussion of several strategies to attract and retain the increasing pool of women and minority students in BME programs without sacrificing quality or discouraging other student populations. Some of the issues to be discussed include faculty diversity, recognition of barriers and challenges, student survival tools, equity in the classroom, and deterrence of cheating