Taylor University’s bachelor of science in mechanical engineering has received accreditation.
The program was approved by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), which analyzed the strength of the program according to national standards. This process took four years of preparation. The accreditation process, which took two years, included an on-site visit from ABET and an interview panel of students and professors from the department, Danielle Nobles-Lookingsbill, department chair and professor of engineering, said .
Kate Keeler, a senior mechanical engineering student, talked at the student panel last year. She was one of several students who formally changed their degree to mechanical engineering during the accreditation preparation, certain that it would go through.
“We were asked about how we learned and applied all the national standards, not if we agreed with everything,” Keeler said. “How well are things communicated? Are our professors interactive and available? How are moral and ethical issues discussed in class?”
The degree’s accreditation marks a moment of growth in Taylor’s engineering department, Peter Staritz, associate professor of physics and engineering, said. While Taylor’s general engineering and computer engineering degrees have been accredited for almost twenty years, the department is transitioning from offering a general program with multiple concentrations to offering degrees in specific areas.
Hopefully, this and future accreditations would help employers and grad schools better understand what credentials Taylor provides its students, Staritz said.
“The accreditation shows our program is growing,” Startiz said. “It should attract more students to the degree and help families understand what we’re offering.”
Due to internal growth, Taylor’s mechanical engineering department is a challenging but rewarding program, he said. Students learn foundational concepts and their applications from the beginning, creating a sorting machine as freshmen and laser guns as sophomores. Their junior and senior years are spent applying foundational concepts to real-world experiences, with the majority of funding coming from the Indiana Space Grant Consortium.
Recent projects include simulating a greenhouse on Mars and SkyForge, schematics for a robot able to build structures in outer space. Engineering students have assisted in published studies, gaining experience in master-level research projects before even finishing undergraduate programs.
Students are also encouraged to discuss topics such as the inherent moral nature of technology, implications of their work on the environment and how to approach working in a secular industry.
“The engineering field has fewer Christians than other career paths,” Nobles-Lookingsbill said. “We have freedom to share our faith when we are serving people and being good leaders based on Biblical principles.”
The accreditation for the mechanical engineering degree will help the faculty in the department serve their students better, Alex Roth, assistant professor of engineering, said.
“We want to stay up to date on how we’re presenting and organizing our department,” Roth said. “With developing technology we need accountability for standards to be met”
In pursuing growth, the next specific engineering degree to go through the accreditation process will be electrical engineering. As the rest of campus expands, each engineering professor hopes to continue the personal nature of mentoring students on a larger scale.
The mechanical engineering students shared confidence in the strength of the program and satisfaction with their professors’ intentional teaching styles, Keeler said.
“We knew the program was good, we trust our professors, and we know we can demonstrate and apply what we’ve been learning,” she said.
