Project-based course for integration of design and construction at WPI

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute implemented a graduate-level course entitled "Integration of Design and Construction." The course was offered during the fall semester of 1995 and 1996. The goal of the course was to provide a project-based, practice-oriented opportunity for teams of students to deal with the problems of functional integration. The three-credit-hour, one-semester course involved a mix of class discussion, laboratory, and lecture activities. Faculty relied on industrial participation to present the real-world projects to the students. First, the lessons learned at the end of fall semester 1995 are discussed. Next, the class profile and course organization for fall semester 1996 are described. Additionally, student performance and student feedback are presented and used to validate the value of the course and to plan a subsequent offering in fall semester 1997.