Iron Range Engineering PBL Experience

A new PBL model started in 2010 in Minnesota, United States. The PBL model is upper-division (the last two years of four-year bachelor’s of engineering degree). Entering students are graduates of Minnesota’s community colleges. The Aalborg PBL model served as an inspiration for the program’s development. Unique attributes of the program include industry clients, semester-long projects, emphasis on development of self-regulated learning abilities, dedicated project rooms, technical competence learned in one-credit, small (3-4 student) groups with one academic staff called learning competencies, and an emphasis on continuous improvement. The program has earned ABET accreditation. Seventy-five students have graduated and are employed as engineering professionals. The paper will discuss developmental evolution of the program, the current learning model, and will analyze results of satisfaction surveys of graduates and their employers. A case study was employed to describe the development and attributes of the PBL model. The satisfaction survey is a quantitative instrument based on the expected outcomes of the engineering education and is providing contextual comparison with non-PBL graduates