The broad and strategic value of the freshmen engineering experience-FEE

Many papers have been written on the teaching and learning value of the 'freshmen engineering experience' (FEE), where FEE is an experimental, design project based course that provides a stimulating introduction to engineering for freshmen students. The research has largely focused on the pedagogical benefits obtained via the problem-based learning techniques implicit in well designed FEEs. Less well reported are the accompanying issues of pass and retention rates, integration with K-12 outreach programs, contributions towards national rankings and their overall strategic importance in engineering programs. This paper reviews the broad value and strategic role of FEE programs in the framework of engineering education. © 2006 TEMPUS Publications.