B.1 Students

B.1.1 Student Profile

Iowa State University’ land-grant philosophy offers admission to students who have the subject matter background required by Iowa State University and who rank in the upper-half of their Iowa high school graduating class. The College of Engineering does not participate in the university "trial enrollment" summer program available to students in the lower half of their graduating class. Students who are not admissible directly from high school have two routes they may take to become admissible to the College of Engineering. They may enroll at another school and complete 24 credits with a 2.00 or better. Or they may be admitted to Iowa State University in another college and make a curriculum change to engineering after they have completed the non-engineering courses in the Basic Program with a minimum of a 2.00 and have maintained a 2.00 ISU cumulative grade point average. Resident and non-resident U.S. citizens are held to the same admission requirements.

Non-resident international students applying for admission to the College of Engineering have additional admission requirements. They must earn a TOEFL of 530 (or a 197 on the computer-graded version). If transferring from another institution, they must have a 2.75 transfer grade point average. At the request of the university international admissions officer, applications for international students who do not meet these standards are reviewed by a college and department representative. If other criteria warrants transfer students can be admitted with less than a 2.75.

The 1999-2000 engineering student body includes 218 National Merit Scholars, 55 are new first year students. The average ACT composite score for students entering the college directly from high school fall semester 1999 was 26.33.

Once on campus, entering freshmen with outstanding high school records and academic records and academic ability may be eligible to participate in the Freshman Honors Program. To be invited to apply students need an ACT English score of 24 or above and meet at least one of these criteria:

• Be in the upper five percent of their high school graduating class
• Have an ACT composite of 30 or higher.
• Be a National Merit or National Achievement Finalist.

Students who do not meet the above criteria may still apply.

Admission to the Freshman Honors Program is limited and by invitation, and is based on past academic achievement, potential, and interest in an honors education. The College of Engineering routinely has 150 to 200 students participating in the Freshman Honors Program. These students are advised by freshman honors advisers in each department and are encouraged to pursue full membership in the University Honors Program.

The college has as an objective that all B.S. graduates have at least three months of engineering related work experience before graduation. For the spring semester 1999, 75% of the B.S. graduates in the college met that objective, with 86% of the IMSE students having done so. In addition, 14% of these IMSE graduates had either international work or international academic experience. A coop/intern advisory committee composed of faculty, industry representatives, and college staff oversees the program to insure a quality educational experience for students.

Our student involvement in learning extends beyond the traditional classroom and courses. Iowa State University has a strong tradition of experiential learning and co-curricular involvement. Feedback on performance in these activities can be beneficial in evaluating the quality of students. In addition to experiential education, engineering students are active in a variety of engineering and non-engineering student organizations. There are over 500 student organizations at Iowa State. Faculty and staff members serve as advisors to these organizations. The strength of these co-curricular programs is evidenced by the national recognition received by these organizations. Following is a partial listing of activities.

• Team PrISUm solar car (which finished 5^th place in the national Sunrayce 99)
• Society of Women Engineers
• 3M Business Lab
• IIE Technical Paper Contest
• HIMSS National Meeting

Student honor societies are one method of tracking and recognizing student achievement. IMSE has active chapters of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and Alpha Pi Mu, along with Tau Beta Pi which recognizes students from across the college. Engineering students are also recognized through university awards, such as Phi Kappa Phi.

The enrollment figures for our program (Fall semesters, 1995-99) are given below:

Year	Total	Male	Female	1*	2*	3*	4*	Iowa	Non-Resident	International**
1995	223	166	57	0	4	4	0	128	95	44
1996	221	161	60	0	3	7	1	118	103	53
1997	222	163	59	0	2	11	2	124	98	49
1998	199	135	64	0	2	5	3	112	87	44
1999	203	139	64	0	0	6	3	120	83	46

*Includes US citizens, Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylees only

1 = American Indian or Alaskan Native

2 = African American

3 = Asian or Pacific Islander

4 = Hispanic

** Internationals are included with the non-residents

We believe the students in the IE program are a special group because of their high ability and ambitious career goals. They want to explore a wide range of career options, building upon the skills they learned in the IE program, but frequently departing from the traditional IE career paths. Whichever field they ultimately choose, most are aiming to attain top managerial or leadership positions. We formulated our Mission Statement and Program Educational Objectives (discussed in Section B.2) to address these student goals. The new curriculum is designed and continuously improved to provide ample opportunities to students to develop the foundation for fulfilling their career goals.

B.1.2 Student Advising and Monitoring

All new students have an opportunity to attend Orientation Before beginning classes at Iowa State. High school seniors attend a two-day program during June each year. One-day programs are offered to transfer students throughout the year and to all students a few days before classes start each term. The orientation program is coordinated by the University Orientation Committee, which includes representatives from each college at Iowa State and numerous student affairs offices, such as financial aid, residence, student health, and the Dean of Students. Staff from the College of Engineering Undergraduate Programs unit represents the College on this committee. The committee meets twice a month during the academic year, with subcommittees meeting outside of regular committee times. The committee reviews the orientation mission statement and outcomes annually. The mission of the orientation is to assist new students in making a smooth and successful transition to Iowa State University by helping them with the academic, personal, and social adjustments to the University. Evaluation forms, based on the mission and intended outcomes, are distributed to students and families to assess whether these constituencies feel the orientation meets the intended outcomes. Based on the feedback, each year faculty and staff revise programming to better meet the needs of the students, families, and ISU community.

A typical schedule for the two-day orientation program includes sessions on adjustment issues; how to succeed in college; introduction to computer systems on campus and the e-mail systems; tours of campus, library, and the city; residence options; financial aid; a resource fair of ISU and community services; overview of the first year in engineering; placement testing; individual advisor appointment; and registration for classes via touch-tone or web based systems. The one-day programs condense the information from the two-day sessions, eliminating tours, residence presentations, and the resource fair.

The primary academic focus of the orientation is to develop students’ first semester schedule of classes, based on academic preparation and assessment tests. Mathematics course selection is based on ACT (or SAT) Math scores, previous college and high school classes taken, and performance on an institutional mathematics placement exam. The selection of English course placement is based on a combination of high school rank and ACT English (or SAT Verbal) scores and/or an institutionally administered English writing sample. Chemistry course selection is based on the combination of the level of previous college and high school Chemistry courses taken and the student’s ACT (or SAT) Math scores.

The Office of Institutional Research at Iowa State establishes the recommended ACT, SAT and high school rank cut-off scores for courses based on statistical analysis of previous student performance in courses. These cut-off recommendations are regularly reviewed. The Mathematics and English Departments are responsible for establishing the criteria for course recommendations based on their institutional placement tests.

A recent orientation program addition is New Student Days, a program held the three days before classes start in the fall. This program, held for the first time during fall 1999, was developed as the result of focus groups with students and parents. The sense from those constituencies was that many issues being addressed in June orientation or the semester orientation course (ENGR 101) would better be addressed right before school started. New Student Day sessions include sessions on the use of computer systems on campus, diversity/multicultural issues, transitional issues, study skills, what to expect in college class, and an activity to familiarize the students with services on campus. The program, facilitated by upper-class students, also provides many opportunities for students to develop networks and peer support structures.

Orientation continues into the first semester engineering curriculum, through the required Engineering Orientation course, ENGR 101, and our department specific IE 101.

To help freshmen decide on their majors, information sessions are held by all engineering departments. During Fall 1999 over 100 students visited our facilities. Our experience shows that these live demonstrations help attract many freshmen to the IE program.

The Industrial Engineering advising operation is coordinated by an academic advisor, Deborah Holmes. Dr. Patrick Patterson, the Director of Undergraduate Studies, supervises Ms. Holmes. Prospective students of the department meet with Ms. Holmes and are provided a general introduction to the program. Ms. Holmes is now assigned to all incoming students as their academic advisor. Students are randomly assigned to a faculty mentor.

Continuing students register twice a year through a new web-based program. One week prior to the beginning of registration, students are sent an email asking them to pick up a copy of their most recent degree audit from Lori Bushore, the student services secretary. In this email they are also given directions on how to submit an academic plan via the web. The academic plan website contains a designated space for students to enter their upcoming semester schedule(s). (In the fall, students would be registering for spring semester; and in the spring, students would be registering for both summer and fall semesters.) The registration web page also contains relevant information to aid the students in selecting courses, provides them with information on special topics such as, "graduating seniors" and makes them aware of when and how to pick up their registration personal access number. The registration web site also contains links to other ISU sites that may help students with the registration process. Students who choose to be in a learning team can also designate this. Once a student enters their proposed course schedule they have the option to relay any comments or ask their advisor any questions in a box labeled "comments" Students may also request an appointment to visit with their advisor.

During the registration period, which runs for one month, the advisor schedules appointments with students based on their classification. Seniors may have appointments during the first week of registration, juniors during week two, sophomores during week three and freshman during week four. This allows those students with earlier registration start dates to meet with the advisor first. Students will email their semester plan and any questions or comments to their advisor by clicking on the icon "submit plan". The student should also print out a hard copy of their semester plan. The advisor will review semester plans as they are received. Once a plan has been approved the advisor will let the student know by email. The advisor will also answer any questions the student may have included in the "comment" box. The advisor will then print out a hard copy of the approved schedule and any dialogue in the "comments" box for the student’s folder. Once the student’s schedule has been approved they are then directed to the Student Services Secretary to receive their personal access number and start date.

The Academic Advisor is also responsible for the department’s learning community. The IMSE learning community is divided into four learning teams. All entering freshman or transfer students are given the option of being in a learning team. Learning teams are assigned based on the courses the student plans to take. The advisor hires and oversees peer mentors (IE upper classmen) for the learning teams. There is one peer mentor for each learning team. Each learning team also has a faculty mentor. The faculty and peer mentors help to plan and carry out activities for the team students. The advisor coordinates social activities for the students, provides industry tours, brings industrial engineers on campus to speak, provides tutors, evaluates the learning community, and promotes other various activities throughout the year.

The advisor has several other job responsibilities that include:

• advise students on Co-op, internship, and study abroad options,
• teaching the orientation course (Engineering 101) to all incoming IE students during fall semester,
• participates in all outreach and recruitment activities,
• serves as a student advocate,
• keeps all advising material up-to-date,
• serves as a campus-wide resource to IE students
• and serves on four committees that include; CASCOM, the Engineering College Advisory Council, Recruitment and Retention, and the College of Engineering K-12 Outreach and Recruitment.

The advisor has also created a student advisory board that includes one freshman, sophomore, junior and senior. These students serve as a voice for all IE students. They provide the advisor with feedback concerning new ideas or programs the advisor may implement, as well as providing constructive feedback on current advising practices.

A student’s progress toward graduation is monitored by their mentor and the IE Undergraduate Adviser. Iowa State University utilizes a computerized degree audit check of the students’ permanent records. The Advisement Degree Audit matches the graduation requirement set by each program. With the changing of catalogs/bulletins, the degree audit master is modified by a faculty representative in each department for the programs they administer. These modified masters are sent to the engineering college records analyst for final review before submission to the Office of the Registrar.

The degree audit is divided into four parts. The first part is the header that is printed on both sides of the form. The second part is on the front and indicates notations and term grade summaries. The third part is on the back of the form and displays the course requirements by area, such as Basic Program, Social Science and Humanities Electives, Core Courses, etc. Each area is broken into requirements A (courses completed) and B (courses not completed). The fourth area is "Courses Not Applied". These courses will either not be applied to the degree program or must be reviewed for possible inclusion as a substitute for a required course or elective. A sample audit form is provided in Appendix I, Table D9.

Two copies of the degree audits are printed before the advising period in the fall and spring semesters. Students receive one copy of their degree audit at that time, and the adviser retains the other. This allows students and advisers to monitor their progress toward completing the degree. After the adviser conference, the adviser sends to the college records analyst any requests for changes to the individual students’ degree audits. Changes made during the last term of enrollment before graduation are sent to the engineering college classification coordinator.

A check-off sheet is maintained that lists all courses that a student has completed and which IE curricular requirements are met by those courses. A copy of the check-off sheet is available to the student at any time and is also made available to the student’s advisor before the semester advising session. Various other forms are used to ensure that a student meets all curricular requirements; copies of all these forms are included in Appendix I, Table D10. The Engineering Undergraduate Programs Office reviews the check-off sheets of all prospective graduating seniors at the beginning of their senior year and informs them of any deficiencies so students can plan to correct the deficiencies and graduate on time. Students must petition for any deviation from the prescribed curricular requirements, including transfer of credits for courses taken at other institutions. The petition form requires signatures of the student’s advisor and the Undergraduate Program Chair. The Associate Dean for Undergraduate Engineering must approve the petition. Any petitions requiring special consideration are brought before the Curriculum, Assessment, and Standards Committee (CASCOM) for discussion and resolution. The CASCOM consists of four representatives from the IMSE faculty (currently Professors Jackman, Meeks, Min, and Patterson), the Academic Advisor, the Department Chair, and an undergraduate student member. Students with poor academic performance (two grades below C in any quarter) are placed on academic probation by the Engineering College. Notification of academic probation is sent to the student and his/her advisor. To be removed from probation, the student must achieve a grade point average of 2.0. Special cases (e.g., cases requiring dismissal actions or readmission) are handled by the Academic Standards Committee of the Engineering College.

B.1.3 Student Evaluation

Students are evaluated regularly in all of their courses through a combination of homework,

quizzes, exams, projects and papers. In this way students are provided continuous feedback on

their course performance. An over-all grade point average of 2.0 is required, as well as a 2.0 in the core Industrial Engineering courses, to graduate. No Pass/Fail credit (P/N) is permitted for any course counting toward graduation. The undergraduate handbook, given to each student, makes students fully aware of the strict standards to which they must adhere. As a result, they put in extra effort in all their academic endeavors, which is reflected in the excellent quality of our graduates. Ms. Holmes provides additional guidance by following up grade reports with students and providing tutoring, etc., as needed.

Iowa State University, the Dean of Students Office, and the College of Engineering provide many additional services to students. These services address academic issues as well as extracurricular and other support functions. These services are detailed in Appendix II.