Curriculum and Programs

Description

The Curriculum and Programs Committee has four subcommittees that are included in this Committee: Curriculum, Interdisciplinary, Specialty Contractors, and Construction Technologies in Education Committee (CTEC).

Curriculum and Programs – May 2020 Report

20201106 CMAC Committee Report – Curriculum and Programs

Committee Members

Curriculum Subcommittee

The Curriculum subcommittee is to provide continuing guidance to the CM faculty as to the general curriculum and how it can best prepare a student for a successful career in the construction industry. This subcommittee performs the following functions: 

1. Review curriculum proposals as they are being discussed by departmental faculty and make recommendations from the perspective of practitioners.
2. Review and assist in the annual assessment processes and the periodic reaccreditation processes conducted by the department.
3. Report to the Managing Directors Committee on such actions needed to promote the goals related to the curriculum and its assessment to ensure continuous improvement.
4. Work with faculty to develop ideas to further expand the Department’s educational offerings, beyond the curriculum.

2-Year Goal

• Develop and implement a process to get annual feedback from industry to CM faculty related to graduate preparedness.
• Develop and implement a process to get annual feedback from recent alumni to CM faculty related to graduate preparedness.
  • Committee recognizes some form of these first two items that may already be occurring, if so the intent would be to review the current processes and offer any insight for improvement/refinement.
• Develop and implement a process and format for a cross-section of the faculty to use the committee as a resource for curriculum content changes and improvements.

SUBCommittee Members

Interdisciplinary Subcommittee

The Interdisciplinary subcommittee is to support interdisciplinary education at Cal Poly by helping students develop a technical understanding of other disciplines and empathy for other disciplines. This subcommittee performs the following functions:

1. Develop ideas and strategies which will allow for a greater level of collaboration across multiple industry-related disciplines
2. Interact with the faculty, as well as other departments and schools to educate our goals and create related learning opportunities
3. Report to the Managing Directors Committee strategies and initiatives which may be considered for implementation

2-Year Goal

• Support curriculum (Technical Understanding of other Disciplines)
  • Collect Metrics (a survey) – Reach out to alumni who took the interdisciplinary courses and get their feedback – what worked, what didn’t
  • Support recreation of EDES 101 (15K-20K / year budget required)
  • Create a “Cohort” of interdisciplinary study
• Support connections/relationships (Develop Empathy for other Disciplines)
  • Support Interdisciplinary Club fundraising and help students advertise
  • Co-host mixers between CAED
  • Create interdisciplinary committees within other departments << No committees in the other departments yet
  • Get Department Heads unified in promoting the understanding of interdisciplinary study and interaction between the schools
• Both:
  • Interdisciplinary Guest lectures

SUBCommittee Members

Specialty Contractors Subcommittee

The Specialty Contractor subcommittee works with the faculty to increase specialty contractor exposure, and develop a better understanding of how specialty contractors operate for all students. Creating stronger deliberate partnerships between General and Specialty Contractors, the Subcommittee provides informative and interactive experiences for students, both in the classroom and through extracurricular activities. This subcommittee performs the following functions:

1. Work on ways to enhance student’s understanding of different specialty contractors to reinforce the knowledge of students’ additional career options and opportunities
2. Develop, through close coordination with faculty and the Curriculum subcommittee ways in which increased education and exposure to specialty contracting can be achieved
3. Report to the Managing Directors Committee way in which specialty contractor trades and business can gain further exposure within the Department

2-Year Goal

• Specialty Contractor presentations in classes to generate increased/earlier exposure for students
• Create a hands-on experience with material donations and demonstrations
• Utilize and support clubs/competitions to create interdisciplinary focus
• See and track graduate placement statistics
• Overarching Goal: Achieve a cultural shift. Advocate for General and Specialty Contractors as trade partners.

SUBCommittee Members

Construction Technologies in Education Committee (CTEC) Subcommittee

The Construction Technology in Education Committee strives to help integrate emerging technologies into the Cal Poly CM curriculum. Our group of industry professionals serves as a resource to and creates meaningful connections with students and professors interested in furthering their education in AEC technology. This subcommittee performs the following functions:

1. Assist faculty in developing curriculums that utilize current AEC technologies.
2. Help guide Emerging Trends classes and BIM/VDC classes.
3. Organize workshops/job-walks/guest lectures/technology events to connect students, faculty, and professionals to other technology enthusiasts and expose them to current trends/technologies in the AEC industry.

2-Year Goal

• AEC Tech Educational Conference
  • Host workshops throughout the day
  • Grow attendance to over 100 students and faculty
  • Paid event or tiered sponsorships
• Guest lecture requests/applications through website
  • CTEC will have its own page on the CMAC website
  • Professionals can apply for time slots to guest lecture
  • Instructors can request guest lecturers
• CTEC Fund
  • Shane to lead
  • Talk to Charlie Mallers about the fund he set up
• Expanding influence to all of CAED and CE
  • More attendance from other majors at AEC Tech Event
  • More data about alumni from other majors
• Digitize 115 class
  • Bluebeam workbooks
  • Cloud-based project management tools
  • Virtual models for 3D visualization

SUBCommittee Members