Electrical engineering for nonmajors: a new initiative for the next millenium

As we rapidly approach the new millennium, technology seems to advance at a prodigious pace. In addition, electrotechnology seems to literally permeate the lives of every individual in modern society. One need only consider the changes that have taken place in the last several years in both the computer and communication technology arenas, vis-a-vis the Internet, to see the impact of this advancing tide. Engineering education must keep pace. However, engineering curricula are typically squeezed from all sides. Engineering educators find themselves caught, at the very least, between university core requirements and pressure to cut the number of hours required for graduation. As a result, the electrical engineering material for nonmajors is typically packaged in a single course. If would appear at first blush that in most colleges both the content and presentation of this material has changed very little for more than a decade. The EE for nonmajors course thus appears to be at the crossroads between a somewhat standard presentation of relatively stagnant material on the one hand and an exploding electrotechnology on the other. First this describes what is being done regarding the nonmajors course throughout the engineering community at the present time. Second it identifies several key problems associated with reform of this course. And finally, a discussion is presented of what this community could do with this nonmajor course, within given realistic limitations.