2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Background: Campbell University is an undergraduate-focused, Baptist-heritage, liberal arts school of opportunity that serves its local rural North Carolina community in the shadow of NC State. Ten years ago, Campbell started a School of Engineering to diversify offerings and meet the needs of the local manufacturing and pharmaceutical industry. Chemical Engineering was one of the first two concentrations offered in this general degree program. Campbell’s philosophy has been to focus on evidence-based best practices in engineering to offer opportunities to underserved populations, including rural, first-generation, and mathematically underprepared students. Hands-on active learning is at the core of what Campbell offers, and the curriculum in the ChE concentration has incorporated multiple projects and activities in our innovative ClassLab offerings beyond what is often seen in traditional engineering programs. Experiential learning promotes student success for all students, particularly for underprepared and underrepresented students. Campbell has infused the curriculum with experiential learning opportunities, leveraging best practices to create industry-ready students that are highly sought after by employers.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to share the curriculum development of the chemical engineering concentration during the first ten years of an engineering program in a small, rural, teaching-focused liberal arts institution.
Methodology/Approach: This paper is a retrospective look at the development of the curriculum and how the hands-on projects are integrated throughout the entire program. Student surveys, ABET course evaluations, and comparison of curriculum will be shared to support the faculty narrative describing the development of the current version of the hands-on curriculum. Student success metrics are also provided, including internship and employment statistics and FE exam passing rates.
Findings/Conclusions: Hands-on projects support student learning and have evolved over the years based on student feedback and evaluations. The current curriculum features hands-on projects across the years, with later classes building upon the skills learned in prerequisite courses. The evolution of these methods has supported the Campbell University School of Engineering student population, graduating high-quality students who are well prepared for their future careers.
Implications: A high-quality hands-on education should be continuously evolving to provide quality education for all students. Infusing active learning throughout the curriculum can promote industry-ready students at all levels, including small, liberal-arts focused institutions. Even new programs that have been designed with best practices in mind can benefit from continuous improvement to better serve their students, future employers, and community.