In this project, the National Academy of Engineering will draw high-level, national attention to the important roles played by engineering professional societies in supporting improvements in undergraduate engineering education. These roles include setting and maintaining professional standards, clarifying the knowledge and skill base needed by those practicing in the field, and serving as a bridge between employers and schools of engineering. Little is known from an empirical standpoint about the extent and impact of societies' work in engineering education, however, and this lack of information hinders the ability of policy makers, engineering education institutions, funders of engineering education reform, and employers to effectively leverage these contributions in their own work.
To begin to address this knowledge gap, the project will conduct a detailed review of the relevant published literature, conduct a comprehensive survey of professional societies' activities in this area, and solicit testimony from the societies at a national workshop. The workshop and five follow-on regional stakeholder meetings will provide opportunity for productive communication and collaboration among the societies and between the societies and other stakeholders, particularly industry and higher education. The workshop report and regional meeting recaps will be disseminated to the various stakeholders in order to encourage future collaboration. This communication and collaboration, in turn, has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of societies' initiatives as well as inform decision making by National Science Foundation and other funders that support engineering education reform.
