The College of Engineering continually measures its progress in reaching important goals through its Key Performance Indicators, which are aligned with indicators of the university and the Board of Regents. These measures track students and their success, and faculty and their accomplishments in teaching, research, and engagement.
Enrollment has grown steadily over the past five years to record levels. Demand at the undergraduate and graduate levels has increased as a result of initiatives to recruit students from Iowa and border states, and efforts to improve retention and the academic success of students once on campus.
The success of engineering students arises from strong academic preparation, proactive advising, and an emphasis on learning communities. Of the students who enter the college as freshmen, 77% study engineering in the second year, while an additional 12% pursue other majors on campus, for cumulative retention of 89%.
Slight progress has been made in increasing the percentage of engineering students who graduate within six years, a commonly used time frame that accounts for such value-added factors as internships/co-ops, studying abroad, research, and on-campus leadership experiences. Of the students who enter the college as freshmen, 54% graduate in engineering, while an additional 19% graduate in other majors on campus, with a cumulative graduation rate of 73%.
Resident enrollment has held steady and even increased despite a declining number of graduates from Iowa high schools. Non-resident enrollment from the border states and international markets is growing, signaling diversification and broadening of the engineering college’s scope.
New recruiting, advising, and bridge programs have led to modest increases in the past few years for the participation rates of female and underrepresented minority (URM) students. International student enrollment has recovered following the post-2001 decline. This measure is based upon enrollments at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
The academic preparation of incoming engineering students is strong and steady. Students enter the College of Engineering with ACT composite scores at the 86th percentile, the highest among all colleges at Iowa State.
The college ranks among the top dozen programs in conferring bachelor’s degrees and the top 25 in doctoral degrees, and is among the top 20 in bachelor’s degrees awarded to women.
Representing mastery of technical subject, the doctorate is the highest degree conferred by the engineering college. The number of doctoral degrees awarded has doubled over the past decade, a sign of quality and the college’s prestige and external reputation.
This indicator measures the placement of engineering graduates in corporations, consulting firms, graduate school, and military service. The placement rate closely follows the job market and economy.
The student-faculty ratio is an indicator of class size and individual attention, and it has increased following a favorable decline early in the decade. This measure is based on all tenured, tenure-eligible, and non-tenure-eligible teaching faculty members. (ASEE profiles)
Sponsored research is a measure of faculty scholarship, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Research activity is expected to continue growing as outstanding faculty members are recruited and advanced within the college and new interdisciplinary programs are established.
Time- and distance-shifted learning through online courses represents a growing market for the engineering college. Online courses serve practicing engineers, corporations, students in industrial co-ops, and increasingly, on-campus students.
The number of teaching and research active faculty members declined recently as a result of the economic downturn and lower state appropriations, but it has otherwise grown slightly over the past decade. Current efforts to recruit and advance engineering faculty are expected to help build the faculty ranks. (ASEE profiles)
Progress has been made in improving the competitiveness of salaries. Comparisons are made relative to engineering faculty holding full-time tenured or tenure-eligible appointments at 10 peer land-grant universities. (AAU data exchange. University of Arizona, UC-Davis, University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, Michigan State, University of Minnesota, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Purdue, Texas A&M, and University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Faculty diversity is measured by the participation rates for female faculty and underrepresented minority (URM)faculty, and it is an indicator for the recruitment and success of diverse students. This measure is based on all tenured, tenure-eligible, and non-tenure-eligible teaching faculty.
