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2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Engineering Faculty Perspectives on Curricular Preparedness for Disruption

Presented at FDD Technical Session 5: Curriculum, Courses, and Program Design

Abstract:
Engineering faculty experience disruption not as isolated events but particularly recently as a persistent, multi-layered condition that reshapes academic priorities, technological infrastructures, and learning environments. Faculty workplace disruptions in higher education span technological innovation, institutional restructuring, and the effects of global events, requiring faculty to appropriately reflect the disruptions into evidence-based curricular responses. However, limited research has explored how faculty characterize disruptions or perceive their impacts on the skill requirements of graduates. This study addresses this gap by examining how engineering faculty perceive disruptions in their disciplines and academic enterprise writ large, recognize impacts on graduate skill requirements, and recommend curricular changes to prepare students for volatile professional futures.

A qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis of open-ended survey responses from a selected 13 engineering faculty across multiple disciplines. The survey examined three focal questions: the basic nature of disruption in their discipline, perceived impacts on skills required for industry success, and recommended curriculum changes. Respondents reflected a diversity of career stages from less than five years to more than 30 years of experience. Results identified three major findings. First, faculty characterized disruption as cumulative and ongoing, encompassing technological waves (Internet through generative AI), pandemic-driven virtualization, institutional restructuring, energy sector transitions, and evolving learning environments. Second, while core engineering fundamentals remain essential, faculty perceive them as increasingly vulnerable under disruption conditions, and they identified adaptive, metacognitive, and relational skills particularly verification and critical judgment of tool outputs as new baseline competencies for graduate success. Third, faculty recommended curricular changes emphasizing explicit resilience instruction, scenario-based pedagogies that rehearse adaptation under uncertainty, teaching of generalizable rather than specific tool knowledge, and institutional structures that balance predictable organization with modular flexibility and instructor autonomy.

The findings suggest that engineering education must shift from preparing students for traditional professional contexts to cultivating capacities for learning and adapting under ongoing disruption. This requires rethinking pedagogical approaches, assessment strategies, and institutional governance to develop both faculty and student preparedness. These results contribute valuable insight into faculty perspectives on disruption, offering practical implications for curriculum design, faculty development, and institutional policy. The analysis highlights pathways for fostering resilience and innovation across engineering education programs.

Authors

Dr. Gibin Raju http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2559-6931 Texas A&M University [biography]

Gibin Raju is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Engineering Education in the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering at Texas A&M University. He earned his Ph.D. in Engineering Education from the University of Cincinnati and is a recipient of the ASEE Educational Research and Methods (ERM) Division Apprentice Faculty Grant. His research focuses on transformative learning, creativity, critical thinking skills, spatial skills, and engineering design, with particular attention to cognitive stress, cognitive load, and STEM accessibility. By integrating these strategies into a holistic framework, Dr. Raju enhances workforce development, strengthens engineering pathways, and broadens participation in STEM fields. His work equips educators with tools to personalize instruction and foster professional identity, ultimately preparing future engineers to thrive in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
Dr. Trinidad Sofia Balart Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Trinidad Balart completed her PhD at Texas A&M University. She completed her Bachelors of Science in Computer Science engineering from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. She got her PhD in Multidisciplinary Engineering with a focus in engineering education and the impact of AI on education. Her main research interests include improving engineering students' learning, innovative ways of teaching and learning, and how artificial intelligence can be used in education in a creative and ethical way.
Dr. George Ligler Texas A&M University [biography]

George T. Ligler is Professor and Holder of the J.L. "Corky" Frank/Marathon Ashland Chair in the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering at Texas A and M University. He is also proprietor of GTL Associates, an interdisciplinary systems engineering consultancy that has provided services to over 40 clients on three continents. An elected member of the National Academy of Engineering (2017), he has won several national awards in aviation and has served on twelve boards/panels/committees of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He currently is involved in two engineering education projects, chairing one such project, under the aegis of the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Ligler was named a Lifetime Associate of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in 2014.
Dr. Kristi J. Shryock Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Kristi J. Shryock is the Frank and Jean Raymond Foundation Inc. Endowed Associate Professor in Multidisciplinary Engineering and Affiliated Faculty in Aerospace Engineering in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. She also serves as Director of the Craig and Galen Brown Engineering Honors Program. She received her BS, MS, and PhD from the College of Engineering at Texas A&M. Kristi works to improve the undergraduate engineering experience through evaluating preparation in areas, such as mathematics and physics, evaluating engineering identity and its impact on retention, incorporating non-traditional teaching methods into the classroom, and engaging her students with interactive methods.
Dr. Kelly Brumbelow P.E. http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-5681-4359 Texas A&M University [biography]

Dr. Kelly Brumbelow is the Associate Head of the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering and Associate Professor in that department and the Zachry Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M University. He has been a faculty member at Texas A&M since 2002.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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