Assessing the effectiveness of an introductory engineering course for freshmen

A new "Introduction to Engineering" (E10) course for freshmen was introduced in the College of Engineering at San Jose State University in the fall semester of 1998. The course was designed to give students a taste of engineering through hands-on design projects, case studies in engineering failures and ethics, and problem-solving using computers. Students learn about the various aspects of the engineering profession and acquire a variety of technical and nontechnical skills. The highlight of the course is a semi-annual, industry-sponsored, design competition. The paper discusses the content and the goals of the course, as well as some of the methods used in delivering the content. Moreover, the paper assesses the effectiveness of the course in meeting its goals based on (a) how much knowledge students gain in each component of the course, and (b) how much the course is changing students' attitudes towards engineering, both measured from the students' perspective.