An Improved Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Laboratory Structure and Curriculum: Design and Assessment

The mechanical engineering department at Clemson University reevaluated its undergraduate laboratory experience and focused on improving various aspects of the three required laboratory courses. The faculty believe that these laboratory courses are a defining feature of the bachelor of science degree, as many graduates accept entry-level manufacturing positions or pursue graduate studies. The mechanical engineering laboratory courses at Clemson are stand-alone offerings in the undergraduate program, in contrast those schools which attach the labs to select courses. This structure allows a variety of experiments to be offered during each course, which can encompass various scientific and engineering topics. This paper reviews various changes to the laboratories, describes their implementation and presents evidence of their effectiveness. Examples of the improvements were: the development of printed manuals for both students and teaching assistants, the development of a unified training program for the teaching assistants, the introduction of new laboratory equipment and experiments, and revision of the current laboratory documentation. To evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented changes, survey results were analyzed. Overall, student satisfaction with the course improved significantly, as evidenced by the survey results.