SEFEEC Statement of Intent

Statement of Intent

Mission of the SEFEEC Representatives from six community colleges and universities have established the Southeast Florida Engineering Education Consortium (SEFEEC) with the intent to enhance the quality of engineering instruction, strengthen the links between community college and university, study in the field, and provide a mechanism to increase the number of students majoring in engineering.

By establishing common prerequisites to enter upper division engineering programs, educators believe that student interests will be better served and the institutions can best meet accreditation requirements set forth in the ABET 2000 criteria. These standards will enable community college students to complete an undergraduate degree in engineering in the same time frame as students who begin their college education in a four-year program and make it easier for them to change majors, without a significant loss of credit toward their degrees. This process includes developing an introductory course in engineering that would be available to freshmen, in order to reduce attrition of transfer students at the upper division level and increasing communication of current program information with advisors at the lower division.

The consortium has recommended developing a time frame to implement its plans and forming a standing committee with members from the six participating institutions in order to address the changing needs of undergraduate engineering students. The consortium is also examining the feasibility of a Southeast Florida Engineering Advisory Board, made up of industry and community leaders, to work with the consortium in developing programs to address the needs of the local economy.

The specific objectives the consortium intends to pursue are as follows:

To develop and incorporate an introduction to engineering course into the freshman curriculum for engineering students, making sure that this course will not increase the total number of credits required for graduation.
To include this course as part of the Associate of Arts program at consortium member institutions and provide appropriate control over course content and management to meet accreditation requirements.
To reach an agreement on the common courses for the first two years of engineering study, consistent with state standards, so students may change majors with minimal loss of credit toward their degrees.
To ensure that all well-qualified students who enter a community college can complete their baccalaureate programs with the same number of courses required of students beginning at a four-year institution.
To communicate current program information from four-year institutions to academic advisors, and to create opportunities for lower division students to communicate with advisors at four-year institutions.
To create and maintain a web page that describes all articulation requirements established by state guidelines and by the consortium.
To review this statement of intent and course program sheets on an annual basis to ensure they are kept in compliance with state and ABET requirements.

Home || Why the SEFEEC was Formed || Statement of Intent
Transferrable Course Listings for an Engineering Major
Common Coursework - The Lower 48 || Advisor Listing for the Member Institutions
Campus Directions || Other Links of Interest

Florida Atlantic University || Florida International University
Broward College || Indian River State College
Miami-Dade College || Palm Beach Community College

Send page comments to: Cheryl Halle
www.sefeec.org