The Beta Coalition: a status report on a regional coalition of small engineering colleges

The Beta Coalition brings small engineering programs together in a regional coalition in upstate New York, USA. Staff from fifteen institutions participate in one-day, drive-in workshops on curriculum and faculty development. Designed as a beta test site for innovations coming from the NSF Coalitions, BetaCo has three workshops a year, with guest presenters from across the country. BetaCo participants are collaborating on a new set of proposals to NSF dealing with ASL, self-directed learning, ABET implications for two-year programs, and the special problems of ultra-small engineering science programs.