2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Wright State University is a multi-campus, public research university headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, which has one of the largest concentrations of electrical engineers and computer scientists in the United States [1]. By the early twentieth century this region was well-known as a center for innovation and entrepreneurship, becoming the top site in the country in patents per capita in 1903 when the university’s namesakes Orville and Wilbur Wright flew. Wright State University was created in 1967 to meet the region’s needs for research, innovation and education and is situated on land that formerly belonged to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB), home of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and five directorates. Technology companies surround the university and base, creating a vibrant innovation hub. To this day, electrical engineering continues to play a large role in the workforce and in opportunity afforded the citizenry, university and prospective and current students of all ages.

In a proactive move to provide students more flexibility, electrical engineering faculty members at Wright State University conducted an in-depth review of all course pre-requisites to streamline the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) program and make it more adaptable for students with diverse experiences to progress through their degrees. This includes high school students accessing university curricula through the state’s dual enrollment opportunities; a technology workforce heavy in job opportunities, internships and co-ops for those with degrees and interest in electrical engineering at all levels; a large influx of active and retired military and civilians; and an accessible and affordable research university in the heart of it all. Among others, changes in pre-requisites occurred in both Continuous Linear Systems and Discrete Linear Systems, which had previously been offered respectively in sequence and had required higher-level mathematics.

These gateway courses were both reorganized with the same pre-requisites effective Summer 2022 – Analog Circuit Theory with accompanying laboratory and Calculus II – without any particular ordering of linear systems courses; that is, students may take continuous first, discrete first, or both courses simultaneously. This flexibility recognizes that diverse student experiences may enhance student success dependent upon the first course passed. Of note, Analog Circuit Theory now includes electrical quantities and their relationships, transform-calculus impedance models, conservation models leveraging algebraic solutions, transform-calculus-derived algebraic models of dynamic systems, and mathematical solution techniques. Calculus II remains fairly standard and includes integration techniques, applications of the definite integral, numeral integration and improper integrals, parametric equations and polar coordinates, and infinite sequences and series. The author taught both linear systems courses in addition to follow-on control courses before and after these pre-requisite changes were implemented and was successful in transitioning learning achievement to the new pre-requisite scenario.

Both courses are gateway, required courses for the BSEE, often are first courses in the major that challenge students theoretically, and either or both may become a barrier to success; as such, they have higher rates of students earning a D or an F or withdrawing from the class with a W (i.e., DFW rates). Many required courses and technical electives in the junior and senior years dictate proficiency in foundational linear systems topics. For these reasons and at the author’s recommendation, the Wright State University College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) Undergraduate Policy and Curriculum Committee selected these two linear systems courses to include in a year-long, university-wide initiative to improve student success.

Although originally designed for online/hybrid implementation, many of the innovative strategies on creating learning communities reported here port seamlessly to in-person classes and benefit students regardless of content or modality. Such ideas were implemented in the author’s Summer 2023 online/hybrid course and Fall 2023 in-person/hybrid offering of Discrete Linear Systems with promising results.

The section following provides additional motivation and novel strategies demonstrated to be particularly attuned with the current generation of students effected by COVID-19 and other disruptions in learning. With flexibility at the forefront, important factors to student success and skills gaps are addressed. Specific course enhancements and results then are highlighted and conclusions described.