GE 100 - EXPLORING ENGINEERING
Syllabus - Fall 2004
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
This course provides an introduction to the engineering profession using hands-on projects to develop engineering skills. Topics include basic theory for each engineering major, engineering professional issues, computer applications, and academic survival skills. Teamwork is emphasized.
INSTRUCTORS:
Lecture: The lecture meets from 12:55-1:45 Tuesday and Thursday in Neils 234.
GE 100 is coordinated by Mrs. Engerer.
Office: 138C Gellersen; Telephone: 5173; E-mail: Barbara.Engerer@valpo.edu
Office Hours: M-F, 9:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m., or by appointment.
Recitation: The recitation will meet in Gellersen 175, 188, 155 and 160.
For computer questions, you may contact our Computer Consultant, Nick Otte (nicholas.otte@valpo.edu). The Herman and Helen Hesse Learning Resource and Assessment Center is located in GEM 132, and offers free tutoring M-R, 1:00-5:00 p.m. and Su-R 7:00-9:00 p.m. Other resources include the Residence Hall Technology Assistants and the EIS Help Desk (5678).
BOOK:
“Invention by Design: How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing,” Henry Petroski, Harvard University Press, 1996.
GRADING: Grading for the course will be as follows:
Homework/Projects 50%
Exams 30%
Attendance 10%
Professional activities 10%
All homework assignments and projects are due at the beginning of the period on their due date. Assignments turned in later in the period or up to 24 hours late will have an automatic 20% deduction. A further 20% will be deducted for each calendar day that the assignment is late. Students with excused absences (illness, etc.) will have this penalty waived.
Professional activities will be 10% of your grade. These activities are very helpful in learning what engineers do, learning about specific majors, and meeting other engineering students. To receive full credit for the professional activities, you must attend activities worth a total of 7 points. Those who achieve lesser totals will receive a proportionally lower grade. The range of activities and some restrictions are shown on the attached handout. More details are available on the web site. Note that some activities will likely be scheduled when you cannot attend. If you have evening classes or are involved in athletics, start by attending any activities that fit your schedule to avoid a last-minute crunch.
A copy of this syllabus and other course information is available on the GE 100 web page. This can be reached at diamond.gem.valpo.edu and then choosing the GE 100 Homepage. You may want to bookmark the site once you reach it. This site will also have current information on assignments and professional activities. Another useful site with a link on the GE 100 web site is http://diamond.gem.valpo.edu/cgi-bin/gradebook/viewer.cgi. Here you will be able to see your grades. You will be sent a password early in the semester.
FINAL EXAM:
The final exam for the course will be Thurs., Dec. 16, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. in Neils 234.
AUTHORIZED AID:
We take the Honor Code seriously. Please read this description of authorized aid carefully.
For any assignment submitted for credit, students may consult with each other, with mentors, or with faculty. Consulting means discussing the problem in general or about some specific point, but it is not doing the whole problem. Students may not copy another's work or use the same computer code on a computer assignment. For assignments done as a team, one assignment with the team members' names is submitted. Group projects must be finished as a group. Any deviation from this will be an Honor Code violation. The Honor Pledge must be written out and signed on each assignment. For group assignments, each team member must sign.
ABSENCES:
Illness: If you are ill and must miss class, please inform Mrs. Engerer (lecture) or your lab instructor as soon as possible. (A phone mail message or an e-mail works quite well.) Then go to the Health Center. They probably know what is going around, will provide medical assistance, and can provide verification that you are ill. (Sign a release form to allow release of that information.) As soon as you feel better, see Mrs. Engerer (lecture) or your lab instructor about making up the work that you missed. If possible, attend another lab during the same week. Be sure your attendance is marked in the grade book.
Excused absences: Athletes, musicians, and others who must miss class for approved reasons should see their instructors in advance and make arrangements to pick up the assignments and notes or to attend another lab during the same week, if possible. These absences will only be excused if arrangements are made in advance.
Other absences: Students who miss class for any other reason will have an unexcused absence. Any homework assignment that day may be done and turned in for half credit. In some cases, planned unexcused absences from lab may be made up with no loss of credit if arrangements are made in advance (by Tuesday of the affected week). Always see Mrs. Engerer.
Learning
Objectives:
At the end of this course, students will see a positive and substantial improvement in their ability to:
1. Describe engineering, including aspects such as problem solving and ethics.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:
Seven points are required. Those shown below are examples.
Engineering Activities (Maximum 5 pts)
Field Trips 1 point trip/1 point report
Engineering Speakers 1 point each
Senior Project Speeches 1 point
Join an engineering society 1 point
Be an officer in engineering society 1 point
Movies: "October Sky" or “Apollo 13” 1 point
Engineering ethics case study 1 point
Career Goals
Meet a Professor or a Role Model 1 point
Shadowing 2 points
Personal Development (Maximum 3 pts)
Time management project 2 points
Study tapes 1 point
Leadership tapes 1 point
EIS workshop 1 point
Service (Maximum 3 pts)
To
Engineering
Outreach to high school 2 points
Outreach to Scouts 1 point
To
Society
Habitat for Humanity 1 point
Engineers without Borders 1 point
Hilltop House construction 1 point
Networking
Picnic 1 point
Movie - "Venture of Faith" 1 point