THE DECLINE OF UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Examples of the decline in the mastery of engineering fundamentals and the ability to apply these fundamentals to real world problems are presented. There are enhanced abilities in tOday's graduates and these are discussed. No attempt is made to assign blame for the decline in capabilities since there are many contributors to this change. Some of the factors contributing to the dealine include student evaluations of instruction, misuse of homework, diminished reading comprehension, pressure on faculty to be productive in research, and the decrease in mastery required in the accreditation process. Each of the factors is discussed in some depth and rational actions are proposed to reverse this disturbing trend.