Recently, there has been a push to gain student feedback within the Schaefer School of Engineering and Science (SES). The ultimate goal is to learn from students in order to improve their experiences while studying here at Stevens. While some department chairs within SES work to meet with students in a more informal setting such as happy hours, others try to meet with students one-on-one or attend meetings of professional student chapters. Using the model set forth by Dean Zu’s student advisory council, the Mechanical Engineering Department has assembled their own student advisory council.
The Mechanical Engineering Student Advisory Council consists of students with a wide variety of academic concentrations and interests. The council provides the department with a setting in which they learn what students want from their undergraduate experience and hear students’ concerns. In total, there are roughly 25 students who serve on this council. Their goal is to improve the experience of all Mechanical Engineering undergraduate students. Since starting at the end of the Fall 2019 semester, the feedback provided to the department has been addressed in order to immediately improve students’ experiences. One student on the council, Luke Langner, said, “I was a little bit hesitant at first to see what they would come up with, but they blew my expectations out of the water, based on what they came up with to help students.”
During their first meeting, the students brainstormed a list of all areas in which they thought the department could improve and praised the department for things they do well. The list of areas for improvements included: increasing opportunities to develop technical skills, such as hands-on machining, 3D modeling, and coding; availability of professors outside of class; increased help with professional development; increased opportunities for research; and better coordination between classes taught by multiple professors.
So far, most of the issues presented last semester were addressed by the time students arrived back to campus for the spring semester. The department has created a list of all faculty office hours available to students, the department chair is working one-on-one with students for professional advancement, and course coordinators have been implemented to standardize classes taught by multiple professors. Additionally, the department is now opening up research opportunities for students who are not Pinnacle Scholars. Mechanical Engineering students received an email at the beginning of the semester announcing scholarship opportunities for students to participate in research.
“I’ve never felt so listened to as a student,” Langner stated. The department is currently working to find ways in which they can increase student and faculty interaction. While there are 25 students who meet every month, the committee members and department chair have expressed that other students are welcome to come and voice their concerns at these meetings.
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