Embracing new higher education technologies for the classroom as well as the application process will be the foundation of your engineering education program’s success.
Regardless of your graduate engineering institution’s size, location, or curriculum, the need to identify the top challenges facing engineering education today — and what you can do to overcome those obstacles — has never been greater.
Whether your priorities working in higher ed engineering include leveraging innovative new technologies, enhancing engagement among domestic students, or creating a more welcoming environment for international students, the decision to participate in a community of peers with a mutual commitment to fostering engineering education is essential to your institution’s lasting success.
Fortunately, that higher education technology community already exists. Liaison’s EngineeringCAS, the only Centralized Application Service (CAS) for graduate engineering programs, does more than increase your programs’ visibility by providing students with a single platform that allows them to research and apply to multiple programs easily. It also creates a forum in which engineering education leaders and advocates unite to discuss technology trends in higher education as well as share marketing, application, and data-based research best practices that help deliver better engagement and enrollment results for all participants.
Partnership Perspectives on Tech in the Industry
As part of that mission, EngineeringCAS collaborates with organizations such as the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) to help remove barriers and find better pathways for students to apply, earn their degrees, and enter the profession. ASEE supports the engineering education community by:
- building educational programming,
- developing thought leadership, and
- projecting the mindsets and competencies that future engineers will need.
During one recent EngineeringCAS Forum, ASEE Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Jacqueline El-Sayed, explained why she believes that keeping pace with rapidly changing technology trends in higher education is the biggest challenge facing engineering education in the next decade.
“We’re seeing a rapid escalation of technology, including AI, machine learning, and advanced manufacturing,” she said. “Engineering is changing so rapidly that we have to continuously update the tools and the experiences that our students are having just to keep pace with what they’re going to be doing. Engineering educators really have to harness those innovations. We need to continuously update the tools and the experiences that our students have just to keep pace with what they’re going to be doing in the industry when they join those ranks.”
End-to-End Solutions for Higher Education
Embracing new technologies for the classroom is only part of the solution. Applying technological breakthroughs to the admissions process is equally important.
After all, before students become professional engineers, they first need to apply, enroll, and graduate from engineering programs. To help make that process easier and more efficient, Liaison’s EngineeringCAS leverages a centralized application service to drive applications, enrollment, and program results. After uploading their application materials just once, students can apply to as many member programs as they like by sharing the information through a single application process. As a result, more students can apply to more programs that address their educational goals, thanks to the access EngineeringCAS provides.
EngineeringCAS also raises the visibility of participating graduate engineering programs to improve enrollment outcomes by increasing their exposure to a larger audience, leveraging outsourced marketing expertise, and discovering data-driven insights that expand your applicant pool.
“A centralized application service is an incredible tool for breaking down barriers,” says Dr. El-Sayed. “It allows future students to think beyond their local communities and to consider programs they may not have considered before.”
The evidence is not just anecdotal. Liaison’s annual surveys of graduate engineering students confirm that they place a high value on the ability to use one-stop platforms to apply to a number of different schools with one set of credentials.
Of course, important questions remain for those working in higher-ed engineering programs. As we encounter the so-called “demographic cliff,” will engineering schools be able to fill seats and generate adequate tuition revenue with fewer college-age students applying to their graduate programs? How will we overcome the challenges of encouraging more international students to study in the United States?
By choosing to identify and share solutions collaboratively, programs that participate in the EngineeringCAS Community are already finding ways to make the demographic cliff less steep, encourage more students to pursue a career in engineering, and ensure the profession attracts the future leaders it will need to solve challenges we may not even be able to anticipate yet.
To learn more about how Liaison’s EngineeringCAS is creating greater opportunities for engineering institutions and the students they serve, please contact David Poole, Managing Director, EngineeringCAS at dpoole@liaisonedu.com. or download our 6 Benefits of Centralized Applications eBook.
David Poole Managing Director EngineeringCAS