Recent innovations in undergraduate civil engineering curriculums

Recent innovations in undergraduate civil engineering (CE) education are compiled from the following sources: the results of a survey of CE department heads and the eight National Science Foundation (NSF) funded engineering education coalitions; and from a literature review of two engineering education journals from January 1990 to July 1995 - the American Society of Civil Engineers Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice and the American Society for Engineering Education Journal of Engineering Education. The results of this compilation show the following themes emerging: (1) A decrease in the number of credit hours for the undergraduate degree; (2) new degree options and degrees in environmental engineering; (3) strong emphasis in design courses on multidisciplinary approaches, team dynamics, industry projects, and practitioner input/evaluation; (4) increasing emphasis on communication skills in CE classes; (5) innovative course materials in the forms of multimedia presentations, simulation software, and communications via the Internet and the World Wide Web; (6) new and revised laboratories to provide hands-on design and analysis experiences; (7) synthesis of previously separated courses; and (8) increasing interest in evaluation and assessment.