Adrift in the Curriculum

As with any voyage, the successful transit of a university engineering education requires foresight knowledge of curricular objectives and structure. This simple requirement, which often seems overlooked, is especially important at the undergraduate-degree level, where contemporary engineering curricula are becoming increasingly complex in order to provide greater opportunities for subtrack specialization, degree minors, and joint degrees with non-engineering programs. This paper argues that, without foresight explanation of curricular objectives and structure, significant numbers of students soon find themselves effectively adrift in the curriculum, unsure as to where they are headed, undermotivated, and, consequently, underperforming. Foresight explanation also benefits faculty engaged in curriculum subtracks. It prompts them to monitor sequencing of course contents, to better appreciate the context of their own courses, and to coordinate textbook use. Two fairly straightforward ways are suggested to augment student-guidance techniques already used by colleges: course-direction lectures to indicate whence-and-whither guidance at key points throughout the curriculum; and an Internet Web site to help guide students (and faculty) through the curriculum.