Collaboration of freshman with seniors in a capstone design course

An innovative capstone design course titled Design of Fluid Thermal Systems, involves groups of seniors working on various semester-long design projects. Groups are composed of 3, 4 or 5 members that bid competitively on various projects. Once projects are awarded, freshmen enrolled in the Introduction to Mechanical Engineering course are assigned to work with the senior design teams. The senior teams function like small consulting companies that employ cooperative education students; e.g., the freshmen. One objective of building this collaboration is a desire to increase the retention rate of the freshmen by involving them with the seniors in what appears to be interesting design work. Additionally, the seniors benefit by developing the ability to communicate their ideas to a non-technical, educated audience as their design work progresses. The Freshman-Senior Collaboration program began in Fall 2001. At the end of the Fall 2001 semester, the seniors were given assessment forms to complete, and among other things, the seniors recommended that the program be continued in the future. The program was continued in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The seniors and the freshmen both assessed the program in Fall 2002, and in 2004. In Fall 2004, a number of those who were freshmen in 2001 are now seniors. As seniors, they are now working with freshmen co-ops. At the end of the semester, the freshmen and the seniors were again given assessment forms to complete, and the following conclusions were drawn: Overall, the seniors and the freshmen perceived the freshman-senior interaction as a rewarding experience The seniors perceived their freshmen partners as able to make useful contributions. Both the freshmen and the seniors gained an appreciation of the practical aspects of management through coordination with their partners. The seniors were able to provide many experiential insights to the freshmen to enhance the freshmen design experience. The seniors and the freshmen recommended that the program be continued in the future. Results of several specific design projects are highlighted, and the freshman-senior interaction is described. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2006