2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

As the result of a Department of Defense (DoD) grant in 2017, training and laboratory equipment were procured, and a curriculum was created to develop a new four-year Mechatronics Engineering Technology (ET) degree program. Specifically funded by the DoD entity formally known as the Office of Economic Adjustment, the new baccalaureate degree program provided a means for military-affiliated students to obtain a technical education at the four-year level in preparation for employment in regional industrial facilities. Under the grant, the degree program was to follow the Siemens Mechatronics Systems Certification Program (SMSCP) that offered student certification via an examination provided by Siemens in a tiered-level system, with Level 3 being reserved for the baccalaureate degree programs. The authors' home institution's ET department was chosen to host this SMSCP Level 3 degree program, with the program being regionally unique as the only Level 3 ET-based program. The pathway to the development of this program, as experienced by the lead faculty member and an early enrolled student employee, has been detailed in this composition. By weighing the strengths and weaknesses of the development and scheduling of the SMSCP-specific courses, the integration of these courses into the existing ET core courses shared by other concentrations, limited faculty availability, training equipment availability, and other aspects of degree development, an indication of the success of the program has been established. Further, through a successful transfer agreement with a surrounding two-year community college and other transfer pathways, the Mechatronics ET baccalaureate degree plan has had 10 graduates by the Spring of 2022, with three graduates taking and passing the pilot SMSCP Level 3 examination in the summer of 2022. An additional 11 students graduated in the Fall 2022 semester, and a location-specific faculty member will be hired in the spring of 2023.