Work in progress - a fully online bachelor of electrical engineering degree

With the support of the Sloan Foundation and the State University of New York Learning Environments, faculty from three public electrical engineering programs have developed and offered undergraduate courses in electrical engineering with a goal of a fully online undergraduate degree program. This will be the first such program in the nation. To date, nine required or ldquocorerdquo courses and seven elective courses have been developed out of a total of 20 upper division courses. Prospective students will be expected to have completed associates degrees through community colleges or equivalent programs before they can enroll. The online program includes both lecture and laboratory courses, and accreditation by ABET will be sought. Discussions are underway on articulation with community colleges who already offer a variety of online courses at the lower division level. Courses are offered through the Blackboard course management system and consist of lectures in several formats. A unique electronics laboratory course requires students to design and test circuits using their computers to acquire and analyze data. The initial enrollments have been promising, and student performances compare well with those of traditional full-time students. The demographics of student inquiries suggest a national demand for the program.