FULL COMMISSION August 13, 2015

Docket Item:

University Program Approval: Oregon Tech, Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Engineering (with Specialties).

Summary:

Oregon Tech proposes a new program leading to a M.S. degree in Engineering (with Specialties). Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) staff completed a review of the proposed program. After analysis, HECC staff recommends approval of the program as proposed.

Staff Recommendation:

The HECC recommends the adoption of the following resolution:

RESOLVED, that the Higher Education Coordinating Commission approve the following program:

M.S. degree in Engineering (with Specialties) at Oregon Tech.

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Oregon Tech seeks the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission’s approval to offer an instructional program leading to a M.S. degree in Engineering (with Specialties).

1. Describe the purpose and relationship of the proposed program to the institution’s missionand strategic plan.

The proposed program is in perfect alignment with Oregon Tech’s mission which currently reads: “Oregon Institute of Technology, a member of the Oregon University System, offers innovative and rigorous applied degree programs in the areas of engineering, engineering technologies, health technologies, management, and the arts and sciences. To foster student and graduate success, the University provides an intimate, hands-on learning environment, focusing on application of theory to practice. Oregon Tech offers statewide educational opportunities for the emerging needs of Oregon’s citizens and provides information and technical expertise to state, national and international constituents.” The proposed program is an applied professional M.S. program in engineering designed to meet industry needs by offering the flexibility to design custom multidisciplinary degree plans. This mission alignment is achieved by designing the Master of Science in Engineering (M.S.E.) to be a highly customizable and modular degree enabling students and industry partners to choose coursework from multiple disciplines to design their own specialty not available in the classical M.S. degrees. Students and working professionals work with a faculty advisor (part of an advisory committee) to develop a plan of study that fits the student’s overall goals. The program enables the advisor to work with the student and employer to define an Area of Specialization within the M.S. in Engineering degree program tailored to meet the specific goals of the student and align with the company's strategic mission. The flexibility in the M.S. in Engineering degree ensures a relevant, up-to-date educational experience, and the ability to meet urgent industry needs in multidisciplinary technical fields. The program is designed to provide maximum flexibility while maintaining academic rigor.

2. What evidence of need does the institution have for the program?

The program meets broad statewide needs related to advanced multidisciplinary engineering education for working professionals. It enhances the state’s capacity to respond effectively to challenges companies face to upgrade their existing engineering talent and develop new talent in areas such as systems engineering, energy storage, optical engineering, and other specialized and multidisciplinary technical fields. In order to stay competitive in the current hypercompetitive environment, companies often need their staff to be able to engage in highly relevant professional development. This program is intended to contribute to addressing these broad needs. The proposed program contributes to the State goals for access and quality learning by enabling engineering working professionals to access graduate level education without breaking/disrupting their careers. The program is

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designed to provide excellent access to this target segment by delivering classes after 5:30 p.m. and on the weekends. Additionally, the quality of learning will be enhanced by the ability of degree seeking students and their companies to design areas of specialization directly applicable to their current needs. The program is envisioned as a “working professional and industry focused” M.S. degree. Companies often contact Oregon Tech about the need for specific programs of study that do not fit the traditional engineering disciplines (e.g., electrical, mechanical, chemical, civil) but require a unique combination of coursework from these and other disciplines to address their particular workforce needs at the graduate level. Responding to these industry needs is challenging, since creating new programs is a lengthy process and often not viable unless a large enough cluster of companies have a similar need. The M.S.E. is designed to be a highly customizable and modular degree enabling students and industry to choose coursework from multiple specialties to design their own specialty not available in the classical M.S. degrees. Examples of these mixed specialties in the M.S.E. degree include Systems Engineering, Energy Storage, Optical Engineering, Advanced Automation & Control, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Intellectual Property/Patent Practice, etc.). As a timely example, a current urgent industry need is the case of Xerox and the graduate level curriculum they need for their engineers, which must combine Systems Engineering, Project Management, and Global Operations Management to update their existing functional engineering talent to match their new corporate competitive strategy. This type of need would be easily satisfied with a flexible M.S. Engineering degree that could be highly customized to meet the specific demands of a particular industry, company, or individual student (e.g., in this case, Oregon Tech and the corresponding industry partner would help students create a degree plan that combines systems engineering, global manufacturing, project management, operations management principles, strategy, and some coursework from classical engineering disciplines). This allows Oregon Tech to respond to industry needs as they emerge by designing customized degree plans, as opposed to having to create a myriad of completely new degree programs, which take over three years to go through the approval process at the State level.

3. Are there similar programs in the state? If so, how does the proposed program supplement,complement, or collaborate with those programs?

There are no similar programs in the Oregon University System (OUS). The program is designed to optimally complement the portfolio of M.S. degree programs in the classical engineering disciplines (electrical, civil, mechanical, etc.) offered by OUS universities. The closest programs are at Purdue University and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Note: Reviewers from Purdue and UCLA M.S.E. programs participated in the external review evaluation.

4. What new resources will be needed initially and on a recurring basis to implement theprogram? How will the institution provide these resources? What efficiencies or revenueenhancements are achieved with this program, including consolidation or elimination ofprograms over time, if any?

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The Engineering and Technology Industry Council (ETIC) has funded the development of this program due to its high market demand. In particular, ETIC provided funding for the M.S.E. in Systems Engineering, M.S.E. in Optical Engineering, and M.S.E. in Energy & Power Engineering. ETIC funding has covered all the program startup costs, including equipment expenses. They are currently considering providing further funding for additional specialties including Cybersecurity, and Robotics, Automation & Control. ETIC includes representation of key companies in Oregon, including Intel, IBM Corporation, Tektronix, Field Emission Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, and others. The proposal to create a flexible/multidisciplinary M.S. in Engineering degree that could respond rapidly to industry needs was selected for ETIC special funding in 2014 due to the lack of similar programs in the State of Oregon and the alignment with the ETIC mission (serving urgent critical needs in engineering, upgrading existing talent, and producing new talent).

All appropriate University committees, the Oregon State Board of Higher Education, and the Statewide Provosts Council have positively reviewed the proposed program.

Recommendation to the Commission The Statewide Provosts Council recommends that the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission authorize Oregon Tech to establish an instructional program leading to a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Engineering (with Specialties), effective Fall 2015.

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Institution: Oregon Tech Program: M.S. in Engineering (with Specialties)

Action: By electronic vote on May 26, 2015, the Statewide Provosts Council approved a new program for Oregon Tech, M.S. in Engineering (with Specialties), to move forward to the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission for its review/approval. Seven provosts approved the program; one provost abstained. The Oregon State Board of Higher Education approved this program at their June 5, 2015 meeting.

Eastern Oregon University

Sarah Witte, interim provost

X Approved

_ Opposed

__Abstained

Oregon State University

Sabah Randhawa, provost

X Approved

Opposed

Abstained

Portland State University

Sona Andrews, provost

_ Approved

_ Opposed

X Abstained

University of Oregon

Frances Bronet, acting provost

X Approved

Opposed

Abstained

Oregon Health & Science University Jenny Mladenovic, provost

X Approved

Opposed

__Abstained

Oregon Tech Brad Burda, provost

X Approved

Opposed

Abstained

Southern Oregon University

Susan Walsh, interim provost

X Approved

Opposed

Abstained

Western Oregon University

Steve Scheck, provost

X Approved

Opposed

Abstained

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