2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

It is well known that faculty and staff roles are critical in higher education. A work-based learning model in undergraduate engineering education and a Midwest university of higher education offers a unique blend of student-facing support that cuts across both groups of faculty and staff. Tenure-track professors and adjuncts serve as the faculty members of this practice-based program, while the staff is largely made up of facilitators. Professors and facilitators have specific responsibilities that differentiate them from each other. For example, professors are solely responsible for teaching all technical content courses. Facilitators are staff members who possess degrees in engineering, often having industry experience, and serve primarily as learning coaches and mentors, especially in the design and professionalism space. However, there are many shared responsibilities that exist to create a supportive environment for students who are in various locations around the world working in full-time co-op positions or research projects while simultaneously completing the final two years of a bachelor’s degree as full-time students.

The aim of this paper is twofold: (1) to give the background and frame the positions of both facilitators and professors, emphasizing their complementary roles, and (2) to analyze responses from students, professors, directors, and facilitators to determine what their perception is of the interaction and collaboration of these positions. This is because a support model like this is the first of its kind and is unique, not found in the same capacity elsewhere in the world of academia. Based on its history of success, similar models are beginning to be implemented at other programs and institutions. Because of this, it is important that the roles of those supporting the program are formalized and analyzed since they have not previously been shared in this fashion. This will provide a definition of the structure as well as an illustration of the personal aspects of experiencing these roles from various perspectives.