Hi Everybody, I have been reading your board here as a guest for several months and finally decided to register. I hope someone can give me a little help. Has anyone seen a Bachelor's program in Mechanical Engineering by DL? I have looked at U of North Dakota, but $578 per credit hour ($678 for labs!) is far beyond anything I can afford. I wouldn't have that degree paid for until 3 years after I am dead! CNU looks interesting, but it is not ABET accredited, so my company's tuition assistance program won't go for it. Also, many M.S. programs require ABET accreditation for undergrad work. I used the search feature here, but everything else I have found is a Technology degree. I am an ex Navy nuke MM working rotating shifts while I finish my A.S. at a brick and mortar community college. The closest engineering school to me (NC State) is a 2 hour drive, one way, so DL is my only real option for going past an Associates. If anybody has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. Rob
Australian universities are the only other ones I know of that offer engineering degrees, as opposed to technology degrees. Deakin University and the University of Southern Queensland offer degrees in mechanical engineering that are accredited by the institute of engineers. The Washington Accord covers the accreditation of Australian engineering degrees in the U.S. so they will meet the academic requirements for registration as a professional engineer in the U.S.
I can relate. Useful links that might help: http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/danteshome.asp?Flag=True University of Sunderland has a complete online Mechanical Engineering program. Http://www.sunderland.ac.uk Converting to the United States system can be done through the Washington Accord. The Washington Accord is not a treaty and is not legally binding. However, many avenues of recognition are in place. Consult an education specialist before proceeding.
More... Excelsior, Thomas Edison College, and Indiana State University are all regionally accredited programs. You should explore the ABET requirement because some distance learning educators do not participate. Distance Learning and Engineering do not go together in the United States. ABET is considered to be "old fashion" with accepting new technology in distance education. ABET is a monopoly that is hurting America's distance engineering education opportunities.
North Carolina State University offers a no residency Master of Engineering in many fields including "Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering." THe degree used to be totally video based. I haven't looked at it closely lately to see if this also includes online courses. Look at: http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/master/index.html John
Engineering Education Hole at BS Level I can show you a million MS level engineering programs but the BS level is a road block in distance education. In Electronics Engineering Technology I have looked for 5 years for a program and I can only find three. UNC - North Carolina University of North Dakota Excelsior MS DL level is useless if you can't find a BS DL program.
Re: More... Laser - Is it possible that ABET is preserving the quality of engineering education? I've yet to find a field were DL institutions are among the top quality programs. As I see it, DL may be accessible - y es, but high quality - no. There are some fields, notably architecture, engineering and some of the sciences, were DL doesn't seem to belong at all. The lab and studio requirements of such fields simply don't fit, at least IMHO. Regards - Andy
Monopoly Whatever your take is on the position of ABET it is still a monopoly that is endorsed by the government through NCEES bylaws. ABET is a corporation that operates for profit. No other industry in our country allows the government to endorse a private corporation. I would believe your position that ABET is "protecting" the engineering trade if it didn't have bureaucrats stuffing their pockets with money.
ABET-NON Profit Let me correct myself. I believe they are categorized as a NON-profit business. However, this non-profit business has a budget of over 4.4 million dollars. See the board budget report on this site: http://www.abet.org/news_board.html They are still endorsed by government statements in state bylaws and I personally believe that is wrong. It gives them an unfair advantage.
Hi Rob, To my knowledge, undergrad DL engineering programs are few and far between in the USA. The one from North Dakota is the only one I know of with ABET accreditation, and the cost is about what I paid for my B.S.E.E. at IIT. If anyone knows about any other programs, please let us know. I know from experience that you are in a wicked catch-22. Some ideas: 1. Technikon South Africa offers a DL B.Tech in mechanical engineering. A contributor to this board is studying at TSA from the USA. It's probably cheaper than UND. Technikon SA 2. If you have a technical B.S. degree, it may be possible to study for an engineering master's degree. There are DL engineering master's degree programs. I know people who have taken that route. (Poke around the University of Idaho Engineering Outreach and National Technological University websites, for example.) You may be required to take a few undergrad courses to fill in a few gaps, and the costs will still be in expensive range, but it can be done. You may be able to get an acceptable (to get into engineering grad school) DL technical bachelor's degree from one of the big three: Excelsior College, Charter Oak State College, or Thomas Edison State College. Search this this board for info about these schools and the famous "BA in 4 Weeks web site". I am far from an expert about these schools, but others on this board are quite expert. 3. I don't know what your situation is, but you might want to eventually leave your current job after securing an associates degree and go to school full time. If you did, you would want to attend the school of your choice as an engineering co-op student. This is a common program at engineering schools in the USA where you alternate semesters at school with semesters of paid employment in your field. I was never tried to get into this program, but I should have. I would have finished my degree much sooner. I'm sorry, I know these all seem pretty lame, even to me. I hope someone has some better ideas. Hang in there! Let us know what you wind up doing.
It was not my intention to begin a debate on the merits of ABET, or of government oversight. For good or ill, the situation must be dealt with as it currently is, which means that ABET is the standard that DL programs need to meet to gain widespread acceptance. I sent an e-mail to ABET asking about CNU's programs. I am not really sure what their answer said. The only part I really understood was "no". It seems to be a problem with lab classes. I also have found a large variety of M.S. programs, but that will come much later. The Australian schools also seem to have just Master's programs. I could complete an undergraduate degree in Mathematics or Physics, then cross over to an engineering M.S., but I am trying to avoid the work, time, and expense involved with all those extra, unnecessary courses, if possible. Being married, with 2 kids, going to school full time is not really an option, even as a coop student.
The Australian schools have bachelors programs. I am currently enrolled in USQ's bachelor program and I know that Deakin offers a bachelor program as well. Here is a link for USQ USQ
Re: Monopoly Check out ABA and the AMA for non-governmental groups that control what you can call yourself. By the way NCEES is not a governmental group, the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is a national non-profit organization, Sanctioned by state governments to monitor the testing, but not run by them.
Hi Rob, I was afraid that you, like me, are a family man. I was fortunate enough to have a generous tuition reimbursement benefit & a night school (with some DL) close enough. Most folks aren't so lucky. I would like to encourage you to continue your education in some field, even if a "normal" ABET-accredited mechanical engineering degree is unavailable to you. I think it would help your career, and your family, in the future. With that little homily, I have now proved myself totally useless. I will now return to doing what I am being paid for. Best wishes,
Alabama The University of Alabama through their QUEST program offers a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. Some of the courses have a lab component, but perhaps you could transfer those courses from some other schools abroad or locally. It might work out. And the tuition is pretty reasonable if memory serves well. Of course, the mechanical engineering program at UA is ABET accredited. Greetings
JLV, Way cool. Thanks for the info. Poking around the website, it is not clear to me if someone anywhere in the USA could participate in this program. Another page says "(Tuscaloosa and Dothan Only)" for the B.S.M.E. If this degree is ABET accredited, there will be a live, in-person, lab component. Still, you can always ask.
I already looked into Alabama's QUEST program. It is not an online program, but remote classes at other locations in Alabama, mostly community colleges. Vlad, thanks for the link to USQ. I looked at their web site, but must have overlooked this. Rob
One thing to consider about USQ is that they do require attendance for week long practice courses, I think there are seven for mechanical engineering (it varies by discipline), Deakin doesn't require any attendance so they may be a better option.
