Although this practice meets immediate workforce demands and provides students with employment quickly, employers express dissatisfaction with the thinking, problem solving, and basic-skill levels of these employees. Problems, not courses, structure the curriculum. Credits are earned by solving problems rather than by completing isolated courses. Problems are selected for the curriculum because they are common and important in the FST field. General and technical competencies are integrated within problems.
Students assume responsibility for their own education.
Faculty members become tutors, resources, and evaluators. Students learn by using the same approach that professional technicians use to solve problems. As a result of this program graduates will acquire the higher-level thinking, problem solving, and communication skills needed not only in the workplace but also for engagement within their communities. A pilot was initiated during the Spring 1999 semester and received positive student, faculty, and industry feedback. Evaluation data for 1998-1999 are based on a matrix developed for the program.