2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Successful construction engineering programs constantly seek ways to engage students in meaningful projects that motivate them to exceed the minimum expectations. One way to engage students is to use Capstone project which often involves real customers, including site visits and briefings at 35% and 100% submittals. These real-world projects prepare students for post-graduation roles. However, students often overlook the community impact of their work. In construction engineering programs, learning should go beyond estimates, schedules, analysis, and design to include hands-on construction experience. Of course, internships are a primary vehicle to develop these skills, but not all students (military contract, athletes, students struggling academically, etc.) can locate an internship that works with their constrained summer schedules. The construction engineering program at University “X” offers a practicum, partnering with Habitat for Humanity to provide a hands-on construction experience. Students work four hours weekly on-site, following the construction schedule. The goal is to better prepare graduates with hands-on experience while fostering a sense of service. Some students even return on weekends to volunteer with their fraternity, building alongside the future homeowner. This paper presents a case study on developing and maintaining partnerships, managing weather-dependent construction schedules, evaluating students, and lessons learned through successes or failure. Weekly student deliverables include a Field Report (who, what where, when; progress; causes for possible dispute, change orders, delays; quality assurance/control concerns; risks and uncertainty with recommendations; sustainability processes; and engineering economic issues), development of a section of a “How-To Guide” on the skills used that day for Habitat for Humanity future volunteers, and a leadership assessment of the team leader and members based on their on-site collaboration. The program has experienced successes and challenges, including some sites initially not wanting students back, which was addressed. The next step is to encourage students to leverage fraternity outreach to lead weekend Habitat for Humanity groups, with the goal of continuing this effort in their professional lives.