Quality Approaches in Higher Education Vol 7 No 1

Quality Approaches in Higher Education Volume 7, No.
1 • March 2016
Editor
Elizabeth A. Cudney IN THIS ISSUE:
[email protected] Note From the Editor 2
Elizabeth A. Cudney
Copy Editor
Janet Jacobsen Evaluating Engineering Students’ Understanding of Plagiarism 5
[email protected] Susan L. Murray, Amber M. Henslee, and Douglas K. Ludlow
Educating Tomorrow’s Engineer: Adding Flexibility

Production Administrator Through Student-Defined Electives 12
Cathy Milquet William J. Schell, Durward K. Sobek II, and Maria A. Velazquez
[email protected]
Pre-teaching Strategies Contributing to a Positive Learning Environment 23
Layout/Design Mike Schraeder, Mark H. Jordan, T. J. Gabriel
Julie Wagner Blending the Best of Both Worlds: Overcoming Skepticism
Sandra Wyss in a Hybrid Engineering Course 31
Susan L. Murray, Kelly L. Jones, and Julie A. Phelps
Founding Editor
Deborah Hopen
©2016 by ASQ
The Journal That Connects Quality and Higher Education
Quality Approaches in Higher Education (ISSN 2161-265X) is a peer-reviewed publication that is published by
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Note From the Editor
Theodore Allen, Ph.D.,
The Ohio State University Elizabeth A. Cudney
Jiju Antony, Ph.D., Over the course of 2015, the ASQ Education Division
Heriot Watt University conducted an extensive review of its products and services
Morgan C. Benton, Ph.D., that will continue in 2016. As part of this analysis, the
James Madison University Education Division leadership team agreed that a trans-
Marianne Di Pierro, Ph.D., formational change within the division should involve
Western Michigan University our primary products and services. It is with great plea-
Jamison V. Kovach, Ph.D., sure that we announce that the Quality Approaches in
University of Houston Higher Education (QAHE) journal will transition to the
J. Jay Marino, Ed.D., Quality Approaches in Education (QAE) journal and will
Antioch School District be expanded from a sole focus on higher education to Elizabeth A. Cudney
David C. Markward, Ed.D., include K-12 and workforce development.
Augustana College After a very successful ASQ Quality Education Conference and Workshop in
Henk Mulders, November 2015, it was evident that the tools, methods, and approaches applied in
Expertis, The Netherlands K-12, higher education, and workforce development could easily benefit the other
Nicole M. Radziwill, Ph.D., areas. Increasing the scope of the journal to these areas will strengthen our ability
James Madison University to solicit solid papers from a wider range of authors. Sharing best practices across
Kenneth Reid, Ph.D., multiple segments will be very beneficial to our readers. The change will enable an
Virginia Tech increase in the number of issues from two to four per year, which will also increase
William J. Schell, Ph.D.,
the journal’s visibility and value to the Education Division membership. The main
Montana State University purpose of QAE will be to engage the education community in topics related to
improving quality, identifying best practices, and expanding the literature specific
to quality in education. Our goal for the journal is to engender conversations that
focus on improving educational practices with the use of quality tools throughout
the educational experience. I strongly believe that this will be a positive change for
QAHE and will continue to provide the same great benefits, but to a wider audience
that represents the entire Education Division membership.
As we begin the transition, this issue is comprised of four articles that illustrate
the importance of quality in topics that are relevant to all levels of education. The
first article by Susan Murray, Amber Henslee, and Douglas Ludlow utilized a sur-
vey to compare understanding of plagiarism between first semester and upper-class
engineering students. The next article by William Schell, Durwood Sobek, and
Maria Velazquez provides a methodology for redesigning engineering curriculum
to increase program flexibility and develop more well-rounded engineers while still
meeting ABET accreditation requirements. The third article by Michael Schraeder,
Mark Jordan, and T.J. Gabriel investigates methods for engaging students prior to
the start of class through techniques such as music and trivia. The final article by
Susan Murray, Kelly Jones, and Julie Phelps provides a methodology to measure
changes in student expectations in graduate-level hybrid courses through the use of
pre- and post-surveys. These articles illustrate how quality approaches can be used
to measure student understanding, increase curriculum flexibility, improve student
asq.org/edu engagement, and meet student expectations for learning.
2 Quality Approaches in Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 1

Editorial Review Board I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Cindy Veenstra for her
dedication and service as an associate editor and special issue editor. Her involve-
Anthony Afful-Dadzie, Ph.D.,
ment since the inception of the journal and her passion for improving higher
University of Ghana
education have been instrumental in the growth of the journal. We greatly appreci-
Yosef Allam, Ph.D., ate all of your insight, wisdom, and guidance!
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University Elizabeth Cudney, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Engineering Management and Systems
Engineering Department at Missouri University of Science and Technology. In 2014, Cudney
Sharnnia Artis, Ph.D.,
was elected an an ASEM Fellow. In 2013, Cudney was elected as an ASQ Fellow. She was
University of California, Irvine
inducted into the ASQ International Academy for Quality in 2010. She received the 2008 ASQ
A.V. Feigenbaum Medal and the 2006 SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineering
Xuedong (David) Ding, Ph.D.,
Award. Cudney has published five books and more than 50 journal papers. She holds eight
University of Wisconsin-Stout
ASQ certifications, which include ASQ Certified Quality Engineer, Manager of Quality/Operational
Julie Furst-Bowe, Ed.D., Excellence, and Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, amongst others. Contact her at [email protected].
Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville
Richard Galant, Ph.D.,

Educational Consultant
Cathy Hall, Ph.D.,

East Carolina University
Noah Kasraie, Ed.D.,

University of the Incarnate Word Quality Approaches in Education
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For Additional Information: Dear friends of the ASQ Education Division and the
Belinda Chavez Quality Education Conference & Workshop (QECW):
ASQ Education Division Chair We need your support! The 2016 ASQ QECW is scheduled for November 11-13,
and Co-Chair 2016 QECW 2016, with pre-conference workshops planned for Friday, November 11, and concurrent
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713-492-4852 in Houston, TX. Come celebrate World Quality Month with us and help us spread the
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ASQ Education Division ASQ Healthcare Division this year to bring an even more exciting program to our attend-
Chair Elect and Co-Chair ees than we did last year.
2016 QECW We invite you to submit your session and/or workshop proposals to share your suc-
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Chavez ([email protected]).
On behalf of the ASQ QECW Conference Board, we look forward to reviewing
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2016 QUALITY EDUCATION CONFERENCE & WORKSHOP

NOVEMBER 11 – 13, 2016 | HOUSTON, TEXAS
Theme: Focus areas:

Evolving the The Role of Technology in Education Enhancing the Education
Experience Through Innovation
Educational Experience • Distance Learning
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The education process begins early in • Games and Simulation
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asq.org/edu

Does exposure to Evaluating Engineering Students’
higher education Understanding of Plagiarism
Susan L. Murray, Amber M. Henslee, and Douglas K. Ludlow
writing courses
Abstract
impact engineering As plagiarism increases among engineering students, there is a debate whether it is com-
mitted willfully or unintentionally. In this article we investigate engineering students’
students’ understanding of plagiarism. At Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri
S&T), 635 first-year engineering students completed a survey/quiz on plagiarism. Only
understanding 59% of the freshmen answered correctly when asked about using quotation marks for a
direct quote. When questioned about paraphrasing, 52% answered correctly. Recognizing
a proper citation was higher with 89% answering correctly. These results suggest short-
of plagiarism? comings in first-semester engineering students’ understanding of plagiarism. Students who
commit plagiarism may lack knowledge rather than willfully violating ethical behavior.
Upper-class engineering students were also surveyed. With regard to recognizing a proper
citation, their results were similar to the freshmen; however, they performed worse on proper
paraphrasing. Neither prior English or technical communication courses, nor years study-
ing engineering, were key factors in engineering students’ understanding of plagiarism.
Keywords
Higher Education, Plagiarism, Engineering
Introduction
Academic dishonesty is a serious issue. It affects the students who cheat, those who do
not cheat, the instructors, and the academic institutions (Macfarlane, Zhang, & Pun, 2014;
McCabe, Trevino, & Butterfield, 2001). Self-report rates for college cheating have been
documented as high as 80% (Cochran, Chamlin, Wood, & Sellers, 1999). Researchers have
studied more than 20 different types of academic dishonesty (Lambert, Hogan, & Barton,
2003) and have found individual factors that are correlated with cheating (Elander, Pittman,
Lusher, Fox, & Payne, 2010; McCabe et al., 2001). These factors include age (e.g., younger
students cheat more frequently than older students), gender (e.g., males tend to cheat more
than females), marital status (e.g., married students tend to cheat less than unmarried stu-
dents), and grade point average (GPA) (e.g., students with lower GPAs are more likely to cheat)
(Newstead, Franklyn-Stokes, & Armstead, 1996; McCabe et al., 2001). Students studying
on campus, rather than in distance mode, committed plagiarism at a higher rate. The rate
was statistically higher for international students compared to domestic (New Zealand) stu-
dents (Walker, 2010). Students ages 21-30 were more likely to commit plagiarism than older,
non-traditional students. Students in their first year enrolled at Missouri S&T were less
likely to plagiarize than those who had been studying at Missouri S&T longer. In a study of
more than 500 students’ work, Walker (2010) reported that 23.5% and 12.5% of first-year
students plagiarized on the first and second assignment respectively, compared with 28.6%
and 15.9% for second-year students, and 33.6% and 30.5% for fourth-year students.
Yet other studies have not found significant differences in individual variables such as
gender (McCabe et al., 2001) or GPA (Jordan, 2001). For example, Walker (2010) evalu-
ated over 1,000 writing assignments by more than 500 students to determine the profile
of students most likely to commit plagiarism. He found no significant difference between
asq.org/edu males and females committing violations. Rather than individual factors, contextual

factors (e.g., peer behavior, peer disapproval, perception of peers) plagiarism; when students were overloaded and intentionally pla-
appear to be more strongly correlated with academic dishonesty giarized as a way to cope with being overwhelmed. The final reason
(McCabe et al., 2001; Jordan, 2001). presented by Lofstrom and Kupila was unintentional plagiarism
Given the numerous types of academically dishonest behav- caused by a lack of knowledge. Both students and faculty in the
iors and variables, both individual and contextual, that affect study felt unintentional plagiarism was the most common type.
academic behavior, it is not surprising that the literature in this A common form of plagiarism involves paraphrasing an origi-
field is broad and the research continues to grow. One specific nal work. Countless writing instructors have been asked, “How
area of interest is that of plagiarism. many words do I need to change in a passage for it to no longer
be plagiarism?” As engineers, we are accustomed to thinking in
Plagiarism numerical terms such as percentages. However, changing a few
“The word plagiarism is derived from the Latin word plagiar- words in a passage does not make the text or ideas within it belong
ius, meaning someone who kidnaps the child or slave of another” to someone else. Text that has been paraphrased or edited still
(Weber-Wulff, 2014). One early use of the term was by a poet in needs to be attributed to the original source. Unfortunately, this
response to his work being published under another’s name. He is an area that is not always clear. Rogi (2001) conducted research
felt his poems were the children of his mind and they had been investigating the definition of plagiarism among faculty members.
kidnapped (Weber-Wulff, 2014). While kidnapping may seem to There were varying understandings of plagiarism among faculty,
be a strong term, a person committing plagiarism is taking ideas even within disciplines. The variation in understanding plagia-
and words created by another. rism resulted in paraphrasing techniques that were considered
Plagiarism is different than copyright violations, although acceptable by some faculty and considered plagiarism by others.
there is some overlap. One can copy numerous pages of someone Rebecca Moore Howard defined the term “patchwriting.”
else’s work and properly cite the material; that is not plagiarism. This type of writing occurs when a student takes sentences, or
However, the act of using a large amount of material, even while even phrases, and pastes them together. Howard explains that it
giving credit, can violate the fair use provision of copyright laws. is often committed by inexperienced writers who lean too heavily
The distinction is that plagiarism involves taking and using on their sources while writing (Howard, 1999). Patchwriting is a
without proper credit, while a copyright violation is taking and gray area within plagiarism for many. The writer typically does
using beyond fair use. One can plagiarize material that is not not intentionally steal the work of others, but rather is too depen-
under copyright. Often copyright violations are also acts of pla- dent due to a lack of familiarity of the material (Weber-Wulff,
giarism but not necessarily. 2014). This understanding of material is a challenge for educa-
Plagiarism can have different forms (Walker, 2010). The most tors. We expect our students to learn and summarize technical
blatant is direct copying; one takes the words of another and uses material, but where is the line among overuse of the original
them without quotation marks or citation. Cut and paste features source, proper paraphrasing, and teaching students to synthesize
in word processors have made this easy to do both intentionally or multiple works to gain a richer understanding of the material?
unintentionally (Sutherland-Smith, 2008). Often it takes only a few
clicks of the computer mouse and the deed is done. Unintentionally, Frequency of Plagiarism
plagiarism can occur if the secondary author plans to paraphrase It is hard to quantify the rate of plagiarism, although many
the material later but forgets where the material came from and the have suggested it is on the rise. In a recent study, Radunovich,
need to cite it. Another example of unintentional plagiarism is a Baugh, and Turner (2009) questioned 542 agricultural and
writer with a mistaken belief that listing the original source in the life science students about their knowledge and understanding
bibliography or footnote provides adequate credit when quotation of plagiarism. The results suggested that there was confusion
marks and a citation are required (Hexham, 2013). among students at all levels about plagiarism. This confusion
Lofstrom (2011) suggested that explicit misunderstandings extends to the faculty ranks. With regard to engineering students
among students related to ethics were rare but there may be vari- specifically, Parameswaran and Devi (2006) report “rampant”
ous underlying beliefs and assumptions related to plagiarism and copying of lab reports.
proper credit. In a follow-up study, Lofstrom and Kupila (2013) The National Science Foundation (NSF) states it is imper-
found that there were three distinct reasons for plagiarism. The first ative that research is carried out following the highest ethical
is intentional, which they define as a deliberate behavior among standards. The NSF has seen a rise in research misconduct asso-
students who often justify this because other students do it, and ciated with NSF proposals and awards. The NSF definition of
the risks of being caught are low. The second reason was contextual research misconduct encompasses fabrication, falsification, and
asq.org/edu 6 Quality Approaches in Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 1

plagiarism. In semi-annual reports to Congress, NSF noted sev- unaware that they have committed an act of academic dishonesty
eral cases of plagiarism, including: because they do not clearly understand the concept or nuances of
• A faculty member at an Ohio university plagiarized text plagiarism? Academic dishonesty has implications for future pro-
into four proposals submitted to NSF. He admitted that he fessionalism as well. The engineering profession expects ethical
copied most of the material, which he said he did because behavior. The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)
English was not his native language. He also asserted that has a code of ethics (NSPE, 2007). Most, if not all, engineering
citations and quotation marks were unnecessary because professional societies have a code of ethics for their members. Ethics
the text was copied from a public source or was public is a knowledge area tested on the Fundaments of Engineering (FE)
knowledge. The university investigation concluded that the and Professional Engineering (PE) exams. Unethical behavior can
faculty member’s actions were reckless, and he should have result in the loss of one’s engineering license.
known of the need for citation (NSF, 2012a). As university faculty we seek to better understand our students’
behavior. We surveyed freshmen and upper-class engineering stu-
• A New Jersey university investigation concluded that an dents to determine their understanding of plagiarism. We hoped
assistant professor knowingly committed plagiarism in to gain insight into the question: When our students commit
11 unfunded NSF proposals. He plagiarized the majority plagiarism, is it a willful act or a lack of understanding the impor-
of the copied text in one proposal from other proposals tance and methodology of giving proper intellectual credit?
previously submitted to the same NSF program by other
Principal Investigators (PIs), who had posted them online Research Methodology
(NSF, 2012b). An online survey modified from Belter and du Pré (2009) was
• An assistant professor at an Illinois institution plagiarized used to test first-year students’ understanding of plagiarism at
text into three proposals. The professor acknowledged copy- Missouri S&T. Approximately 1,200 students, in several sections
ing material without citation, but she argued that the text of a first semester, one-credit hour, introduction to engineering
included basic, common information in her field; she acted course had the option of completing the survey. The survey was
in “honest error;” she misunderstood the rules of plagiarism one of several assignment choices. Students were not required to
as they apply to proposals; and she was under time pressure participate in this study. However, for those students who chose
(NSF, 2012a). to participate, they received course credit regardless of their per-
• A Puerto Rico university researcher plagiarized from mul- formance on the plagiarism survey. The survey was completed
tiple documents in an NSF proposal. She argued that much by 635 students. Responses from students who failed to complete
of the text she copied did not require attribution because it the survey fully were eliminated from the analyses.
was found on government web pages. NSF highlighted the Demographic questions were included to verify that a
difference between information that is common knowledge, representative sample was achieved. The participants were
which does not require citation, and information that is in predominately males (77.9%) who identified as Caucasian, non-
the public domain, such as on a government web site, which Hispanic (83.5%). These characteristics are similar to those for
requires citation (NSF, 2012a). the university’s entering freshmen engineering students.
A second group of 129 upper-class engineering students were
• An assistant professor at a New York university submitted
surveyed to allow a comparison of students’ understanding of
a proposal to NSF that contained a large amount of mate- plagiarism at different points in their undergraduate education.
rial plagiarized from a previously awarded NSF proposal These surveys were distributed on paper in classes within several
authored by a PI at another university. The professor said different engineering departments on campus. The demographics
that he told the student merely to use the awarded pro- of the upper-class students were similar to those of the freshmen
posal as guidance, and although he said the student did the students. The students were asked how many college-level English
actual copying, the professor accepted full responsibility. or technical communication classes they had taken. Fifty-one
The university concluded that the professor was guilty of percent of sophomores had taken two or more classes. The per-
reckless plagiarism due to improper oversight of the gradu- centage was 86% for juniors and 76% for seniors. Given previous
ate student and insufficient care with the content of the research (Newstead et al., 1996; McCabe et al., 2001; Walker,
draft proposal (NSF, 2012a). 2010), we hypothesized that exposure to higher education writ-
Given this confusion about plagiarism, it is possible that ing courses may provide the upper-class students with a stronger
students commit plagiarism unintentionally—that is, they are understanding of plagiarism compared to entering freshmen.

Survey Questions text. “Usual” was changed to “typical.” “The birds” was changed
to “the bird life.” “After a while” was changed to “In a while” and
The survey included three questions modified from Belter
“apparent” was changed to “obvious.” The correct answer is A.
and du Pré (2009), as follows:
Question 3: Is it plagiarism if the following
To answer items 1-3, refer to the following passage, which
sentence appears in your paper?
is quoted directly from "The Seven Habits of Highly
"As he listened he began to think of lessons the
Effective People," by Stephen Covey (1989), p. 293.
sea had taught him as a child—patience, respect,
"So the next morning, Gordon went to the beach. As he an awareness of the interdependence of things"
opened the first prescription, he read, ‘Listen carefully.’ (Covey, 1989, p. 293).
He thought the doctor was insane. How could he listen A) Yes, this is plagiarism. It's not OK to use a
for three hours? But he had agreed to follow the doctor's direct quote and cite it properly.
orders, so he listened. He heard the usual sounds of the B) No, this is not plagiarism. Quotation marks
sea and the birds. After a while, he could hear the other are used and it is cited properly.
sounds that weren't so apparent at first. As he listened C) I don’t know.
he began to think of lessons the sea had taught him as a
child—patience, respect, an awareness of the interdepen- This question includes a quote that is properly cited. The cor-
dence of things. He began to listen to the sounds—and rect answer is B.
the silence—and to feel a growing peace." Additionally, we assessed students’ knowledge of the institu-
tion’s penalty for academic misconduct and the importance of
Question 1: Is it plagiarism if the following academic integrity using another question modified from Belter
sentence appears in your paper? and du Pré (2009).
He heard the usual sounds of the sea and the birds.
After a while, he could hear the other sounds that Question 4: What is the penalty for plagiarism?
weren't so apparent at first (Covey, 1989, p. 293). A) A failing grade for the assignment, pos-
A) Yes, this is plagiarism. The author's exact sible a failing grade for the course, and even
words are not in quotation marks. suspension/expulsion.
B) No, this is not plagiarism. The author's exact B) Not much. Maybe just a few points off for
words are properly cited. the assignment.
C) I don’t know. C) I don’t know.
This question tested the need for quotation marks. The passage The correct answer is A.
was taken verbatim from the original text. While a citation is given, Table 1 provides a comparison of the percentage of students
the necessary quotation marks are not. The correct answer is A. who correctly answered the four questions. The more experienced
Question 2: Is it plagiarism if the following students did recognize the need for quotation marks when using a
sentence appears in your paper? direct quote at a higher rate than the freshmen (question 1). The
He heard the typical noises of the sea
and the bird life. In a while, he heard Table 1: Students by Level With Correct Answers
other sounds that weren't so obvious
at first (Covey, 1989, p. 293). Objectives Freshmen Sophomores Juniors Seniors
(n = 635) (n = 31) (n = 21) (n = 77)
A) Yes, this is plagiarism. Only a
few words have been changed. Understand use of quotation
59% 77% 81% 71%
marks for a direct quote
B) No, this is not plagiarism.
Enough words were changed to Understand appropriate
52% 39% 43% 30%
make it my own work. paraphrasing
C) I don’t know. Recognize a proper citation 89% 84% 86% 92%
The passage in this question has minor Know the penalty for
95% 81% 100% 88%
changes in the wording from the original plagiarism

percent of participants who correctly answered the paraphrasing 45%
question dropped from 52% for freshmen to only 30% for seniors. 40%
Apparently, proper paraphrasing is not clear cut for students. There Sophomores
35%
Percent Response
Juniors
are no exact rules for how much should be changed to avoid plagia- 30%
Seniors
rism, yet it is striking how the percent correct dropped within the 25%
samples. Approximately 15% of the students surveyed answered,
20%
“I don’t know” to this question. Students recognized a properly
15%
cited quotation and understood the penalty for plagiarism at all
levels. These data suggest that students within this sample know 10%
how to cite a quote and that plagiarism is a significant offense. 5%

0%
How Common Is Plagiarism?
7
l–
–
–
y
l
al
tra
el
The survey also asked the students’ perception of the occurrence
m
at
eu
tre
ot
Ex
of plagiarism on a scale from 0-7 (0 = not common, never happens
N
to 7 = extremely common, everyone plagiarizes). The results are Students’ Responses
shown in Figure 1. Freshmen were not asked this question. Having
only been on campus a few weeks, they did not have a basis to Figure 1: A
nswers to “How common is plagiarism at
answer this question as accurately as upper-class students. The our university?”
upper-class students rated plagiarism as a “common” occurrence
as follows: 17% of seniors, 18% of juniors, and 8% of sophomores. 70%
60%
Students’ Ethical Self-Perception Sophomores
Percent Response
50% Juniors
The survey asked students to rate their own level of perceived
Seniors
ethical behavior using an 8-point Likert scale (0 = not at all, 7 = 40%
extremely). The results are shown in Figure 2. The students tended
30%
to rate themselves above average on ethics. Ariely (2012) has writ-
ten extensively about honesty and self-perception. He found that 20%
most people like to think of themselves as honest. If given an
10%
opportunity to cheat, many will behave dishonestly enough to
profit a moderate amount, yet still consider themselves to be hon- 0%
est. In a series of experiments, Ariely found students over report
0
7
l–
–
–
y
l
al
tra
their performance on quizzes, took items that did not belong to

el
m
at
eu
tre
ot
them, and padded their expense reports in the range of 10-20%,

Ex
N
enough to gain some benefit, yet still consider themselves honest. Students’ Responses
Recommendations Figure 2: Answers to “How ethical are you?”

A variety of methods to teach both what plagiarism is and
why it is an important issue have been developed. Elander, knowledge. She found students struggle with the concept of pla-
Pittam, Lusher, Fox, and Payne (2010) proposed that students giarism, specifically paraphrasing. However, the implementation
lack authorial identity or “the sense a writer has of themselves as of an online tutorial resulted in, on average, a 6% improvement
an author and the textual identity they construct in their writ- in distinguishing paraphrasing from plagiarism.
ing” (p. 159). An intervention designed to improve students’ In addition to Jackson’s (2006) web-based tutorial, Belter and
authorial identity resulted in significantly increasing the under- du Pré (2009) also developed an online plagiarism instruction
standing of authorship and knowledge about plagiarism, and tutorial. Rates of plagiarism among psychology students who
the intervention’s effect was greatest among first-year students completed this online tutorial were 6.5% (compared to 25.8%
(Elander et al., 2010). Jackson (2006) assessed undergraduate among students who did not complete the tutorial). In an exten-
computer science majors’ understanding of plagiarism and evalu- sion of this research, Henslee, Goldsmith, Stone, and Krueger
ated the use of an interactive, online tool to improve students’ (2015) compared a generic, pre-recorded lecture to a more

specific, online tutorial regarding plagiarism. Results indicated and synthesize multi-dimensional issues. This higher-level think-
no significant differences between groups with regard to inci- ing skill is not only important during formal education, but for
dents of plagiarism among psychology students. These results continued professional development as well. However, this does
suggest that the online tutorial may be an equally effective not necessarily negate the benefit of an honor code. Jordan (2001)
instructional method compared to a pre-recorded lecture. reported that 40% of students believed that signing an honor code
A variety of potential solutions exist that warrant further decreased academic dishonesty. Perhaps instilling allegiance among
review. Software programs such as EndNote can provide a tool students to such a code is akin to the professional engineer’s alle-
to assist students in managing their references. During the writ- giance to the NSPE Code of Ethics. That is, instilling respect for
ing process, a few simple clicks allow the writer to add a reference ethical behaviors among students should be encompassed as part of
citation to the text and a properly formatted reference at the end comprehensive efforts to teach proper citation, paraphrasing, etc.
of the paper. This type of tool should reduce the “accidental”
plagiarism of writers using material and later forgetting where Conclusions
the material came from or the need to give credit. Academic integrity, including plagiarism, is an important con-
Other types of software aimed at plagiarism detection include cern in any academic setting (Macfarlane et al., 2014; McCabe
Turnitin and iThenticate. Turnitin allows educators to submit et al., 2001); therefore, efforts to teach students about plagiarism
student work and then provides reports identifying original adequately and how to avoid it are imperative. Consistent with
and unoriginal content. Programs such as iThenticate compare previous research, our results indicate that there is not a clear
a document to content available on the Internet. The software understanding of plagiarism, specifically paraphrasing, among
provides a measure of originality and cautions of potential plagia- entering freshmen engineering students at our university. Also
rism issues to the writer or the instructor. Use of such software is consistent with other studies (Newstead et al., 1996; McCabe
becoming more common among engineering journals. Jocoy and et al., 2001; Walker, 2010), an understanding of plagiarism did not
DiBiase (2006) found plagiarism among 13% of adult learners improve as the students took college-level writing and/or technical
in an online course when utilizing detection software. For the communication classes or were upper-level engineering students.
same assignments, only 3% were found to have plagiarism when This study is just the initial step at our university to research
the work was reviewed manually. In a study across multiple dis-
and address academic dishonesty among engineering students.
ciplines at three universities, Gilmore, Strickland, Timmerman,
It provides support for the belief that some engineering under-
Maher, and Feldon (2010) found plagiarism to range from 36.3%
graduate students may be committing plagiarism due to a lack of
to 42.6% when student proposals were evaluated using plagiarism
knowledge about proper citations and paraphrasing rather than
detection software. While useful tools, these types of software are
a willful lack of academic integrity. The results suggest the need
only a part of the solution to the ongoing problem of plagiarism.
for targeted education aimed at incoming freshmen to clarify
Another approach used by some universities to reduce plagiarism
what is plagiarism and how to avoid committing it.
is educational websites. University of California, Davis has a website
geared to students; it educates them on what plagiarism is and how References:
to avoid it as a part of their academic integrity project. Long Island
Ariely, D. (2012). The (honest) truth about dishonesty. New York, NY:
University also has online resources for students. Additionally, Harper Collins Publishers.
Purdue University has a well-respected writing research website,
Belter, R. W., & du Pré, A. (2009). A strategy to reduce plagiarism in an
known as the Online Writing Lab (OWL) that does more than
undergraduate course. Teaching of Psychology, 36(4), 257-261.
warn students about plagiarism. The OWL site includes content
on proper citation formats and plagiarism; it also describes how to Cochran, J. K., Chamlin, M. B., Wood, P. B., & Sellers, C. S. (1999).
paraphrase and has a focus on how to improve writing. Shame, embarrassment, and formal sanction threats: Extending the
Some educators have focused on teaching the proper method deterrence/rational choice model to academic dishonesty. Sociological
Inquiry, 69(1), 91-105.
of paraphrasing. Eckel (2010) recommends working with students
to develop the skill of synthesizing reference materials rather than Eckel, E. J. (2010). A reflection on plagiarism, patchwriting, and the engi-
punishing plagiarism or pushing honor codes. Eckel states that neering master’s thesis. Issues in Science & Technology Librarianship, 62(9).
engineering and science students need to understand the differ- Elander, J., Pittam, G., Lusher, J., Fox, P., & Payne, N. (2010). Evaluation
ences among quoting, patchwriting, paraphrasing, and synthesis to of an intervention to help students avoid unintentional plagiarism by
become better writers and better professionals. We agree with Eckel improving their authorial identity. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher
that, ideally, engineering students should learn how to conceptualize Education, 35(2), 157-171.

Gilmore, J., Strickland, D., Timmerman, B., Maher, M., & Feldon, D. Parameswaran, A., & Devi, P. (2006). Student plagiarism and faculty
(2010). Weeds in the flower garden: An exploration of plagiarism in responsibility in undergraduate engineering labs. Higher Education
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Henslee, A. M., Goldsmith, J., Stone, N., & Krueger, M. (2015). An Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Journal, 53(4), 30-35.
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authors, collaborators. Stamford, CT: Ablex Pub. rism. Springer-Verlag: Berlin Heidelberg.
Jackson, P. A. (2006). Plagiarism instruction online: Assessing under-

Susan L. Murray, Ph.D. is a professor in the
graduate students’ ability to avoid plagiarism. College & Research
Engineering Management and Systems
Libraries, 67(5), 418-428. Engineering Department at Missouri University
Jocoy, C., & DiBiase, D. (2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A of Science and Technology. Her research and
case study in detection and remediation. International Review of Research teaching interests include human systems inte-
in Open and Distance Learning, 7(1), 1-15. gration, productivity improvement, human
performance, safety, project management,
Jordan, A. E. (2001). College student cheating: The role of motivation, Susan L. Murray
and engineering education. Prior to her aca-
perceived norms, attitudes, and knowledge of institutional policy. Ethics
demic position, Murray worked in the
& Behavior, 11(3), 233-247.
aerospace industry including two years at
Lambert, E. G., Hogan, N. L., & Barton, S. M. (2003). Collegiate academic NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Her goal is to
dishonesty revisited: What have they done, how often have they done it, continuously improve engineering education.
who does it, and why did they do it? Electric Journal of Sociology, 7(4), 1-27. Murray can be reached at [email protected].
Lofstrom, E. (2011). Does plagiarism mean anything? LOL students’ con-
ceptions of writing and citing. Journal of Academic Ethics, 9(4), 257-275. Amber M. Henslee, Ph.D. is an assistant pro-
fessor in the Psychological Science Department
Lofstrom, E., & Kupila, P. (2013). The instructional challenges of stu- at Missouri University of Science and
dent plagiarism. Journal of Academic Ethics, 11(3), 222-242. Technology. Henslee’s clinical specialties are
Macfarlane, B., Zhang, J., & Pun, A. (2014). Academic integrity: A in the areas of addictions and trauma. Her
review of the literature. Studies in Higher Education, 39(2), 339-358. research interests include college student
health-related behaviors and the scholarship
McCabe, Z. D., Trevino, L., & Butterfield, K. (2001). Cheating in aca- Amber M. Henslee of teaching and learning. She can be reached
demic institutions: A decade of research. Ethics & Behavior, 11(3), 219-232.
at [email protected].
National Science Foundation Office of Inspector General. (2012a,
March). Semiannual report to Congress. Retrieved from http://www.nsf. Douglas K. Ludlow, Ph.D. is a professor in
gov/pubs/2012/oig12002/oig12002.pdf. the Chemical & Biochemical Engineering
National Science Foundation Office of Inspector General. (2012b, Department at Missouri University of Science
September). Semiannual report to Congress. Retrieved from http:// and Technology and director of the Freshman
www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/oig12002/oig12002.pdf. Engineering Program. Ludlow’s research inter-
ests center on the characterization of surfaces of
National Society of Professional Engineers. (2007). Code of ethics for engi- adsorbents and catalysts. His teaching interests
neers. Retrieved from http://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics. Douglas K. Ludlow
include chemical reactor design and chemical
Newstead, S. E., Franklyn-Stokes, A., & Armstead, P. (1996). Individual process safety and recently the first-year expe-
differences in student cheating. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88(2), rience for incoming engineering students. He
229-241. can be reached at [email protected].

Adding curricular Educating Tomorrow’s Engineer: Adding
flexibility Flexibility Through Student-Defined Electives
William J. Schell, Durward K. Sobek II, and Maria A. Velazquez
to develop
Abstract
well-rounded Industry and political leaders continue to call for change in the way that engineers are
educated. Future engineers need to be more than just technically competent. They must be
engineers. able to refresh their skills continually to remain relevant in an ever-changing world while
simultaneously being able to work effectively with diverse groups of people from a wide
variety of backgrounds and expertise. This article examines the process utilized at Montana
State University to redesign the curriculum of an industrial engineering program to be
more attractive to prospective students while adding the flexibility needed to develop more
well-rounded engineers. The project resulted in major curriculum change, with changes to
nearly 30% of program credits. The cornerstone of these updates increased program flex-
ibility through a student-defined elective program. Results are discussed including student
enrollments, ABET accreditation, and student use of the new flexibility.
Keywords
Higher Education, Accreditation, Student Satisfaction, STEM, 21st Century Skills
Introduction
Consistent calls for additional science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)
graduates in the United States over the past decade have led to an increasing demand for
engineering education and climbing enrollments for many existing engineering programs
(The White House, 2014; Yoder, 2014). This increased demand has also motivated the
creation of many new engineering programs (Meixell, Buyurgan, & Kiassat, 2015; Muggli
& Tande, 2011). With these changes in the marketplace, ensuring that a program is ABET
accredited is one of the most effective ways for students (consumers) to ensure that the
program they are investigating is of sufficient quality that its graduates are ready to enter
the workplace in an engineering role (ABET, 2015).
Simultaneous to these rising enrollments, there is a growing call for changing the ways
that engineers are educated (American Society for Engineering Education, 2013; National
Academy of Engineering, 2013). There is an increasing movement toward the incorpo-
ration of curricular materials that promote developing engineers who meet the broad
needs of today’s industry for a number of reasons. This includes changes in engineering
accreditation criteria (ABET, 2012), calls from seminal reports such as the Engineer of 2020
(National Research Council, 2004), and evidence from engineering graduates that indicate
professional skills are often what engineers find most important in the workplace (Passow,
2012). These needs include engineers who are not only technically competent, but also
what Atman (2009) defines as well-rounded. In this context, the well-rounded engineer is
both broadly educated and holds the skills of a lifelong learner necessary to be prepared for
the continuous changes expected in the profession. Unfortunately, the evidence continues
to indicate that the engineering professorate is not doing enough to change the way engi-
neers are educated and adequately respond to these changing societal needs (Atman, 2009;
National Research Council, 2005; National Science Board, 2007).
In response to these needs, the faculty of an industrial engineering (IE) program at
asq.org/edu Montana State University (MSU) undertook a multi-year effort to revise the curriculum.

A key desired outcome of the new curriculum was to create pro- the program that materialized simultaneously. These influences
gram flexibility that enabled students to study additional areas can be categorized using Lattuca and Stark’s (2009) three origins
and graduate more well-rounded engineers, while maintaining of academic change:
the program’s ABET accreditation. This flexibility was largely 1. Response to external societal pressures.
accomplished through the creation of a unique elective system
2. Response to internal pressures from within a program, col-
within the curriculum. This article examines the path to the
lege, or university.
development of this system, how ABET and other key stake-
holders view the revised curriculum, how the revised curriculum 3. Utilization of new educational ideas.
has performed on key metrics, and how students are putting the In this case, new educational ideas fall into two categories.
flexibility to use. The first are those coming from external societal pressure, while
the second are new technologies and techniques implemented in
Curricular Reform in the Literature support of classroom instruction. Since this article examines pro-
Given the broad pressures to improve engineering educa- gram-level changes, only the first category of new educational
tion, it is not surprising that a number of engineering programs ideas are discussed. How these influences affected the program
have studied ways to improve their curriculum over the past at MSU are summarized in Figure 1.
decade. Often these efforts look to bring in new topics to exist-
ing curriculum such as green engineering (Christ et al., 2015), External Pressures:
sustainability (Price & Robinson, 2015), innovation and entrepre-
Curriculum Reform Project
• Changing skill needs
neurship (Oswald Beiler, 2015), and Total Quality Management for future engineers
(Chowdhury, 2014). In addition to these specific topic efforts, • Calls to adapt
programs have also implemented more wide-reaching changes to engineering education
better attract and retain diverse students (Busch-Vishniac et al., • ABET accreditation
2011), modernize their curriculum (Hamidreza et al., 2007), and
respond to the needs of external stakeholders (Sari, 2013).
Existing IE Updated
A great deal of the literature regarding IE programs focuses
Curriculum Curriculum
on developing an appropriate topic list, or body of knowledge,
to include in the curriculum (Elsayed, 1999; Hamidreza, et al.
2007; Kuo & Deuermeyer, 1998; Sari, 2013). This focus seems Internal Pressures:
to be largely due to the breadth of the discipline and corre- • Change in faculty and
sponding needs to balance the depth of education in any one faculty expectations
• Shrinking IE enrollment
area versus covering all of the potential topics that could be
considered core (Elsayed, 1999). In what appears to be the most • College of Engineering
and department growth
complete work in this area, Hamidreza et al., (2007) performed
• Resource scarcity
a three-round Delphi study involving both faculty and indus-
try professionals to define the desired characteristics of an IE
with an undergraduate degree. Their work involved several Figure 1: S
ummary of Academic Change Influences at
hundred survey respondents and developed a prioritized list of Montana State
17 desired characteristics and 45 emerging skills. The research-
ers then utilized these lists to define priorities for curricular External Pressures for Engineering Curriculum Reform
changes in their program. The world is changing and with it so are the skills that engi-
neers need to be successful in the workplace. The engineer of the
Context and Motivation for Curricular future will work in an environment that is changing faster, is
Reform at Montana State more global, and requires greater levels of entrepreneurship and
The effort to add flexibility to the existing curriculum was collaboration with everyone from designers to social scientists
part of a larger effort to perform a substantive curricular reform. (National Academy of Engineering, 2013; National Research
The project resulted in a large-scale change to the curriculum as it Council, 2005). The types of expertise that engineers need for
had existed for more than a decade. The impetus for this change success in the workplace is constantly changing. For example,
was created by a variety of internal and external influences on the hot skills or knowledge areas of just a few years ago, such

as integrated design or Lean Six Sigma, are today’s sustainable college included enrollment increases in other programs, which
design and big data analytics. To prepare graduates for successful created resource pressures on the IE program and a department-
careers and ensure the continued competitiveness of our nation, head mandate to reduce the costs of part-time, non-tenurable
engineering curriculum must provide students “a knowledge of instructors before being permitted to fill an open tenurable IE
contemporary issues” and “an ability to engage in life-long learn- position. At the university level, there were also expectations
ing” (ABET, 2012). Despite this importance, evidence shows related to the ongoing viability of smaller degree programs,
that the engineering professorate is slow to adopt new content which put additional pressure on the IE program as the small-
and that engineering curriculum remains rather rigid. As noted est in the college.
by participants at a 2013 National Academy of Engineering Together, these internal pressures created a mandate for the
Forum, “If curricula was redesigned around the needs of the stu- curriculum update to improve both the educational efficiency
dents, rather than the needs of faculty members, they would look and attractiveness of the curriculum. At the same time, the
quite different” (National Academy of Engineering, 2013). external environment provided motivation to use the curriculum
These changes and pressures point to the need for educa- review to find ways to introduce additional flexibility to support
tion to develop a different engineer for the future than the one the development of well-rounded engineers, while maintaining
who is trained for today. But how should the future engineer ABET accreditation.
be different? While opinions vary, a common theme is evi-
dent in many reports: the engineer of the future needs to be The Process of Curricular Reform
well-rounded and should be educated accordingly (National at Montana State
Academy of Engineering, 2013; National Research Council, With these influences in mind, as the faculty began the
2005). Well-rounded engineers are more than just technically process to update the curriculum, the team agreed on a fun-
competent, they must also grasp the bigger-picture needs of their damental goal of the effort: The goal of the undergraduate
organizations. They must understand what is possible and what Industrial Engineering curriculum rebuild effort is to develop a
is useful. They must then possess the skills needed to effectively supremely marketable and compelling degree program that pre-
communicate the difference to a variety of audiences. How edu- pares students to make significant contributions to the economic
cation should be changed to develop a well-rounded engineer well-being of their employers and to pursue graduate studies at
has been interpreted in a number of venues. While these recom- institutions of their choosing.
mendations vary, they can be summarized to say that an effective Based on the overall goal and the needs of internal and
curriculum to educate the engineer of the future should be:
external stakeholders, the team agreed on a number of key
• A broad education (Duderstadt, 2008; National Research objectives that should be met with the final curriculum, chief
Council, 2005; National Science Board, 2007). among these were:
• “Well grounded in the basics of mathematics and science, 1. To maintain ABET accreditation.
[with an expanded view that includes] the humani-
2. To ensure an integrated and coherent, yet flexible structure.
ties, social science, and economics” (National Research
Council, 2004). 3. To maintain strong foundations in engineering and IE
fundamentals.
• Flexible to promote life-long learning (Duderstadt, 2008),
with the end goal that graduates will be better prepared for 4. To introduce emerging topics deemed important by employ-
a constantly changing global economy (National Research ers, along with flexibility to add/change topics as market
Council, 2005). demands shift.
Before detailing the process the team utilized to modify the
Internal Pressures for Curricular Reform curriculum in line with this goal and objectives, it is impor-
In addition to the societal pressure to change the way tant to discuss the constraints on the development of the
tomorrow’s engineers are educated, the IE program was under new curriculum.
a variety of pressures internal to the program, department, and
university. Influences from inside the program included prior Constraints on Curricular Reform
work to familiarize all members of the faculty with all courses, Any effort to modify an existing curriculum is constrained
substantial changes in the makeup of the faculty, and declin- by a number of factors. In this case study, these factors included
ing student enrollments. Influences from the department and compliance with state and university policies, the need for

existing students to complete their degree requirements success- Modifying the Curriculum
fully during the transition with limited or no impact on faculty With these constraints guiding the types of options that
workloads, and the need to maintain ABET accreditation. could be considered, the team engaged in a multi-step process
Together these form a complex set of interlocking constraints to identify and finalize potential changes to the curriculum and
that require systems-thinking approaches be applied to quality then have those changes approved and implemented. Figure 2
improvement in higher education (Furst-Bowe, 2011). presents an overview of this process.
Perhaps the most challenging of these constraints dealt with A year before the formal project to update the curriculum
the inherent conflict regarding credit requirements between state began, the faculty started work to prepare for the project. This
and university policies and ABET requirements. Per Criterion 5 work involved a series of faculty meetings to review all courses
(ABET, 2012), to achieve or maintain accreditation, an engineer- in the current curriculum. This provided a knowledge base
ing program must include: for all faculty in the program, similar to the update efforts of
• 32 semester hours of a combination of college-level math Busch-Vishniac et al. (2011). The formal project began with brain-
and basic sciences, storming to identify knowledge areas that should be included
in the future IE program. The structure sought to elicit faculty
• 48 semester hours of engineering topics including engineer-
knowledge gained from the literature, published reports, student
ing sciences and design, and
and other stakeholder input, time in industry, and knowledge of
• a general education component that complements the tech- other programs. This information was then utilized to identify
nical content of the curriculum. key subjects central to an IE curriculum, subjects from outside
Through these requirements, ABET prescribes the type of IE which should be included in an IE curriculum, key profes-
curricular content for 80 semester hours, plus the general edu- sional skills that need to be developed through the curriculum,
cation requirement. This general education requirement is also and existing subjects that might not be essential to the curricu-
prescribed at MSU in the form of Core 2.0 (Montana State lum of the future. This resulted in a list of topics to potentially
University, 2015). Core 2.0 requires that students take at least eliminate from the program and an even longer list for possible
one course in each of ten different areas including diversity, inclusion that would be helpful in developing graduates who will
contemporary issues in science, arts, and others, representing an be successful in their chosen careers. The key areas from outside
additional 30 semester hours of courses. This total of 110 pre- the discipline identified through this process were:
scribed credits leaves little room for additional flexibility before • organizational psychology and human motivation,
a program of study runs into conflict with the Montana Board • financial analysis and accounting from a business
of Regents policy, which limits programs to a maximum of 120 perspective,
semester credits (Montana State University, 1999). Even with the
• sales and marketing fundamentals, and
exception granted to engineering programs at MSU allowing
a maximum of 128 semester credit hours, without combining • data-mining skills, including programming and database
multiple objectives into a single course, only 18 credit hours applications.
remain to meet both program-specific goals and implement flex- While the team was in strong agreement that these topics
ibility of topics. would be valuable within the curriculum, the process of how to
  
Outline Review Draft External
• Courses to • College level
Options Criteria Updates Review
• Brainstorm • ABET add or remove • Industry
new topics requirements • Understand Advisory
• Outline • Core IE impacts to Board
topics for knowledge review criteria • Student input
removal areas • Iterate on • University level
design options • ABET
Figure 2: Overview of the Curricular Review Process

incorporate them into an already full program of study presented address the gap in management systems (Schell, 2013), it became
a large challenge. The prospect of beginning with a white sheet clear that adding many topics from the list of areas outside the
of paper and building an ideal curriculum from the ground up discipline would not be easily accomplished. This led the team to
was considered neither efficient nor practical. This was due to a search for other ways to utilize the curriculum to develop more
variety of reasons, including constraints associated with exist- well-rounded engineers. This was done by adding more flexibil-
ing university courses outside the influence of the IE faculty, the ity to the program through the student-defined electives.
need for existing IE courses to continue to support other majors Once the faculty had agreed to a complete draft of a revised
within the college, and the need to accommodate existing IE curriculum, the process of internal and external review as well
students as the curriculum transitioned into its final state. As as approval and implementation began in earnest. This process
an initial step to create space for new topics, while considering included focus group meetings with junior and senior students
the practical issues of implementation, all courses in the existing from the Alpha Pi Mu honor society and members of the depart-
curriculum were reviewed to consider which might be removed ment’s Industrial Advisory Board (IAB). These two groups
or modified. This step created an initial list of potential changes provided the type of counterbalance of student and industry
for consideration, including several courses for potential removal desires that Hall, Swart, & Duncan, (2012) argued is important
or substantial revision. to utilize to avoid some of the overly customer-centric approaches
This list was then reviewed against the existing curriculum happening today in higher education. Consistent with pub-
considering ABET credit-hour requirements. These require- lished reports of industry direction to curriculum design (Sari,
ments, along with Objective 1 (maintain accreditation) of the 2013), feedback from the IAB was universally positive. Board
process proved a substantial constraint on any potential changes. members were excited about specific updates to sequences in
These constraints were reinforced by the team’s desire to main- operations research and human factors as well as the improved
tain a strong emphasis in IE fundamentals (Objective 3). coverage of management systems and increased flexibility. The
To understand the impacts of any proposed change on student review also generated almost universally positive feed-
Objective 3, the team used existing bodies of knowledge, pub- back. Students were pleased to see the amount of thought that
lished guidance on the future direction of the profession, and had gone into updating the experience for future IE majors and
personal knowledge to create a list of core knowledge areas were excited about the majority of the changes, including the
thought to be crucial for future engineering graduates and which increased flexibility. Subsequent reviews by the college-level cur-
should be represented in the degree. These included: riculum committee, university-level faculty senate review, and
• Systems modelling and optimization techniques the Office of the Provost went smoothly with several members
making positive comments regarding the new electives policy
• Management systems
and substantial praise from the long-standing chair of the col-
• Engineering economic analysis lege committee. At the conclusion of the process, nearly 30% of
• Sustainable system design and analysis the credits in the curriculum had some change in status, and cur-
riculum delivery became more efficient for the IE faculty with
• Human factors
substantial reduction in program-level teaching loads.
• Quality assurance
The faculty then reviewed course content and mapped the Adding Flexibility—Origin of the Cognate
curriculum to this list. These efforts enabled the team to iden- A key aspect of creating flexibility in the curriculum was the
tify areas of perceived strength and deficiencies using a quality development of the cognate elective program. Merriam-Webster
scoring matrix approach (Sower, 2011). The perceived deficien- defines cognate as “of the same or similar nature, or generically
cies in the required course work were in two areas: management similar” ("Cognate," n.d.). Thus, the cognate program enables
systems and human factors. These topics combined with the students to select a set of related courses from across the univer-
objectives of the reform provided the final framework to evaluate sity, and beyond, that supports their interest area and augments
each potential change to the curriculum considered by the team their classic IE education. In addition, the cognate is designed to
and enabled the final curriculum to take shape. Figure 3 shows promote more meaningful use of MSU’s Core 2.0 general edu-
an evaluation matrix with examples of the changes considered cation requirement, since students often build upon designated
and the expected impact on the evaluation criteria. While the core courses as they select courses for their desired cognate.
team modified the listing of required courses to address the per- The cognate program has its origin in the combination of
ceived deficiency in human factors and designed a new course to two distinct ideas for curricular improvement. The first was to

Key Outcomes Core Topic Areas
to add/change topics as market demands shift.

3. T o maintain strong foundations in engineering
important by employers, along with flexibility
Systems modelling and optimization techniques

2. T o ensure an integrated and coherent, yet
4. T o introduce emerging topics deemed
Sustainable system design and analysis

 = Strong positive
influence expected
1. To maintain ABET accreditation.
◐ = Slight positive
Engineering economic analysis

influence expected
◑ = Slight negative
and ID fundamentals.
influence expected
Management systems
flexible structure.
Quality assurance
 = Strong negative
Human factors
influence expected
◑  ◐  ◐ ◐
Replace professional electives
with flexible system 
◐ ◐ ◐ ◐ ◐
Develop new
management course 
◑ ◑
Eliminate differential
equations requirement
Condense operations research

sequence to two semesters  
◐ ◐ ◐
Move elective human factors
courses to required 
◐ ◑
Eliminate management focused
professional elective courses
Figure 3: Evaluation Matrix With Example Changes Considered
provide students the opportunity to develop a unique area of Broadening Education With the Cognate
expertise that would support their chosen career aspirations. To ensure that the cognate achieved the desired educational
Because IE is a very broad field, practitioners can be successful outcomes and is not merely seen by students as a way to find three
in virtually any industry, from manufacturing to financial ser-
easy courses to complete their degree, several basic requirements
vices and healthcare to retail. By choosing an appropriate set of
are provided through the published cognate policy (Montana
courses, students can gain some industry-level expertise in one
State University Industrial Engineering Program, 2013). These
of these areas and differentiate themselves in the job search pro-
requirements, and their rationale are summarized as follows:
cess. The second idea was born from the larger view of skills that
would be valuable to IE students in their later careers, but there 1. Students will take a minimum of nine (9) credits from outside
was a challenge of how to fit them into an already full program the required curriculum coursework. Although many of the
of study. This challenge was substantively overcome by enabling faculty would have preferred a greater number of credits,
students to add complementary depth to their education with Montana law limits the number of required credits in a
the cognate. degree program.

2. Any course that is taken to satisfy required courses or univer- objectives of the work, we will examine these results in two dis-
sity core requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree in IE tinct discussions. First, we examine the impact of the program
cannot be used to meet the cognate requirement. This require- on areas outside of increasing curricular flexibility and the abil-
ment simply ensures that students do not attempt to double ity to educate more well-rounded engineers.
count credits and then fail to meet the credit requirements
for the degree. Enrollment Growth, Retention, Student Performance,
3. At least six (6) credits must be at the 300-level or above. This
and ABET Evaluation
requirement ensures that students move beyond superficial In the five years prior to the curriculum review, the IE
topics and obtain some depth in their chosen area. program at MSU had experienced multiple years of declin-
ing enrollments from a high of more than 100 undergraduate
4. The credits must represent a coherent area of study relevant to
majors to only 73 majors, a trend that continued during the
some aspect of IE as a discipline or practice. This reflects the
redesign effort. While IE shrank nearly 30% during this
very definition of cognate and helps ensure that students
period, the college experienced a 25% enrollment growth.
achieve depth in the chosen area.
The redesign of the IE curriculum has had a major positive
5. Proposed cognates included in a student’s program of study impact on enrollment numbers. Beginning one year after
must be approved by the student’s advisor and the IE Program implementation, IE enrollment grew from less than 70 majors
Coordinator. This requirement provides a final check on in fall 2012 to nearly 120 in fall 2015, a growth rate that has
cognate quality and an early warning system with regard to outpaced the college’s own record enrollments. At the same
any unforeseen issues with the program. time, a two-sample t-test of enrollment numbers for the four
The first three of these requirements are straightforward years prior to and following the change shows the program has
and easily understood by students. However, the fourth require-
ment of the cognate presents a challenge, since what constitutes
Table 1: F aculty-Designed Cognates Provided to Students
a “coherent area of study” can be interpreted in many ways. To
as Examples
support students as they work through what might be a criti-
cal area of uncertainty, the faculty took a number of steps to Healthcare Design
provide additional scaffolding for students. First, in the cognate
• CHTH 210 Foundations of • CS 145RA Web Design
policy, students are informed that they automatically meet the Community Health (3 cr.) (3 cr.)
cognate requirements if they complete a university-approved • HADM 445 Managing • EMEC 403 CAE IV-Design
minor. In addition to providing clarification with regard to Healthcare Orgs (3 cr.) Integration (3 cr.)
what a coherent area of study might look like, this customer- • EIND 506 Design of • EMEC 465 Bio-inspired
centric approach was expected to address the frustration of those Healthcare Delivery Sys. Engineering (3 cr.)
students who had looked to add a minor, only to find that it (3 cr.) Take ARCH 121IA to satisfy
would require substantial additional time and expense at MSU university core requirement.
to complete both the major and desired minor. Students were Sustainability Inventory Management
further informed that they can complete the cognate require-
• ECNS 132 Econ & the • BMGT 405 Supply Chain
ments by selecting a subset of courses from any approved minor, Environment (3 cr.) or Analytics (3 cr.)
as long as those courses meet the credit and level minimums • ECNS 332 Econ of Natural • EIND 373 Prod Inventory
outlined. Finally, the faculty provided a list of sample, custom- Resources (3 cr.) Cost Analysis (3 cr.)
created cognates as examples to help students think through • BMGT 410 Sustainable • EIND 468 Mgr Forecast &
their options. Faculty built these sample cognates using knowl- Business Practices (3 cr.) Decision Analysis (3 cr.)
edge of contemporary issues gained from industry input and • SOCI 470 Environmental
the literature, as well as prior student interest. The examples are Sociology (3 cr.)
shown in Table 1. Take ECNS 101IS or ECNS
251IS to satisfy university
Results From Program Implementation core requirement.
In many ways the results from the curriculum update have Montana University System Course Codes
ARCH: Architecture, BMGT: Business: Management, CS: Computer Science,
met and exceeded the expectations of the faculty members CHTH: Community Health, ECNS: Economics, EIND: Industrial Engineering,
involved in its execution. Given the nature of the multiple EMEC: Mechanical Engineering, HADM: Health Administration, SOCI: Sociology.

attracted significant (p = 0.019) increases in freshman enroll- h) have been evaluated each year by the program’s IAB through
ments. It has also continued to attract meaningful transfers. review and scoring of capstone project reports written by gradu-
This performance is evident in freshmen-sophomore retention ating seniors. On both measures, the average rating has climbed
rates that average 132% in the past three years and sopho- from near 3 prior to the change, to in excess of 3.5 following the
more-junior rates of 110% during that same period. Student change. These measures are on a scale where 3 = achieved and
performance remains high with students averaging over a 90% 4 = strongly achieved the outcome being evaluated. In addition,
pass rate on the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examina- senior exit surveys measuring their perception of how well the
tion since the curricular changes were implemented, including program has prepared them to demonstrate each of the standard
three of the last four semesters achieving 100% pass rates. As 11 ABET student outcomes (ABET, 2012) shows each outcome
all students are required to take the FE as part of their degree achieving the benchmark measure of 80% strongly agreeing or
requirements, this is a meaningful measure of program out- agreeing, and the average of all measures increasing since the
comes. In addition, graduates from the program have enjoyed changes were implemented.
job or graduate school placement rates of 100% each of the While the cognate provides a number of program-level out-
past five years. come benefits, only through implementation has it become clear
Unlike some other programs that have sought to develop how students are making use of this newfound flexibility and
flexibility in an undergraduate engineering program without developing a more well-rounded skill set and perspective. To
seeking ABET accreditation (Sticklen & Rosenberg, 2010), better understand the utilization of this newfound flexibility, a
maintaining accreditation was a key requirement of this update. two-part study was completed one year after the implementation
This requirement was made more difficult due to the level of the program and again three years into the implementation.
of change. In addition to modifying nearly 30% of program Each year, the first part of the study reviewed the advising files
credits, the curriculum review resulted in the adoption of a of current students to categorize the cognate plans of any student
program name that more accurately reflects the updated cur- who already had a documented set of cognate courses in his or
ricular content and broad applicability of the degree. The new her program of study. The second part used an assignment given
name became Industrial and Management Systems Engineering to new IE students in the first-semester, introductory course. In
(IMSE). As expected, this change led to the program being this assignment the students were given the cognate advising
evaluated on both the Industrial Engineering and Management materials and asked to design their own draft cognate to include
Engineering criteria on its recent ABET evaluation visit. This in their future program of study and explain why the cognate
review went very well. While official results will not be available interested them.
until summer 2016, the feedback provided by the evaluator was One year following the implementation, these efforts pro-
positive and noted the cognate elective policy as both a strength vided a list of 50 cognates for review, while the most recent
and differentiator. effort provided 74. To better understand how students devel-
oped their programs, the cognates were categorized in one of
How Students Benefit From Educational Flexibility three ways:
One of the reasons that the ABET evaluator noted the cog- • Example: The student utilized one of the example cognates
nate as a strength is due to the many beneficial educational provided by the faculty.
outcomes aligned with the student outcome expectations of
• Minor: The student designed a cognate that represented a
ABET (ABET, 2012). By pursuing the cognate, students will be
sub-set of a university-approved minor or intends to com-
enrolled in classes with many students from outside the engineer-
plete a minor.
ing program. This exposure to students from other disciplines in
upper-division courses appears to enhance IE student’s abilities to • Custom: The student designed his or her own custom cog-
work in multi-disciplinary environments (outcome d) and com- nate program.
municate effectively (outcome g). Because these interactions will Table 2 summarizes this data for the each cohort for both of
expose them to different perspectives and expertise, the cognate the years the data was collected.
also appears to improve student ability to assess the impact of The information presented in Table 2 begins to show the
their work in a larger context (outcome h). Finally, because stu- diversity of uses that students are finding for their cognates. In
dents must take ownership of the development and execution of fact, only six of the 51 cognates found in student advising files
their cognate, the system better prepares them to engage in life- are from areas that might typically be considered part of the elec-
long learning (outcome i). Since 2010, two of these outcomes (g, tives offered in a more traditional IE program, such as inventory

management, supply chain, or human factors. The remaining Conclusion
nearly 90% of cognates are from areas as wide ranging as com-
A variety of external and internal forces created the impetus
munity health, sociology, foreign languages, and business or
for transforming the IE curriculum into the IMSE curriculum
entrepreneurship. Of these, by far the most popular are business
at MSU. A key consideration of the faculty in this change
topics, representing nearly 20% of the data set.
was how to add flexibility to the curriculum to address calls
for developing more well-rounded engineers who are prepared
Table 2: Distribution of Developed Cognates to meet the demands expected of engineers in the future. At
the end of the update process, nearly 30% of the credits in
Fall 2013 Data Set Fall 2015 Data Set
the curriculum experienced some change in status, and cur-
riculum delivery became more efficient for the IE faculty with
Experienced
Experienced
Intro Course
Intro Course
Students in
Students in
IE Students
IE Students
substantial reduction in program-level teaching loads. By
modifying the curriculum in key ways, the faculty were able
Total Total to increase the flexibility of the degree program while main-
Example 12 4 16 8 11 19 taining ABET accreditation.
Minor 12 12 24 12 32 44 The new curriculum incorporates a nine-semester-hour
Custom 8 2 10 3 8 11 cognate-elective program that allows students the flexibility
Total 32 18 50 23 51 74 to explore additional educational areas and become more well-
rounded engineers. During initial implementation, students
Perhaps even more informative than the summary data have used the cognate to study a broad range of areas. Results
are specific examples of how students are putting their cog- indicate that the effort has met its fundamental goals on each
nate programs to use to achieve their near-term career goals. dimension, including increased enrollments, high student per-
In one of the first cognates developed, a student who desired formance in IE fundamentals, and increased student interest in
to work in healthcare developed a custom healthcare cognate studying a broad range of topics outside IE that will further their
combining a graduate course in healthcare engineering with career goals. In the spirit of continuous improvement, the faculty
courses in nursing and public health administration to deepen continues to monitor the success of these changes and look for
her understanding of the industry. Following graduation, this additional enhancement opportunities for the curriculum and
student was hired as a project manager and healthcare engi- cognate program.
neer for a leading medical research hospital in the Midwest.
In another case, a recent graduate used study-abroad courses Acknowledgments
to build a focus in supply chain management since adequate The authors would like to acknowledge the other IE faculty
courses did not exist at MSU at that time. This student is now who also played key roles in the development and execution of
working as a supply chain engineer in the oil and gas explora- the larger curriculum review project—David Claudio, Laura
tion industry. This dramatic use of courses from outside MSU Stanley, and Nicholas Ward—and the support and input of our
is not an isolated case. Additional examples include a junior department head at the time, Christopher Jenkins.
student currently studying sustainability topics in Sweden as
part of his cognate, while another prepares to study in Japan as References:
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William J. Schell, Ph.D. is an assistant profes- Maria A. Velazquez, Ph.D. is an assistant
sor in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering teaching professor in the Mechanical and
at Montana State University with research Industrial Engineering department at Montana
interests in engineering education and the role State University. She teaches the Introduction to
of leadership and culture in process improve- Industrial and Systems Engineering course,
ment. Prior to his academic career, Schell where some of the data for this article was col-
spent 14 years in industry and held leadership lected. She has industry experience in the field
William J. Schell Maria A. Velazquez
positions focused on process improvement and of industrial engineering, specifically in the
organizational development at American areas of production control, quality assurance,
Express and Wells Fargo Bank. He can be and human computer interaction. Velazquez’s
reached at [email protected]. interests include human factors and ergonom-
ics, emotional design, human error, and
Durward K. Sobek II, Ph.D. is a professor in usability engineering. She may be contacted
and program coordinator of Industrial and via email at [email protected].
Management Systems Engineering at Montana
State University. His research focuses on help-
ing engineering firms, healthcare organizations,
and educational institutions increase their per-
formance capacity through the application of
Durward K. Sobek II
lean principles. He can be contacted at
[email protected].
Education Division’s Advancing the STEM Agenda Book

A collection of conference papers from the 2011 Advancing the STEM Agenda
Conference. Available through ASQ Quality Press.
This publication is full of collab- “Veenstra, Padró, and Furst-Bowe provide a huge contribution to the field
orative models, best practices, of STEM education. We all know the statistics and of the huge need in
and advice for teachers, higher the area of STEM students and education, but what has been missing
education faculty, and human are application and success stories backed by research and modeling.
resources personnel on improving The editors have successfully contributed to our need by focusing on
the student retention (and thereby collaborative models, building the K-12 pipeline, showing what works at the
increasing the supply of STEM collegiate level, connecting across gender issues, and illustrating workforce
workers). Ideas that will work for
and innovative ideas.”
both STEM and non-STEM fields
are presented. The introduction John J. Jasinski, Ph.D.
maps out the current landscape of President, Northwest Missouri State University
STEM education and compares the
“Advancing the STEM Agenda provides a broad set of current perspectives
United States to other countries.
The last chapter is the confer- that will contribute in many ways to advancing the understanding and
ence chairs’ summar y of what enhancement of education in science, education, and engineering. This
was learned from the conference work is packed with insights from experienced educators from K-12,
and working with 36 authors to regional, and research university perspectives and bridges the transition
develop this book. This effort is from education to workplace.”
part of a grassroots effort among educators to help more students John Dew, Ed.D.
be successful in STEM majors and careers. Senior Vice Chancellor, Troy University

Incorporating Pre-teaching Strategies Contributing
trivia and music to a Positive Learning Environment
Mike Schraeder, Mark H. Jordan, T. J. Gabriel
into pre-class
Abstract
time for student In our knowledge-based society, the ability to learn or enable people to learn is essential.
Colleges and universities are viewed as key sources for disseminating knowledge. Literature
engagement shows that actions shaping the classroom environment, increasing student interest, and
enhancing engagement have positive implications for student learning. This article sum-
marizes our assessment of two different methods used prior to the start of class time by the
authors to try to increase readiness to learn, while enlivening students’ attitudes prior to the
actual formal teaching and learning session. One author played music in the background
before class, and the other authors asked trivia questions. A study was performed to test the
benefits of using trivia questions before class to improve student experience in a class where
participation is included as part of the course score. The benefits observed from each of
these strategies are discussed.
Keywords
Higher Education, Learning Environment, Student Engagement
Introduction
The acquisition and management of information are seen as critically important in the
context of the knowledge-based economy that characterizes the current business landscape
(Psarras, 2006). The process of acquiring information is embodied, to some extent, within
the process of learning. There are a variety of venues and resources available for those
interested in engaging in the learning process. College programs, however, are still among
the most well-respected sources of formal knowledge acquisition and learning. It is readily
acknowledged that college does impact students (Donaldson & Graham, 1999).
The increased importance of “learning” in this knowledge-based economy is accom-
panied by the need to better understand factors that affect outcomes or quality associated
with learning environments (Self & Schraeder, 2007). Business schools, in particular, face
intense pressure to demonstrate the effectiveness of their programs to multiple stakehold-
ers. Specifically, external stakeholders, such as businesses and organizations, are interested
in the quality of learning that occurs in college programs since the graduates of these
programs will ultimately seek employment within these organizations. As such, these
graduates collectively comprise a resource that could be a competitive advantage for these
organizations. Colleges of business seeking special accreditation (e.g., from organizations
such as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) also face pressures to
monitor, track, and improve the effectiveness of their programs (Trapnell & Boxx, 2011).
Mastery or learning facts, theories, and details within specific content domains represent
an important element in the overall context of learning in business programs. However,
more general types of learning that are not domain or subject specific, such as critical
thinking skills, are also viewed as important outcomes associated with a college education
(Bissell & Lemons, 2006; Burbach, Matkin, & Fritz, 2004), as well as being considered
valuable in the context of work and jobs (McEwen, 1994).
There are obviously a number of factors which contribute to the overall quality of learn-
asq.org/edu ing that takes place in the classroom. For example, the level of student engagement, which

is regarded as multi-faceted, is recognized as an important factor techniques faculty can adopt in their quest to facilitate student
impacting learning outcomes (Handelsman, Briggs, Sullivan, & learning (Leong, 2005).
Towler, 2005). According to Rachal, Daigle, and Rachal (2007), This article summarizes the use of simple strategies that have
“student engagement is defined as active participation in the been proven useful to the authors in facilitating a positive learn-
learning process” (p. 191). Further, in a study detailing efforts to ing environment in their classrooms. Specifically, the authors
develop a measure of student engagement, Handelsman, Briggs, have discovered that playing music in the background prior to
Sullivan, and Towler (2005) identified four salient factors they class and asking trivia questions prior to class can have positive
labeled as emotional engagement, skills engagement, perfor- implications on the classroom learning environment. The tone
mance engagement, and participation-interaction engagement of this article is not intended to be rigorous, but instead, pro-
as components or dimensions of student engagement. Learning vides an illustration of how the authors have successfully used
is an inherently individual process since each student tends to these strategies.
learn differently than others (Ramsey & Fitzgibbons, 2005).
Individual levels of willingness or a readiness to learn is an The Use of Music
important determinant influencing how well learning actually Have you ever watched a movie or commercial with the
takes place, while actively involving learners in the process can sound muted? If so, you can attest to the power of music. Faculty
also have positive implications (Davidhizar & Bechtel, 2000). who have taught for any length of time are likely aware of the
Further, learning activities that tap into the emotions and feel- awkward silence that is often present in the classroom prior to
ings of students could have positive effects on students’ readiness the start of class sessions. As students become more accustomed
to learn (Ramsey & Fitzgibbons, 2005). to the instructor and their fellow classmates, this silence may
With these points in mind, another important factor that be abated by the occasional chatter of students talking amongst
merits special consideration is the overall culture or atmosphere themselves. Learning, however, is ideally a dynamic, energy-
of the classroom. There is evidence that students’ perceptions infused process that actively engages students in the journey of
about the learning environment can impact their motivation to gaining knowledge. Contemplating possible remedies for this
learn (Wooten, 1998). For example, in their study of 671 under- awkward silence along with the desire to create a more positive
graduate students, Perlman and McCann (1998) reported that tone in the classroom led one author to identify music as a poten-
students’ primary pet peeves about teaching were the instruc- tial catalyst for change. Thus emerged a quasi-experiment where
tors’ intellectual arrogance and talking down to students, a lack music was played in the background of the classroom prior to
of respect for students, and instructors who seem unapproach- the start of each class. It did not require expertise in music. In
able. Additionally, Brewer (2008) argues that the atmosphere fact, Brewer (2008) argues “the ability to recognize key effects
of the classroom is critically important and that students make of music and to understand how to use them to create a desired
an assessment within the first five minutes after entering the environment is all that is necessary for intentional use of music
classroom about the safety of the environment. He goes on to in the classroom” (p. 18).
state that “…students learn best in a state of relaxed alertness From the first session with the students in a new semester,
but may shut down to learning if the atmosphere is uncomfort- music was used in the 10-15 minutes before the start of the class
able” (p. 52). This is important given Nilson’s (2010) argument period in an undergraduate business course. Early in the semester,
regarding the importance of setting expectations from the first the choice of music reflected either the favorites of the instruc-
day of class. She reasons that what instructors do in the first class tor or popular choices of the students from previous semesters.
will affect students’ expectations and behaviors for the rest of the As the semester progressed, the choices tended to move toward
semester. Likewise, we believe that what instructors do before music selected by the current students in the class. This allowed
each class begins can have an enormous impact on expectations the students to have a voice in the class and helped develop a per-
and behaviors for that particular class meeting. sonal connection between the students and the instructor.
The responsibility for creating an effective or positive learn- The pre-class time music appeared to affect the environment
ing environment ultimately resides with the faculty who are positively. Within a short time, the classroom, now filled with
teaching the courses (Farkas, 2012). While college faculty typi- music, was more lively and upbeat. The wide variety of music
cally complete rigorous coursework during the pursuit of their that was played tapped into different student preferences, elicit-
post-graduate degrees, they generally receive little training or ing some interesting discussions and revelations about people’s
guidance on effective teaching methodologies (Bickford & music preferences. Familiar songs also created a sense of frivol-
Van Vleck, 1997). Fortunately, there are numerous tools and ity as students would commonly sing along with the lyrics of

well-known tunes. A previously quiet and unengaged group Openness to use of music in class activity: Although not
of students at the start of the class session now chattered away part of the pre-teaching environment, music can also be used in
and was ready to, at a minimum, mentally engage in the class class activities to meet educational objectives. The importance
material. of playing music before class is reflected, to some extent, in the
possibility that the students will associate music with a learning
Anecdotal Summary of Benefits environment. Music can then be used to help meet an educa-
Associated With Using Music tional objective, such as using music lyrics as a way to identify
In general, the students seemed to respond positively when strengths and weaknesses in a self-awareness assignment or activ-
music was played prior to the start of class. Following are some ity (Hartman & Conklin, 2009).
specific, anecdotal benefits that merit discussion.
Increased learning: Whereas no empirical studies were per- The Use of Trivia Questions
formed by the authors, anecdotal conclusions are consistent with To create a better overall learning experience for students,
current research that suggests the use of music can have small to two authors of this article endeavored to build course lectures
large positive results. A breakthrough study published in 1993 around active and participatory learning practices that would
found that listening to a specific piece of Mozart’s work over not only expose students to requisite course concepts, but would
a two-year period improved spatial-temporal reasoning ability also actively engage students in the learning process. Quite often,
(Rauscher, Shaw, & Ky, 1993). Other studies have also shown however, the level of student engagement or participation in
promise with respect to music and improved retention and recall these activities fell short of expectations. During early portions
of information (Mammarella, Fairfield, & Comoldi, 2007), of course lectures, students tended to exhibit a general reluctance
emotional intelligence and creativity (Jensen, 2000), and read- to participate in discussions or extension activities. However, as
ing and literacy skills (Register, 2001). the lectures progressed, participation and engagement seemed to
Potential instructor-student personal connection: It is not emerge. In an effort to get students more active earlier in lec-
uncommon for previously quiet and reserved students to openly tures, two of the authors started the practice of asking trivia
respond to the type of music played. This is a great opportunity questions prior to the beginning of each class. This exercise
to make personal connections with these students. Sharing com- typically involved asking students five to 10 trivia questions that
mon interests in music may open the door for communication, usually had nothing to do with the business courses being taught
allowing the instructor to interact with students in ways that did or the content to be covered. The purpose in asking trivia ques-
not previously exist and could show students that the instructor tions that were not related to the course was to avoid creating
cares. This is valuable to consider given research indicating that any sense of perceived pressure to get the “right” answer. As such,
professional and personal qualities are valued by students and this may have been viewed as a low-stakes exercise by the stu-
include wanting students to succeed and genuinely caring about dents wherein there were no material consequences for guessing
each and every student (Helterbran, 2008). or giving the wrong answer. The scope of questions ranged from
Increased social interaction: The widespread ownership of mundane facts to utterly useless information. For example, one
portable music players is just one source of evidence related to question might ask, what is a group of frogs called? (Answer: an
the overall importance of music for individuals. Playing music army) The questions were typically obtained through a variety of
before class changed the typical atmosphere in the classroom resources readily available on the Internet. To generate possible
from one of dread that could accompany the thought of listen- trivia questions, the authors simply used search terms such as
ing to another 60-90 minutes of lecture and discussion, to an interesting trivia questions or fun trivia questions. During holi-
atmosphere of enthusiasm where many students were interacting day seasons, some questions were chosen that were specific to the
by discussing genres of music, bands, concerts, and the like. The holiday. For example, during the Christmas season, the author
challenge, then, for the instructor changes from one of engag- would ask questions such as, what is the most popular Christmas
ing the students from a state of non-involvement to leveraging carol? or on average, how many Christmas cards does an indi-
the energy in ways that facilitate the overall learning experience. vidual typically send each year?
Many times the music session was followed by a discussion of Using trivia questions prior to the start of each class encour-
what type of music the students prefer, what other artists are in aged early student interaction. In his book on creative learning
this genre of music, and alternate tastes. This allowed for open activities, Lucas (2007) mentions that interaction may generate
discussion that helped the instructor model the type of discus- a sense of energy and humor. That was certainly the case for
sion or interaction that students desired throughout the course. one of the authors, with trivia questions such as, which type of

women’s cosmetic product may contain fish scales? The answer publicized. Asking trivia questions prior to class proved to be an
is lipstick, which generated considerable laughter and buzz effective way to get students engaged in the interactive process
amongst students. This is encouraging because the use of humor early as they offer possible answers to the questions. In many
can have a number of positive implications in the learning envi- cases, this early engagement spilled over into the lectures, with
ronment, including increased relaxation and readiness to learn students demonstrating more interest as well as involvement in
(Davidhizar & Bechtel, 2000). the course since they were already in participation mode.
Permits mistakes in a low-stakes context: For many stu-
Anecdotal Summary of Benefits Associated dents, assessment of learning represents a high-stakes activity,
With Using Trivia Questions with perceived or real consequences (e.g., course grades) associ-
Students seemed to respond well to the use of trivia questions ated with requisite performance. Consequently, a fear of failure
prior to class. Following are some specific benefits that may be or of getting the “wrong answer” may limit the willingness of
associated with the use of trivia questions prior to the start of some students to venture into the learning process actively unless
each class. they are certain about the results. Using the trivia questions at
Generates humor: Rapport and a sense of humor are among the beginning of each class encouraged students to make guesses,
the characteristics students value in the faculty teaching their attempt answers, and offer responses without the fear of unde-
college courses (Faranda & Clarke, 2004). The use of trivia sirable consequences (e.g., a lower grade) that might accompany
questions prior to class contributed to establishing a sense of rap- incorrect responses. This often translated into a higher likelihood
port with students. While the exact reasons for this are unclear, that students would remain engaged during course discussions by
students may have perceived the use of trivia questions as an offering insights, comments, and ideas related to course content.
indication that the faculty member cared enough about them
and their learning to make the learning environment in the Using Trivia Questions—A Test
classroom more enjoyable. This is laudable given Leong’s (2005) To evaluate the effectiveness of one of these strategies, one
recommendation that faculty endeavor to “Create a learning of the authors conducted a test in the business class he teaches
environment where it is fun, open and interesting” (p. 131). where there is substantial class discussion. This is a class he has
Indirectly fosters critical thinking skills: The use of taught repeatedly, so he was completely familiar with leading
trivia questions indirectly promoted the use of critical thinking discussions and was prepared for all class meetings. During the
since students relied on their tacit knowledge to generate pos- first half of the semester he held class with discussions as he had
sible answers or solutions that were then cognitively evaluated typically done in previous semesters. At the half-way point of
to determine their relative merit. Critical thinking skills could the semester, the students completed a questionnaire regarding
be developed through these activities since their involvement the class. At the next class meeting, the instructor announced
actively engages students in the learning process (Burbach et al., that he would be using trivia questions to help promote student
2004). Aside from engaging in the identification of the answers participation. At the beginning of each subsequent class meet-
to trivia questions, students often voiced skepticism about the ing, with the exception of exam days, he would ask three or four
validity of the answers. The author reminded students that all trivia questions. He obtained the questions from open sources,
questions were pulled from the Internet, so the answers had to and the questions were unrelated to the class. At the conclusion
be correct. Obviously, this tongue-in-cheek statement generated of the semester, the students completed the same questionnaire
additional laughter amongst students. The practical benefits as at mid-semester with one additional question.
of this, however, are worth acknowledging since the practice The survey consisted of questions modified from publically
of evaluating the sources of information is among the impor- available faculty and class evaluation forms used at a variety of
tant attributes associated with teaching critical thinking skills American universities, plus questions developed by the authors.
(McEwen, 1994). There were nine questions selected pertaining to class structure,
Infuses variety into the learning environment: For even teaching, and student interaction all using a 6-point Likert scale
the most motivated students, the practice of routinely sitting where one (1) denoted “strongly disagree” and six (6) denoted
through lectures that are hours long can be a daunting task. The “strongly agree”. The tenth question appearing on both surveys
use of trivia questions introduced an element of variety into the asked students to rate the instructor overall. This was included
classroom that was well received by students. to determine if using trivia questions changed the student’s
Encourages active engagement: The potential benefits of opinion of the instructor using a 10-point Likert scale. The end-
getting students actively engaged in the learning process are well of-semester, or after, survey included the following additional

question: The atmosphere of the classroom was more “fun” and At both survey times, the same students were enrolled in the
“open for discussion” during this half of the semester compared class. The survey was conducted during a class meeting, so not
to the first half of the semester. It was measured on a 6-point all students were present. The surveys were anonymous and,
Likert scale. Table 1 provides a summary of the content from the thus, were not able to be matched. At the mid-semester survey,
survey questions. 33 of 36 enrolled students responded. At the end-of-semester
survey, 30 of 36 students responded. Ideally, it should be the
Table 1: Summary of Content for Survey Questions same students responding to both surveys. Because nearly the
entire population of students in this class responded, statistical
Survey testing was not considered appropriate. Our analysis was based
Question Content of the Survey Question on the changes observed in the mean, median, and standard
Number deviation as well as an analysis of bar charts for each question
Q1 Student interest in the course prior to registering and the response to the additional question contained on the
for the course. “after” survey. The statistics are summarized in Table 2.
Q2 Student comfort level participating in class. As shown in the results, there was a positive change in the
Q3 Role of class format in making material/content
median on four of the items. Question 2 evaluated a student’s
more interesting. self-reported level of comfort in participating in class. The
median increased from 4.0 to 5.0 on a 6-point scale with the
Q4 Amount of student participation in the class.
mean increasing by 0.19 points to 4.55. As shown in Figure 1,
Q5 Level of student preparedness for class. students’ responses tended to move up the scale toward more
Q6 Effectiveness of instructor in encouraging student strongly agreeing that they felt more comfortable participat-
interest in the class. ing in class. This may indicate that using the trivia questions
Q7 Amount of involvement in discussions and activities. did help students feel more comfortable in participating. The
Q8 Instructional approach used that helped the standard deviation was slightly reduced, meaning, if anything,
student learn. the class was more unified in their sense of comfort, having
Q9 Amount of learning for the student in the course.
reduced the proportion of students feeling very uncomfort-
able. This is also reflected in the chart where more than 50%
Q10 Overall instructor rating.
of students responded with a 5 rating. This change also may
Q11 Overall atmosphere of classroom as fun and open be due to having fewer students responding on the end-of-
during second half of the semester. semester survey.
Table 2: Distribution of Developed Cognates
Before (N=33) After (N=30) Differences

Question Mean Median Std Dev Mean Median Std Dev Mean Median Std Dev
Q1 3.24 3.00 1.28 3.03 3.00 1.20 -0.21 0.00 -0.08
Q2 4.36 4.00 1.23 4.55 5.00 1.07 0.19 1.00 -0.16
Q3 4.34 4.50 1.27 4.68 5.00 1.28 0.33 0.50 0.02
Q4 4.82 5.00 1.03 5.23 5.50 0.88 0.42 0.50 -0.15
Q5 3.97 4.00 1.17 4.23 4.00 1.17 0.26 0.00 0.01
Q6 5.09 5.00 0.83 5.10 5.00 0.94 0.01 0.00 0.11
Q7 3.79 4.00 1.17 4.07 4.00 1.34 0.28 0.00 0.17
Q8 4.67 5.00 1.27 4.63 5.00 1.25 -0.03 0.00 -0.02
Q9 4.76 5.00 1.02 5.33 5.50 0.79 0.58 0.50 -0.23
Q10 8.58 9.00 1.07 8.50 9.00 1.63 -0.08 0.00 0.55
Q11 4.93 5.00 1.12
Note: Questions 1-9 and 11 used a 6-point scale; Question 10 used a 10-point scale.

Question 3 asked if the class for- Responses to Question 2 Responses to Question 3
mat made students more interested in 60% 60%
the course material. This question was 50% 50%
included because asking trivia questions 40% 40%
could be considered part of the class 30% 30%
format. The median response increased 20% 20%
by 0.5 points and the mean increased 10% 10%
0% 0%
by 0.33 to 4.68 points. The standard 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
deviation was close to unchanged. Before After Before After
As displayed in Figure 1, students’ Responses to Question 4 Responses to Question 7
responses moved up toward strongly 60% 60%
agreeing. It appears they felt the class 50% 50%
was more interesting during the period 40% 40%
when trivia questions were included at 30% 30%
the beginning of class. The response 20% 20%
to this question may show that adding 10% 10%
0% 0%
the trivia questions at the beginning of 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
class was viewed by students as a positive Before After Before After
change to the class format.
The amount of student partici- Figure 1: Charts of Student Responses to Questions Showing Notable Differences
pation that students believed was
occurring in class was measured in
Question 4. Here the median increased by 0.5 points, and the Responses to Question 11
mean increased by 0.42 to 5.23 out of six points. The stan- 50%
45%
dard deviation was slightly reduced, similar to what occurred
40%
in Question 2. The increase in the median and mean shows
35%
that students perceived that there was more participation 30%
from the class as a whole since the inception of asking trivia 25%
questions, but this was limited. While Figure 1 shows that 20%
although some students moved toward agreeing that there was 15%
a great deal of student participation, others felt less strongly 10%
about this than earlier in the semester as reflected with fewer 5%
0%
“strongly agree” responses. 1 2 3 4 5 6
There were also increases to the mean response for Question
7 regarding how much a student believed he or she actively
Figure 2: Chart of Responses Regarding Change in the
engaged in class discussions. Here the mean increased by 0.28
Class Atmosphere
to 4.07 points, indicating that students felt they participated
more in the later part of the course when the trivia questions
had been used. According to Figure 1, students’ responses discussion compared to the first half of the semester. The mean
moved toward agreeing that they were more actively engaged score was 4.93 with the median at 5.0 points on a 6-point scale.
in class. Figure 2 reveals that the majority of students (63%) agreed that
Question 8 evaluated the helpfulness of the instructional the classroom atmosphere was better when class started with the
approach for student learning. There effectively was no change trivia time. This may indicate that students perceived asking
in the mean or standard deviation. This may indicate that asking trivia questions did encourage more active engagement because
the trivia questions was not viewed by students as a significant the class began in a “fun” manner.
pedagogical change. The mean score was virtually unchanged for Question 6
The eleventh question only appeared on the end-of-semes- about the instructor’s effectiveness in encouraging student dis-
ter survey and asked students if the class seemed more open to cussion. This makes sense in that asking trivia questions at the

beginning of class did not change the instructor’s personality or how important events in the external environment may influ-
his ability to formulate questions, respond to student remarks, ence new music or songs. Students could be engaged by asking
or redirect class discussions. Additionally, there was consistency them to identify songs that mention important economic or
of the mean for Question 10 regarding the instructor’s over- political events. Likewise, instructors could play songs that they
all effectiveness. Both occurrences support that the positive perceive as influenced by salient events and then facilitate discus-
changes noted in response to the other questions were attrib- sions tapping into students’ perceptions. Trivia questions could
uted to something other than students’ general feeling about the also be tailored to specific course content to more actively engage
instructor’s effectiveness. students in learning course material. For example, a lecture on
These results and the conclusions drawn from them should be the importance of brand recognition and market presence may
weighed cautiously. The study was limited to a single, semester- be enhanced by showing logos or trademarks of popular com-
long class and single instructor. Additionally, the surveys were panies and then asking students to identify the names of the
not matched to students in a pre- and post-test manner, and not companies. This could also facilitate a discussion about company
all of the same students participated in both surveys (although a mottos, mission statements, and values.
majority did). Both of these factors could impact the differences Using music and trivia questions represent two examples of
in the mean scores that resulted. In addition, a true experimental strategies that might have positive implications in the college
design would have included a control group, so the lack of a con- classroom. A single class was selected to test the use of trivia
trol group is a limitation that should be noted. questions before class. It showed that incorporating the use of
trivia questions may lead students to feel that the environment
Conclusion of the class was more fun and open to discussion, that students
As previously discussed, student engagement (Handelsman participated more, and that the course was more interesting.
et al., 2005; Rachal, Daigle, & Rachal, 2007) and the culture Instructors are encouraged to adapt these strategies in ways
or environment of the classroom (Brewer, 2008) are important that best facilitate learning in the context of their classrooms.
factors in the overall learning process. This article outlined the Exploring other novel or unique strategies might help identify
use of music and trivia questions as possible pre-teaching strate- additional methods for faculty to consider in their quest to
gies that may have positive implications on both student levels enhance overall student learning.
of engagement and the overall environment of the classroom.
The anecdotal benefits summarized in this article may be bol- References:
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empirically through appropriate experimental designs. tionship between class size and student performance. Journal of Economic
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Class size is also important to consider given Arias and Walker’s thinking in the classroom. Bioscience, 56(1), 66-72.
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ter student performance. For example, it may not be practical room. Bellington, WA: Lifesounds E.S.
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Burbach, M. E., Matkin, G. S., & Fritz, S. M. (2004). Teaching critical
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Measuring student Blending the Best of Both Worlds: Overcoming
expectations of Skepticism in a Hybrid Engineering Course
Susan L. Murray, Kelly L. Jones, and Julie A. Phelps
course redesign in
Abstract
hybrid courses. In a blended (or hybrid) course a portion is taught face to face in a classroom and at least
one-third of the coursework is online. Students receive personal contact and interaction
with the instructor during the classroom portion and also have flexibility in the pace,
access, and repetition of online content. In this article, we explore 49 graduate engineering
students’ expectations for a required operations management course that was redesigned
from a traditional to a blended format. The majority of these students had no prior experi-
ence with blended (77.6%) or online (55%) courses. The pre-survey showed students were
hesitant or unsure about taking a blended course. The same students were also surveyed at
the completion of the course to determine how their expectations matched with their expe-
riences. Most of the students (85%) expressed the desire to take another blended course
based on their experience in this course.
Keywords
Higher Education, Student Satisfaction, Online Classes, Engineering
Introduction
There has been an explosion in online courses over the last decade at institutions
of higher education across the United States and elsewhere. According to I. Allen
and Seaman (2013), 6.7 million students, about 32% of the higher education student
population, took at least one online course in 2011. The growth of online courses in
engineering programs, however, has been slower than other fields of study (Allen,
Artis, Afful-Dadzie, & Allam, 2013; Kinney, Liu, & Thornton, 2012; Bourne, Harris,
& Mayadas, 2005). Many instructors are hesitant to attempt to teach difficult sub-
jects, such as engineering and mathematics online; consequently, online learning has
not become as popular in engineering education as in other disciplines (Bourne et al.,
2005; Kinney et al., 2012). However, that perspective may be changing as new learning
technologies provide greater pedagogical potential, and new formats such as blended
learning are developed and practiced (Allen et al., 2013; Kinney et al., 2012). Blended
learning combines elements of traditional classroom-based instruction with newer digi-
tal online learning experiences. Students attend face-to-face classes with the instructor
for parts of the course and complete online coursework in between face-to-face meet-
ings. Blended courses may enhance student satisfaction and engagement (Kuo, Belland,
Schroder, & Walker, 2014). Blended learning offers substantial potential for teaching
and learning in higher education and may be an effective pedagogical design for many
types of engineering courses. Bourne, Harris, and Mayadas (2005) observe, “It is likely
that the first movement toward more online learning will come in blended environ-
ments in which courses are offered on campus but with a significant online component”
(p. 141). This research sought to determine if there was a difference in students’ percep-
tions of blended learning before and after taking a newly redesigned blended course.
Our goal was to explore whether students in a graduate engineering management course
were reluctant to take a blended course and to see if those student views changed after
asq.org/edu completing such a course.

Redesigning a Graduate Engineering Management Kinney et al., 2012). Bourne et al. (2005) observe, “Engineering
Course as a Blended Course education has traditionally had various delivery-centered con-
This study examined students’ expectations and experiences straints. Online methodologies will ultimately assist in equipping
in a required course in operations management in the engineer- graduates to learn more broadly and deeply and to become lifelong
ing management master’s degree program at Missouri University learners” (p. 135). Blended learning, which combines traditional,
of Science and Technology (S&T). The class is typically taught face-to-face class time with new online course delivery, may open
multiple times a year, both face to face and live streaming over the new doors of possibilities in engineering education (Allen et al.,
Internet for distance students. The engineering management mas- 2013; Bourne et al., 2005; Kinney et al., 2012).
ter’s degree is a “broadening” degree. Students enter the program
Blended Learning: The Best of Both Worlds?
with a bachelor of science degree in almost any engineering and sci-
Definitions of blended learning, sometimes called hybrid,
ence focus imaginable. The students received their prior education
vary greatly, and colleges use different measurements of online
either domestically or internationally. Some have just finished their
and face-to-face content to define blended in the context of each
bachelor’s degree, and others have not taken a class in more than
individual institution. Allen and Seaman (2013), in partnership
20 years. This results in widely varied levels of preparation among
with the Online Learning Consortium (formerly Sloan-C), clas-
the students and wide-ranging instructional needs. The required
sify courses with between 30 and 79% of instruction delivered
master’s course is typically taken in the student’s first semester. It is
online as blended. Blended learning is a growing trend, with at
often the most difficult course for the students due to its quantita-
least 55% of colleges and universities in the United States offer-
tive nature. It is a challenging course for faculty due to the wide
ing at least one blended course (Allen & Seaman, 2013; Kuo
range of students’ abilities and backgrounds. In 2014, the class was
et al., 2014). Blended learning is growing in popularity, particu-
redesigned as a blended course from a traditional three-credit hour,
larly among graduate students who value flexibility and graduate
face-to-face format. The students did not have a choice of class for-
schools that want to reach more students (King & Arnold, 2012).
mat. It was the first time the class was taught in a blended format
Blended learning may be the “third generation” of distance
and was the first semester in the master’s program for all of the stu-
education (Kuo et al., 2014, p. 361) due to ways in which it com-
dents. This limited students’ prior knowledge and expectations for
bines features of both on-ground and online instruction (King &
the blended class structure. All of the other classes in the students’
Arnold, 2012). Martinez-Caro and Campuzano-Bolarin (2011)
degree program were in a traditional, face-to-face format.
studied modes of instruction and report, “Student satisfaction was
Literature Review significantly greater in blended courses than in face-to-face courses”
(p. 480). Possible advantages of blended learning include learner-
The review of related literature is organized into three major
centered course designs, flexibility in scheduling for students and
themes: engineering education and online learning, an overview
the institution, cost savings, increased student satisfaction and
of blended learning, and the importance of social presence in
engagement, and fewer students dropping courses than in com-
blended courses.
pletely online learning (Bourne et al., 2005; King & Arnold, 2012;
Online Learning and Engineering Education Kuo et al., 2014). For engineering education, blended learning may
offer significant opportunities. Martinez-Caro and Campuzano-
Early research (Angulo & Bruce, 1999) showed most students
Bolarin (2011) state, “Blended learning appears as a solution to the
would not consider taking a course that had a significant amount
need to update traditional engineering classes because of demand
of web-based content in place of class meetings. Martinez-Caro
from a society motivated by the strong upsurge of information and
and Campuzano-Bolarin (2011) explain, “Previous research
communication technologies” (p. 480).
explained that e-learning is generally most effective when used as
There are also possible disadvantages with blended learning.
a supplement to, rather than a replacement for, engineering educa-
First, unlike online learning programs, blended courses are only
tion” (p. 473). Allen, Artis, Afful-Dadzie, and Allam (2013) note
available to students who are able to travel to campus for assigned
that while students still report a preference for face-to-face classes,
face-to-face meetings, which may limit the geographic reach of a
online programs continue to increase. Online learning is a major
blended learning program. Second, blended learning can be inef-
part of the higher educational landscape today, and online pro-
fective and disengaging if instructors do not blend key course
grams are growing at a dramatic rate, but this trend is not as strong
components in the most well-suited delivery mode when combining
in engineering education where most online programs are offered
face-to-face and online instructional methods (Ally, 2008; Bourne
only at the graduate level (Allen et al., 2013; Bourne et al., 2005;
et al., 2005; Carman, 2005; King & Arnold, 2012). Third, blended

courses, if done well, are time consuming to design and to teach. technology onto what is already being done in traditional courses.
Blended learning may impose serious demands on instructors’ time. Most courses will need to be redesigned to reflect best practices
King and Arnold (2012) advise, “Faculty need to be prepared for the of teaching blended courses” (p. 13). However, it is difficult for
initial time commitment involved in preparing a blended course. instructors to determine best practices for blended learning
Sometimes a complete course redesign is necessary which can because there are no universal standards or designs for online or
require extensive time and resources on the professor’s part” (p. 2). blended courses (Ally, 2008; Bourne et al., 2005; Carman, 2005).
The effectiveness of online courses and the best practices
The Critical Ingredient: Social Presence for online instruction are still not fully understood (Ally, 2008;
It can be difficult for students in online environments to Bourne et al., 2005; Carman, 2005; King & Arnold, 2012). Ally
connect with their instructors. Most online courses are heavily (2008) explains that no one single theory is recommended for
text-based, and the instructor can be seen as an invisible force on online learning. Therefore, we must combine multiple theories
the other end of the network connection (Clark & Mayer, 2011). to develop effective online learning experiences. Suggestions for
Lowenthal and Dunlap (2010) state that students in online best practices can be gleaned from blended learning scholarship
courses often report feelings of loneliness and isolation; there- and research (Bourne et al., 2005; King & Arnold, 2012). For
fore, instructors teaching online, blended, and distance courses the redesign of this engineering management course, the pro-
should establish trustworthiness with students by being visible fessor worked with an instructional designer to ensure that the
and maintaining a strong social presence (Aragon, 2003). course design and delivery would motivate, engage, and facilitate
In technology-mediated communication, social presence effective learning for students. The new blended class provides a
is defined as the “degree of salience of the other person in the face-to-face introduction of each topic, combined with self-paced,
interaction and the consequent salience of the interpersonal online practice giving each student an educational experience
relationships” (Short, Williams, and Christie, 1976 as cited in that better matches the student’s needs. The new format replaces
Aragon, 2003, p. 65). Bourne et al. (2005) describe social pres- half the traditional classroom time with online content.
ence as “a key determining factor in whether people learn well There are multiple benefits to the new blended design. The
online” (p. 133). Therefore, instructors’ social presence may university will benefit from having less required classroom time
be the key ingredient to creating successful blended courses. and space. For example, the live-video classroom space for the
Martinez-Caro and Campuzano-Bolarin (2011) report, “Class distance students is expensive and a scarce resource that is diffi-
attendance, access to teacher, collaboration with classmates, and cult to schedule. More important, the students will benefit from
motivation were found to be predictors of satisfaction in blended having both live classroom interactions with the instructor and
environments, with access to the teacher being the strongest pre- flexible online content. Students who are struggling in the class
dictor of all” (p. 481). The importance of instructor presence in can watch numerical problems being solved repeatedly online
blended courses should not be underestimated. with the opportunity to repeat or watch extra examples as needed.
Research supports the significance of social presence in online Students who are excelling in the class can watch problems being
learning (Clark & Mayer, 2011; Sung & Mayer, 2012; Akyol & solved to help them master concepts, and they can take advan-
Garrison, 2008); therefore, instructors need practical strategies tage of as much bonus content as they desire, potentially reducing
and examples to help them establish a strong sense of presence their level of boredom with the class. All of the students will ben-
(Baker & Edwards, 2011; Jones & Phelps, 2014; Lowenthal & efit from the flexibility of the blended course structure. The new
Dunlap, 2010). As noted by Baker and Edwards (2011), instruc- blended design includes weekly modules covering one or two
tors who establish and maintain social presence with students textbook chapters. The in-class portion continues as a mixture
online are more successful than instructors who do not. Designing of lectures and hands-on problem solving. The online portion is
a blended course with strong social presence is difficult and time a combination of materials. Figure 1 is a screenshot of the first
consuming; however, it appears that investments of time and online module in the learning management system.
effort in building and strengthening social presence in online and Student attitudes toward online learning can be affected by
blended courses yields positive learning outcomes for students. technological issues, including Internet speed, access issues, and
digital literacy skills (Alghazo, 2006; Ally, 2008). In their study
Blended Course Design Rationale of online engineering courses, Kinney, Liu, and Thornton (2012)
and Key Elements found that students rated three technologies as the most effective
Effective blended courses require effective instructional designs. for online learning: recorded online video, online course mate-
King and Arnold (2012) explain, “It is not enough to simply ‘slap’ rials, and the course website. The online aspect of this course

videos that included her voice, increasing instructor pres-
ence. Other videos were curated from instructor-reviewed
sources. Students were encouraged to work interactively
with the short videos. They were allowed to proceed at their
own pace and repeat the material as needed. The instructor
decided to include videos in every module to “help bridge
the gap between faculty and students when not meeting
face-to-face” (King & Arnold, 2012, p. 3).
• Assessment: Assignments, including reading assignments
and homework problems continued to be assigned to stu-
dents in the blended course, similar to what was done in
the traditional course. At the end of each module, students
completed a graded assessment activity. A multiple-choice
quiz was provided and graded by the learning management
system, providing immediate feedback to the student on his
or her understanding of the material.
• Reference materials: In addition to the required textbook and
online videos, the course site also contained bonus content
geared toward the students who were excelling and wanted
more material. This is optional content that is not covered
in a traditional class due to time constraints.
Forty-nine students completed this new blended course and
there were no withdrawals. The course lasted eight weeks, with
face-to-face meetings every week.
Figure 1: Screenshot of Module 1 of the Blended Class

Methodology
In this exploratory study, students’ attitudes about the
structure of the course and the flexibility of the blended model
were assessed through pre- and post-surveys. The questions on
was delivered through Missouri S&T’s learning management
the pre-survey were revised and repeated on the post-survey.
system, Blackboard. It was designed with careful attention to
Additional questions were added to evaluate the students’ actual
the organization and quality of the instruction videos, online
experiences. The learning management software (Blackboard)
course content, and online course structure. Carman (2005)
and streaming video analytics (Kaltura) were used to track when,
recommends five elements for designing blended courses based
how often, and how long students accessed the educational
on a blending of instructional design theories: live events, online
material (required assignments, video of problem solutions, and
content, collaboration, assessment, and reference materials. Each
bonus materials). The surveys were administered on the first day
module in this engineering management blended course includes:
of class and after the final exam. The pre-survey was on paper
• Live events: In-class content, including the PowerPoint slides and the post-survey was online; the students remained anony-
and examples used in the classroom. Each module is intro- mous for both.
duced by the instructor and the textbook readings. The The pre-survey explored students’ prior experience with
face-to-face class meetings focused on application of content blended and online courses. They were asked how prepared they
to real-world problem solving. felt for the graduate class based on their previous coursework and
• Collaboration: During the face-to-face class meetings, students knowledge of the class subject. The remaining questions used a
worked on problems in small groups, and they also worked in Likert scale to explore their expectations of the class in general and
small groups on a modeling project together outside of class. in comparison to a traditional face-to-face class. The post-survey
• Online content: This content included video clips focused consisted of 23 statements with a five-point Likert scale ranging
on problem solving. The instructor created several of the from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. This survey provided

an assessment of their experience and an opportunity to compare and fewer “disagreed” (15%) or were “neutral” (35%). The vast
their expectations before the class with their actual experiences. majority of students (96%) felt that being able to work on the
The class enrollment was 49 graduate students. All 49 students online content at their own pace was beneficial. Only two stu-
participated in the survey and, of that, seven (14%) were female. dents (4%) felt they were not able to learn material equally well
They rated their level of computer expertise as novice (6%), inter- in the online and traditional portions of the class.
mediate (76%), and expert (18%). Seventy-seven percent had not When comparing student performance in the blended course
taken a blended class prior to this course. Their experience with with students in a prior traditional face-to-face section of the same
online classes varied: 0 (55%), 1 (6%), 2 (14%), 3 (12%), 4 (8%), and course taught by the same instructor, the grades were slightly better
5 or greater (4%). Based on previous coursework their self-perceived in the blended class. The homework assignments were the same for
level of preparation varied: strongly prepared (8%), prepared (20%), the two classes, and the exam questions were similar in difficulty
somewhat prepared (31%), unprepared (39%), and strongly unpre- and concepts tested, but different specific questions were used to
pared (2%). The majority of students had no prior experience with avoid an unfair advantage for latter students with copies of the old
blended (77.6%) or online (55%) courses. The pre-survey showed exams. Overall, the course grades were within one standard devia-
students were hesitant or unsure about taking a blended course. tion of each other with the blended class having a higher average.
The campus uses an online teaching evaluation completed
Results anonymously by students using a four-point scale. The overall
Before the course began,
only 5% of the students
believed that they would have a Table 1: Pre-Survey Student Opinions
successful learning experience
1 2 3 4 5
in a blended course. However,
Opinion Strongly Agree Unsure/ Disagree Strongly
the post-course survey showed Agree Neutral Disagree
that 85% of students felt that
A blended class will be beneficial.
the blended course format 0% 5% 26% 45% 24%
helped them be more successful
in learning the course mate- A blended class will allow me to
0% 5% 52% 33% 10%
be successful.
rial. The majority of students
(85%) expressed the desire to I would prefer to take a traditional class
0% 5% 51% 34% 10%
take another blended course instead of a blended one.
based on their experience in A blended and traditional course will be
2% 5% 57% 29% 7%
this class. Table 1 summarizes equally effective ways to learn.
the students’ expectations of
the blended course prior to
Table 2: Post-Survey Student Opinions
taking the class. It shows a
combination of uncertainty
1 2 3 4 5
and reservation about partici- Opinion Strongly Agree Unsure/ Disagree Strongly
pating in a blended course. Agree Neutral Disagree
Table 2 summarizes the
Being able to work through online
students’ experiences taking 67% 29% 2% 2% 0%
material at my own pace was beneficial.
the blended course. At the end
A blended class helped me to be more
of the course, the post-survey 48% 35% 15% 2% 0%
successful in learning course material.
included the statement, “The
online content motivated me The online content motivated me to learn/
21% 29% 36% 15% 0%
study more than I would have otherwise.
to do more learning/studying
than I would have done other- I would like to take another blended in
65% 21% 20% 2% 2%
wise.” Most students “strongly the future.
agreed” (21%) or “agreed” I was able to learn through the online
56% 31% 8% 4% 0%
(29%) with the statement and classroom components equally well.

campus average was 3.10, and the average for the blended class Conclusion
was 3.83, which is significantly higher than the campus average
This exploratory study was designed to examine graduate
and higher than the instructor’s average of all classes taught at
students’ perceptions of blended learning before and after they
3.55 that year.
completed a newly redesigned blended engineering management
course. The differences between the pre- and post-surveys were
Discussion: Lessons Learned
striking. The graduate students had uncertainty and reluctance
For instructors and instructional designers developing a to participate in a blended course. However, after experiencing
blended course, we would offer the following suggestions: the benefits in flexibility and work pace, the vast majority of stu-
• Make the explicit, implicit. You will see the students less dents stated positive views about the experience and the concept
often. Deadlines, policies, and the like must be clear to the of blended education, in general. The students’ performance and
students as they work alone. grades were comparable to sections of the class that were taught
• Determine what material is best suited for face-to-face class face to face by the instructor previously. The instructor’s teach-
meetings and for online learning. A great deal of thought ing evaluations were also higher for the blended class than prior
should be given to what material students will want and evaluations. Results of this study indicate that as engineering
need personal interaction with the instructor. What mate- educators, we need to educate students about blended courses and
rial will students wish to see repeated (such as detailed expect reservations among students in blended courses compared
problem solving, steps using computer software, etc.)? to those in traditional face-to-face courses. Sharing students’
This type of material may be best suited for online deliv- positive experiences with blended courses may also help with
ery. What problems will students want to discuss with the marketing blended courses to engineering students who may be
instructor, and what misconceptions or knowledge gaps reluctant or fearful of registering for these new course formats.
could make learning content more challenging? Those top-
ics may be best suited for face-to-face class meetings. Recommendations for Future Research
• Be very organized. Students need to understand clearly what Additional research is needed to design effective blended learn-
they are expected to do in class, outside of class, and online. ing courses for graduate engineering education. Blended learning
delivery models and methods will likely continue to grow and
• Be consistent. Where is material located? The online content
become more prevalent in engineering education (Bourne et al.,
should be formatted consistently.
2005). Consequently, it is important for instructors to gauge stu-
• Be purposefully present. The instructional development lit- dents’ perceptions and reactions to blended learning experiences
erature on social presence for instructors in online learning and to share blended learning resources and strategies. To develop
is significant. Ensure the instructor’s “voice” is present in best practices for blended learning in engineering education, future
the online content. Instructor-created videos may promote studies are needed to add to our understanding of students’ attitudes
social presence in blended and online courses (Jones & and performance in blended courses and to examine what types of
Phelps, 2014). Respond to students’ questions quickly and learning activities are best suited for a blended course design. Such
provide timely feedback on assessments. future studies could compare engineering students’ perceptions and
• Make materials easy to update. The first time a class is performance in face-to-face, online, and blended courses. Other
offered in the blended format, it will be very labor inten- topics viable for future research include the impact of instructor
sive. Minimize what needs to be changed when the class presence in blended learning courses, comparisons of students’
is offered repeatedly. For example, referring students to expectations with their experiences in blended courses, instructors’
the schedule rather than giving specific dates or chapters perceptions of blended learning in engineering education, and stu-
can prevent the need to record a video again (Jones & dent outcomes in blended learning engineering programs.
Phelps, 2014).
• Reflect on the blended teaching and learning experience. King Acknowledgements
and Arnold (2012) recommend that instructors take time at This course redesign was made possible by a mini-grant funded
the end of a blended course to review what went well and by the Provost’s eFellows Program at Missouri University of Science
what areas of the course could be improved. Additionally, and Technology. This program provides an opportunity for
instructors should continue to look for new scholarship and instructors to redesign their courses and incorporate effective tech-
creative ideas to support best practices in blended learning. nologies with the overall goal of improving student performance.

References: Lowenthal, P. & Dunlap, J. C. (2010). From pixel on a screen to real
Alghazo, I. (2006). Students’ attitudes toward web-enhanced instruc- person in your students' lives: Establishing social presence using digital
tion in an educational technology course. College Student Journal, 40(3), storytelling. The Internet and Higher Education, 13, 70-72.
620-630. Martinez-Caro, E. & Campuzano-Bolarin, F. (2011). Factors affecting
Ally, M. (2008). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. students’ satisfaction in engineering disciplines: Traditional vs. blended
In T. Anderson, (Ed.), The theory and practice of online learning, 2nd approaches. European Journal of Engineering Education, 36(5), 473-483.
Edition. (pp. 15-34). Edmonton, AB, Canada: AU Press. Sung, E. & Mayer, R. E. (2012). Five facets of social presence in online
Allen, I. E. & Seaman, J. (2013). Changing course: Ten years of tracking distance education. Computers in Human Behavior, 28, 1738-1747.
online education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group.
Retrieved from http://onlinelearningconsortium.org/survey_report/ Susan L. Murray, Ph.D. is a professor in the
changing-course-ten-years-tracking-online-education-united-states. Engineering Management and Systems
Allen, T. T., Artis, S., Afful-Dadzie, A. & Allam, Y. (2013). Case study: Engineering Department at Missouri University
Application of blended learning for an engineering simulation course. of Science and Technology. Her research and
Quality Approaches in Higher Education, 4(1), 13-22. teaching interests include human systems inte-
gration, productivity improvement, human
Angulo, A. & Bruce, M. (1999). Student perceptions of supplemental
performance, safety, project management,
web-based instruction. Innovative Higher Education, 24(2), 121-129. Susan L. Murray
and engineering education. Prior to her aca-
Akyol, Z. & Garrison, D. R. (2008). The development of a community demic position, she worked in the aerospace
of inquiry over time in an online course: Understanding the progression industry including two years at NASA’s
and integration of social, cognitive and teaching presence. Journal of Kennedy Space Center. Her goal is to continu-
Asynchronous Learning Network, 12(3-4), 3-22. ously improve engineering education. Murray
Aragon, S. R. (2003). Creating social presence in online environments. can be reached at [email protected].
New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 100, 57-68.
Kelly L. Jones, Ph.D. is an adjunct instructor
Baker, C. T. & Edwards, J. T. (2011). A holistic approach for establish- at Webster University, a full-time training man-
ing social presence in online courses and programs. The International ager at Nestle Purina, and a board member of
HETL Review, 1(7), 44-52. the Association for Talent Development (ATD)
Bourne, J., Harris, D., & Mayadas, F. (2005). Online engineering edu- St. Louis chapter. Jones has 12 years of experi-
cation; learning anywhere, anytime. Journal of Engineering Education, 94 ence in higher education as an instructional
(1), 131-146. designer, educator, and consultant, and was
Kelly L. Jones
named a Governor’s Teaching Fellow in 2011.
Carman, J. M. (2005). Blended learning design: Five key ingredients.
Her research interests include learning design,
Salt Lake City, UT: Agilant Learning. Retrieved from http://www.agi-
adult learners, new media, new literacies, fan-
lantlearning.com/pdf/Blended%20Learning%20Design.pdf.
dom, and the digital extra-curriculum. Her
Clark, R. C. & Mayer, R. E. (2011). e-Learning and the science of instruc- email address is [email protected].
tion: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning,
3rd Ed. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer. Julie A. Phelps, M.A. is an instructional
Jones, K. & Phelps, J. (2014). Powerful instructor presence via video: designer and eLearning expert at Missouri
Intros, bios, and digital stories. Paper presented at the Distance Teaching University of Science and Technology (S&T). She
and Learning Conference, Madison, WI. supports faculty in best teaching practices and
course design as well as in the effective uses of
King, S. E. & Arnold, K. C. (2012). Blended learning environments in
technology in blended/online courses. Prior to
higher education: A case study of how professors make it happen. Mid-
her work at Missouri S&T, Phelps was an instruc-
Western Educational Researcher, 25(1/2), 44-59. Julie Phelps
tional specialist for the eMINTS National Center
Kinney, L., Liu, M. & Thornton, M. (2012). Faculty and student percep- providing professional development to K-12
tions of online learning in engineering education. Paper presented at the teachers throughout Missouri for nine years.
ASEE 2012 Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX. Before eMINTS, she taught elementary grades
in Missouri, Texas, and Colorado over a span of
Kuo, Y., Belland, B. R., Schroder K. E. E. & Walker, A. E. (2014). K-12
17 years. Contact Phelps at [email protected].
teachers’ perceptions of and their satisfaction with interaction type in
blended learning environments. Distance Education, 35(3), 360-381.

Call For Papers
The American Society for Quality’s Education Division publishes the online, double-blind, peer-reviewed journal
Quality Approaches in Education. The editorial team actively encourages authors to submit papers for upcoming issues.
The purpose of this journal is to engage the education community in a discussion of significant topics related to
improving quality and identifying best practices in education and workforce development; and expanding the litera-
ture specific to quality in education topics. With the increased emphasis on quality improvement in education, Quality
Approaches in Education engenders a conversation focusing on this topic, supported by manuscripts from the interna-
tional education community of faculty, researchers, and administrators from different disciplines and professions. Quality
Approaches in Education welcomes submissions of manuscripts from higher education, K-12, and workforce development.
The journal also welcomes manuscripts from the student services arena, institutional research, professional development,
continuing education, business affairs, and other aspects of education related to quality improvement. We encourage
evidence-based analysis using quality approach-driven improvement of education.
The following types of articles fit the purview of Quality Approaches in Education:
• Case studies on how to improve quality in a college, school system, or workforce development program using
evidence-based analysis, continuous improvement approaches, especially related to improving student retention and
degree completion.
• Research articles reporting on survey findings such as a national survey on students’ attitudes toward confidence,
success, social networking, student engagement, access and affordability, etc.
• Case studies or research articles addressing issues such as the role of faculty, administrators, and trainers in quality
systems.
• Case studies or research studies focusing on the role of quality in accreditation.
• Case studies demonstrating best practices and systems thinking in education using the Baldrige Education Criteria
for Performance Excellence, Lean Six Sigma or other national quality models, standards from the Council for the
Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), or national frameworks and protocols, including preparing
K-16 teachers for teaching in the 21st century learning environment.
• Case studies or research studies on scholarship of teaching and approaches to improve teaching, enhancing and
supporting student learning, learning outcomes assessment best practices, and best practices for using technology
in the classroom.
• Case studies or research studies on how student service units and intervention programs impact the quality of stu-
dent experience and student learning.
• Case studies or research studies specific to collaboration with industry on STEM education through internships,
co-ops, and capstone experiences for providing experiential and deep learning experiences and preparing students
for STEM careers.
• Research studies on how education practices impact the quality of student life and student success for different
student populations, including underrepresented groups, first generation in college students, and students from
low-income families.
• Case studies that highlight the emerging improvement science for education and the continuous improvement cycle.
• Significant conceptual articles discussing theories, models, and/or best practices related to quality in higher educa-
tion, K-12, and workforce development.
NOTE: We may dedicate an issue to a special topic to highlight areas of high interest in the field of education.
Articles generally should contain between 3,500 and 5,000 words and can include up to six charts, tables, diagrams,
illustrations, or photos of high resolution. For details, please check the “Author Guidelines” at:
http://asq.org/edu/quality-information/journals/
Please send your submissions to:
Dr. Elizabeth Cudney at [email protected]
Author Guidelines
Quality Approaches in Education is a double-blind, peer-reviewed journal that is published online by the Education
Division of the American Society for Quality (ASQ). The purpose of this journal is to engage the education community
in a discussion of significant topics related to improving quality and identifying best practices in education as well as
expanding the literature specific to quality in education topics. We will only consider articles that have not been pub-
lished previously and currently are not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
General Information
Articles in Quality Approaches in Education generally should contain between 3,500 and 5,000 words and can include
up to six charts, tables, diagrams, photos, or other illustrations. See the “Submission Format” section for more detail.
The following types of articles fit the purview of Quality Approaches in Education:
• Case studies on how to improve quality in a college, school system, or workforce development program using
evidence-based analysis and continuous improvement approaches, especially related to improving student retention
and degree completion.
• Research articles reporting on survey findings such as a national survey on students’ attitudes toward confidence,
success, social networking, student engagement, access and affordability, etc.
• Case studies or research articles addressing issues such as the role of faculty, administrators, and trainers in quality
systems.
• Case studies or research studies focusing on the role of quality in accreditation.
• Case studies demonstrating best practices and systems thinking in education using the Baldrige Education Criteria
for Performance Excellence, Lean Six Sigma or other national quality models, standards from the Council for the
Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), or national frameworks and protocols, including preparing
K-16 teachers for teaching in the 21st century learning environment.
• Case studies or research studies on scholarship of teaching and approaches to improve teaching, enhancing and
supporting student learning, learning outcomes assessment best practices, and best practices for using technology
in the classroom.
• Case studies or research studies on how student service units and intervention programs impact the quality of stu-
dent experience and student learning.
• Case studies or research studies specific to collaboration with industry on STEM education through internships,
co-ops, and capstone experiences for providing experiential and deep learning experiences and preparing students
for STEM careers.
• Research studies on how education practices impact the quality of student life and student success for different
student populations, including underrepresented groups, first generation in college students, and students from
low-income families.
• Case studies that highlight the emerging improvement science for education and the continuous improvement cycle.
• Significant conceptual articles discussing theories, models, and/or best practices related to quality in higher education,
K-12, and workforce development.
Author Guidelines
Manuscript Review Process

We log all article submissions into a database and delete all references to you. These “blinded” versions then go to the
editorial review team for comments and recommendations. Both author(s) and reviewers remain anonymous in this pro-
cess. The review process takes approximately three months during which time the reviewers advise the editor regarding
the manuscript’s suitability for the audience and/or make suggestions for improving the manuscript. Reviewers consider
the following attributes:
1. Contribution to knowledge: Does the article present innovative or original ideas, concepts, or results that make a
significant contribution to knowledge in the field of quality in education?
2. Significance to practitioners: Do the reported results have practical significance? Are they presented clearly in a
fashion that will be understood and meaningful to the readers?
3. Conceptual rigor: Is the conceptual basis of the article (literature review, logical reasoning, hypothesis develop-
ment, etc.) adequate?
4. Methodological rigor: Is the research methodology (research design, qualitative or quantitative, methods, survey
methodology, limitations, etc.) appropriate and applied correctly? For a conceptual paper, is the framework appro-
priate and applied correctly?
5. Conclusions and recommendations: When appropriate, are the conclusions and recommendations for further
research insightful, logical, and consistent with the research results?
6. Readability and clarity: Is the article well organized and presented in a clear and readable fashion? Is the article
written in English and in a grammatically acceptable manner?
7. Figures and tables: When submitted, are the figures and/or tables used appropriately to enhance the ability of the
article to summarize information and to communicate methods, results, and conclusions?
8. Organization and style: Is the content of the article logically organized? Are technical materials (survey scales,
extensive calculations, etc.) placed appropriately? Is the title representative of the article’s content?
9. Attributions: Are the sources cited properly using APA style? Are attributions indicated properly in the reference list?
You should use these attributes as a checklist when reviewing your manuscript prior to submission; this will improve
its likelihood of acceptance.
Review Process Outcomes

There are three possible outcomes of the review process:
• Accept with standard editorial revisions. In this case, the content of the article is accepted without requiring any
changes by you. As always, however, we reserve the right to edit the article for style.
• Accept with author revisions. An article in this category is suitable for publication, but first requires changes by
you, such as editing it to fit our length requirements or providing more detail for a section. We provide specific
feedback from our reviewers to guide the revision process.
• Decline to publish. Occasionally articles are submitted that do not fit our editorial scope. We may provide you
with suggestions for modifying the article to make it more appropriate to our publication.
Please note that after articles are edited for publication, we return them to you to approve the technical content. A
response may be required within 48 hours or the article may be held over for a subsequent issue.
Articles that appear to be advertising or do not fit the general topics addressed by Quality Approaches in Education will
be rejected without receiving peer reviews.
Author Guidelines
1. Articles should emphasize application and implications of what is being presented, whether conceptual or
research-based.
• Use the early paragraphs to summarize the significance of the research.
• Make the opening interesting; use the opening and/or background to answer the “so what?” question.
• Spell out the practical implications for those involved in education.
2. Detailed technical description of the research methods or conceptual/theoretical framework is important, but not
necessarily of interest to everyone. The description should enhance the narrative or be critical to the understanding
of the article’s material.
3. Throughout the article, keep sentence structure and word choice clear and direct.
4. Avoid acronyms and jargon that are industry- or organization-specific. Try not to use variable names and other
abbreviations that are specific to the research. Restrict the use of acronyms to those that most readers recognize.
When acronyms are used, spell them out the first time they are used and indicate the acronym in parentheses.
5. Occasionally, our reviewers and readers view articles that include reference to the author(s) proprietary products or
methods as a form of advertising. Although we encourage you to share personally developed theories and applica-
tion approaches, we ask that you refrain from using our publication as a marketing tool. Please take great care
when including information of this nature in your article.
6. If the article cites cost savings, cost avoidance, or cost-benefit ratios, or provides the results of statistical evalu-
ations, include an explanation of the method of calculation, along with any underlying assumptions and/or
analysis considerations.
7. Access to any survey discussed in the manuscript is important for our review and must be included with the manu-
script. Depending on the length of the survey, we may include the entire survey with the article.
8. When submitting an article that is based on qualitative methodology, please be sure to describe the research ques-
tions, the information that is the basis of the data analysis, and report the developing themes. Also remember to
include text analysis as part of data analysis. Please include the protocols in a separate Word document; review of
the protocols will be important in our technical review. Consider including the protocols in the methodology sec-
tion of the manuscript, if they can be presented concisely.
9. Our staff does not have the means to compile references or verify usage permissions; therefore, it is important for
you to provide all that information with your article, including written letters of authorization when appropriate.
Plagiarism is a rapidly growing crime—particularly due to the use of information from the Internet. Please help
yourself, and us, to maintain professional integrity by investing the time necessary to verify your sources and to
obtain and document all necessary permissions. Information on our requirements for documenting references,
along with specific examples, is included at the end of these guidelines.
Author Guidelines
Submission Format
1. We accept only electronic submissions in Microsoft Word format. The first page should be a title page with the
title, names of the authors, and their affiliations. The second page should be the start of the proposed article with
the title and abstract (150 words maximum) at the top of the page. There should be no reference to the author(s)
or affiliation in the text that follows. Instead of the name of a university for a case study, the text should state “the
University”. The margins should be one inch all around on 8½ x 11 pages with Word’s one-column format, left-
justified. The title and section titles should be 14-point bold Calibri font. The text font should use 11-point Calibri
font and a line spacing of 1.5 is preferred.
Section headings should be 12-point bold Calibri and left justified. Typical section names are: Abstract, Introduction,
Background, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Suggestions for Best Practices, Summary or
Conclusions, Recommendations, Future Work/Research, Acknowledgments, and References. The actual headings will
depend on the focus of the manuscript. There may be two additional levels of sub-headings. The first set of subheadings
would be left-justified with the first letter of each word capitalized and in bold, 12-point Calibri. The second level of
sub-headings would be the same but in italics.
2. If you are familiar with the APA formatting, we prefer the APA format, but will accept a well-formatted manu-
script following these already mentioned guidelines.
3. The manuscript should be between 3,500 and 5,000 words including the abstract, tables, and references. It should
include no more than six tables or figures. If you feel strongly that more tables or figures are needed to support the
manuscript, we ask that you submit the additional tables or figures and provide an explanation for including them.
4. Tables should be included at the end of the article and must be in Microsoft Word. Each table must be referenced
in the article and labeled and centered on a separate line, such as <Insert Table 1 About Here> with the caption for
Table 1 on the next line, such as Table 1: Graduation Rate by Major. Do not embed .jpg, .tif, .gif, or tables in other
similar formats in your article.
5. Drawings, graphs, and other illustrations should be sent in an email as separate .jpg files with 300dpi; each item
should be included in a separate file. All drawings and other illustrations must be referenced in the article, and
must be labeled and centered on a separate line, such as <Insert Figure 1 About Here> with the caption for Figure
1 on the next line: “Figure 1: Pareto Analysis of Student Participation in Department Activities.”
6. We can use photos if they enhance the article’s content. If you choose to submit a photo with your article, it must
be a high-resolution .jpg or (at least 300 dpi and at least 4” by 6” in size). Photos should be sent in separate files
and referenced in the article. Photos should be accompanied by a complete caption, including a left-to-right listing
of people appearing in the photo, when applicable. Do not include any text with the photo file. All persons in the
photo must have given permission to have their photo published in Quality Approaches in Education.
7. Also submit a separate high-resolution electronic photo (at least 300 dpi) for each author. Author photos should
be at least 1” by 2”. Author photos should have a plain background, and the author should be facing toward the
camera. Please include a separate Word document with a 75- to 100-word biography for each of the authors, men-
tioning the place of employment, as well as contact information.
Author Guidelines
Citations and References

Quality Approaches in Education follows the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association. Citations and references should use the (author’s last name, year of publication) notation in a citation in the
text and use the APA style.
The reference section should be headed with the section heading of “References” and all references are to be listed
alphabetically by the first author’s last name. Each reference should list all authors. List the online URL with a hyperlink.
Retrieved date is not needed. Here are some examples:
Book examples:
Veenstra, C., Padró, F., & Furst-Bowe, J. (eds). (2012). Advancing the STEM agenda: Quality improvement supports
STEM. Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press.
Sorensen, C. W., Furst-Bowe, J. A., & Moen, D. M. (2005). Quality and performance excellence in higher education.
Bolton, MA: Anken Publishing Company, Inc.
Journal article examples:
Dew, J. (2009). Quality issues in higher education, Journal for Quality and Participation 32(1), 4-9. Retrieved from
http://asq.org/pub/jqp/past/2009/april/index.html
Plotkowski, P. (2013). Guest commentary: Real-World engineering education: The role of continuous improvement,
Quality Approaches in Higher Education, 4 (1), 2-4. Retrieved from http://rube.asq.org/edu/2013/05/best-practices/
quality-approaches-in-higher-education-vol-4-no-1.pdf
Reference example:
National Science Board. (2012). Science and engineering indicators 2012. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation.
Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind10/.
If the authors cite their own work, they should simply state (Author, year) and the same in the reference list (no title)
in the initial manuscript (since the reviews are double-blind).
One of the most common errors we have observed with submitted articles is improper referencing due to improper
attribution in the text and reference section. Please make sure that all the material in the submitted article is properly
referenced and cited as appropriate.
Submission
Send an electronic copy of the Word document of the manuscript including the title page, abstract, text of the manu-
script, acknowledgments, and references, with a separate file of any surveys used, separate .jpg files of the figures and
photos of authors, and a Word document of the author biographies to Dr. Elizabeth Cudney at [email protected].
Note on Copyright Transfer

Prior to publication, you must sign a form affirming your work is original and is not an infringement of an existing
copyright. Additionally, we ask you to transfer copyright to ASQ. The copyright transfer allows you to reproduce your
article in specific ways, provided you request permission from ASQ and credit the copyright to ASQ. The transfer also
allows ASQ to reproduce the work in other publications, on its website, etc.
If you use materials from other works in your articles (other than standard references), you must obtain written per-
mission from the copyright owner (usually the publisher) to reprint each item of borrowed material. This includes any
illustrations, tables, or substantial extracts (direct quotations) outside the realm of fair use. Submit these permission letters
with the article. Articles cannot be published until copies of all permission letters are received.
For example, an article includes a PDSA illustration from a book. The permission statement would include: Figure 1 is
from Nancy R. Tague’s The Quality Toolbox, 2nd ed., ASQ Quality Press, 2005, page 391. This permission statement would
appear in the caption just below the PDSA figure.

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Quality Approaches in Higher Education Volume 7, No.

Educating Tomorrow’s Engineer: Adding Flexibility

The Journal That Connects Quality and Higher Education

2 Quality Approaches in Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 1

Richard Galant, Ph.D.,

Cathy Hall, Ph.D.,

Noah Kasraie, Ed.D.,

To join other people interested in knowledge and

3 Quality Approaches in Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 1

2016 QUALITY EDUCATION CONFERENCE & WORKSHOP

Theme: Focus areas:

4 Quality Approaches in Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 1

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how to cite a quote and that plagiarism is a significant offense. 5%

their performance on quizzes, took items that did not belong to

them, and padded their expense reports in the range of 10-20%,

Recommendations Figure 2: Answers to “How ethical are you?”

asq.org/edu 9 Quality Approaches in Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 1

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Jackson, P. A. (2006). Plagiarism instruction online: Assessing under-

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Figure 2: Overview of the Curricular Review Process

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to add/change topics as market demands shift.

important by employers, along with flexibility

Systems modelling and optimization techniques

4. T o introduce emerging topics deemed

Sustainable system design and analysis

Engineering economic analysis

Condense operations research

Figure 3: Evaluation Matrix With Example Changes Considered

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Education Division’s Advancing the STEM Agenda Book

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Table 2: Distribution of Developed Cognates

Before (N=33) After (N=30) Differences

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Figure 1: Screenshot of Module 1 of the Blended Class

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4. T o introduce emerging topics deemed