Ryan ChartrandYes, it’s true. Most engineering students couldn’t talk themselves out of a paper bag – even if they designed it. And yes, I’m sure there are some lonely engineers who are anxious for attractive classmates. However, the proposal for a major that merges the College of Engineering and the College of Liberal Arts is a terrible idea. This program will leave students dangerously deficient in BOTH areas and will quickly become the “engineering drop-out major” that will be unaccredited by ABET, misrepresented by employers, and too compact to be useful even for “business oriented” engineers.
One of the two main reasons for this proposed major, according the Academic Senate meeting notes from May 1, is that “Cal Poly has consistently lost a sizeable number of its engineering students during the freshman and sophomore years as these students, for various reasons, become disenchanted with traditional engineering study.” Clearly, this is an administrative effort to meet quota and keep “disenchanted engineers” tied to the engineering college. The other reason? “To prepare our students to address 21st century workforce concerns.”
This vaguely-defined proposal touts “broad technical fluency,” “product management, sales and training,” and “technical communication” as primary aspects of the program. However, it specifies no additional technical communication courses, no explicit business management or sales classes, and bypasses the true “technical fluency” of upper level engineering coursework. Drafters, Academic Senate, and President Baker: Don’t feed vulnerable ex-engineering students this half-degree; help guide them to pursue their passions to the fullest.
Jeff Freitas
Civil engineering senior