Table Of ContentSelf-Study Report
Mechanical Engineering
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
New Mexico State University
Submitted to:
Accreditation Commission
ABET, Inc.
111 Market Place, Suite 1050
Baltimore, MD 21202-4012
Submitted by:
The Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Program
Jett Hall, Room 117
New Mexico State University
P.O. Box 30001 MSC 3450
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
June 2012
Table of Contents
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ....................................................................... 3
CRITERION 1. STUDENTS ................................................................................. 9
CRITERION 2. PROGRAM EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES ........................ 23
CRITERION 3. STUDENT OUTCOMES ......................................................... 28
CRITERION 4. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT .......................................... 30
CRITERION 5. CURRICULUM........................................................................ 53
CRITERION 6. FACULTY ................................................................................. 63
CRITERION 7. FACILITIES ............................................................................. 69
CRITERION 8. INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT .................................................. 83
CRITERION 9. PROGRAM CRITERIA ............................................................. 91
Appendix A – Course Syllabi ............................................................................... 92
Appendix B – Faculty Vitae ............................................................................... 165
Appendix C – Equipment.................................................................................... 194
Appendix D – Institutional Summary ................................................................. 200
Signature Attesting to Compliance ................................................................................. 210
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
A. Contact Information
List name, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address for the
primary pre-visit contact person for the program.
The primary contact for the visit to the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering is
Ian H Leslie, PhD
Interim Department Head
P. O. Box 30001, MSC 3450
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001
575-646-3502
575-646-6111 fax
[email protected]
B. Program History
Include the year implemented and the date of the last general review. Summarize major
program changes with an emphasis on changes occurring since the last general review.
The baccalaureate program in Mechanical Engineering (ME) has been continuously
accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET, Inc., since 1938.
The ME graduates are prepared to apply engineering science, mathematics, computational
methods, modern experimental methods, and effective communication skills to the
challenges and problems of industry, government and scholarly topics.
The team representing the EAC of ABET, Inc., conducted a site visit on October 8-10, 2006
that resulted in a finding of two program weaknesses and one program concern. After due
process, the EAC, at its 2007 Summer Meeting voted to reaccredit the program until
September 30, 2009. To continue accreditation beyond September 30, 2009, the program was
required to submit an interim report describing the actions taken to correct shortcomings
identified during the site visit and not resolved after due process. An interim report was
submitted to EAC of ABET, Inc., in June 2008. Based on the interim report and due-process
response, the EAC voted in the summer of 2009 to continue accreditation of the program
through September 30, 2013. However, the final statement issued by EAC stated that two
concerns remained.
Concern: Criterion 2. Program Education Objectives (previously a weakness)
Concern: Criterion 4. Professional Component:
There have been no major changes to the ME program directly. Relatively minor changes
include the elimination of certain courses and the consolidation of two others. However,
since the last site visit in 2006, and also since the interim report of 2008, the department has
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become the Department Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. The most direct impact on
the ME program is the availability of certain aerospace courses as ME elective courses.
C. Options
List and describe any options, tracks, concentrations, etc. included in the program.
The Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering does not offer any options, tracks
or concentrations.
DEGREE: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
MAJOR: Mechanical Engineering
MINOR: Mechanical Engineering
D. Organizational Structure
Using text and/or organizational charts, describe the administrative structure of the program
(from the program to the department, college, and upper administration of your institution, as
appropriate).
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering is one of six academic departments within the College
of Engineering. Engineering is one of six undergraduate academic colleges within New
Mexico State University. The organization of the entire institution is shown in Figure 1.
Details within the College of Engineering are shown in Figure 2, and details of the
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering are shown in Figure 3.
On January 1, 2011, Dr. Ian Leslie assumed the responsibilities of associate department head
after Dr. Ronald Pederson retired. Effective August 1, 2011, Dr. Leslie assumed the
responsibilities of interim department head when Dr. Thomas Burton left NMSU for a
position at another institution.
Department Organization
Interim Department Head .……………………………………... Ian Leslie
Associate Department Head …………………………… none at present
Director of Aerospace & Special Projects……………... Crystal Lay
The department offers baccalaureate degrees in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
4
Figure BI.1 Organizational Chart (University)
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College of
Engineering Dean
Engineering
Assistant Dean
Associate Dean Associate Dean Academic Engineering New
Development/
Academics Research Departments External Relations Mexico!
Student Records Proposal Chemical Development Centers
Development Engineering
Manufacturing
Tech/Engineering
WERC/IEE
Curriculum Contract Scholarships Center
Compliance Management
Civil Engineering Transportation
Center
Recruiting Research Career
Budgets Electrical and Development
Computer College Outreach
Engineering
NM Alliance for
Registration College Budgets Special
Minority
Events
FigSWu rTeec h Devel. Participation
Institute
Reaching the
Accreditation & College-Wide Communications Pinnacle
Assessment Initiatives Engin eering
support Phy sics
Pre-College
State and Federal
STEM Outreach Requests TeEcnhg/iSnu erevreinyign g CRoerlpatoiroantse Outre ach
Coordination Engin eering Boosting
Carlsbad Env. Engineering
Monitoring and Extension Science and Tech
International & Research Ce nter EnIngdinu esterriianl g Coordination Pre-Fre shman
National Engineering
Articulation Mechani cal and Program
Support Aerospace Engr
Project Lead the
Figure BI.2 Organizational Chart (College)
Way
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Departmen t Head
Mechanical and
Aerospace En gineering
Associate Director of
Department Head Graduate Aerospace and
Program Director Special Projects
Advising and Graduate Aerospace Under
Advising Applicat ion Graduate Advisor
Coordinator Review
Graduation Graduate UACH Program
Verification Studen t Coordinator
Recruitment
Course
Scheduling High School
Recruitment
ABET
Coordinator
Figure BI.3 Organization Chart (Department)
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E. Program Delivery Modes
Describe the delivery modes used by this program, e.g., days, evenings, weekends,
cooperative education, traditional lecture/laboratory, off-campus, distance education, web-
based, etc.
Undergraduate classes offered through the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering program are all essentially daytime classes. The morning classes can start as early
as 7:30 AM and the latest class starts at 4:30 PM. One exception is a single laboratory section for
ME 445 that begins at 6:00 PM. The classes are primarily taught as traditional lecture laboratory
classes. One recent exception is offering the lecture portion of ME 261 as web based, but still
requiring the students to attend 3 hour laboratory sessions.
F. Program Locations
Include all locations where the program or a portion of the program is regularly offered (this
would also include dual degrees, international partnerships, etc.)
All programs are offered only on the main campus in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
G. Deficiencies, Weaknesses or Concerns from Previous Evaluation(s) and the Actions
Taken to Address Them
Summarize the Deficiencies, Weaknesses, or Concerns remaining from the most recent
ABET Final Statement. Describe the actions taken to address them, including effective dates
of actions, if applicable. If this is an initial accreditation, it should be so indicated.
The final statement issued by EAC in the summer of 2009 stated that two concerns remained.
Concern 1: Criterion 2. Program Education Objectives (previously a weakness)
Concern 2: Criterion 4. Professional Component:
Concern 1: The Program Education Objectives have recently been reviewed by members of the
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Academy (MAEA). Their feedback indicates that a firm
consensus on the need for change is not available. It will be necessary to convene a larger group
to deliberate more extensively on whether the objectives need modification. This will most likely
take place during the MAEA visit in Spring 2013 when a new department head is in place.
Concern 2: The professional development concern resulted from lack of evidence for the “Five-
stage Model of the Design Process”. It is unclear at this writing why this evidence was not
provided in the 2008 Interim Report; however, an annotated student-group report from Spring
2007, showing various facets that make up the stages, is presented on the CD in the folder
CAPSTONE.
H. Joint Accreditation
Indicate whether the program is jointly accredited or is seeking joint accreditation by more
than one commission.
There are no programs in the department that have joint accreditation.
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GENERAL CRITERIA
CRITERION 1. STUDENTS
For the sections below, attach any written policies that apply.
A. Student Admissions
Summarize the requirements and process for accepting new students into the program.
New Mexico State, as a land-grant institution, has a relatively open admission policy. To be
accepted, an entering freshman must meet the following:
a high school GPA of at least 2.0 and an ACT standard composite score of at least
20, or
a high school GPA of at least 2.5, or
an ACT standard composite score of at least 21
In addition, the candidate must meet the following minimum high school requirements:
4 years of English, two of which must be composition, one at the junior-level,
2 years of science beyond general science,
3 years of mathematics, taken from: algebra I, algebra II, geometry, trigonometry,
or advanced math, and
1 year of foreign language or fine arts.
A student who has a single deficiency from the list above will be admitted if the high school
GPA is at least 2.25 and the ACT standard composite score is at least 20.
A student who meets the minimum high school requirements listed above, with a high school
GPA of at least 2.25 and the ACT standard composite score of at least 19 will be admitted on
provisional status. Provisional students must take at least 6, but no more than 12, credits per
regular semester (3-6 during summers). Those students who earn at least a 2.0 GPA within
two semesters are moved to regular admission status, the others are denied further
attendance.
Students denied admission may appeal to the University’s Undergraduate Admission Appeals
Committee and/or enroll at a community college until the deficiencies are removed.
Admission to the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering is open to any NMSU
student. Neither the department nor the College of Engineering place any admission standard
on students beyond those set by the University. To officially declare a major in Mechanical
Engineering, a student need only visit the College of Engineering registration clerk and make
the request. The student’s records will be modified to indicate Engineering as the primary
college and mechanical engineering as the major.
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Math Placement
Calculus I (MATH 191) is the entry level mathematics course to the Mechanical Engineering
program. There are two paths that a student may take to qualify for Calculus I.
NMSU Math Placement scores ≥ 6,6,6,6
Transfer for credit for a pre-calculus course
The Math Placement Exam consists of four sections with 10 questions each. Each section
covers the material taught in a different math class: (a) Algebra Skills, (b) Intermediate
Algebra, (c) College Algebra, and (d) Trigonometry. Correctly answering 60% or more of
the questions in a given section allow the associated class to be skipped. MPE scores are
reported as a set of four integers, indicating the number of questions correctly answered in
each section. Thus, a score of 10,8,9,4 means the student answered all ten of the questions
on (a) Algebra Skills correctly, missed two questions in the (b) Intermediate Algebra section,
missed only one question on (c) College Algebra, but only got four correct in (d)
Trigonometry. This student would be placed into Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus. The rules for
math placement are provided in Figure 4.
Math Course Minimum Prerequisite for
Number Title ACTM MPE Direct Entry
CCDM 103N Computational Skills <= 15 N/A None
CCDM 114N Algebra Skills >= 16 N/A CCDM 103N
MATH 120 Intermediate Algebra >= 16 a >=6 CCDM 114N
MATH 121 College Algebra >= 16 a+b>=12 Math 120
MATH 190 Trigonometry and >= 16 a+b+c>=19 Math 121
Pre- Calculus
MATH 191 Calculus I >= 16 6,6,6,6 Math 190
Figure 1.1 Initial Math Placement Criteria
If a student misses a cutoff by one point, there is an option for the student to sign a math
contract. This contract allows the student to go into the next higher level course with the
understanding that a grade of less than C will require dropping back and taking the
prerequisite course. The Associate Dean of Engineering for Academics, the faculty advisor,
and the student, must all sign the contract.
An alternate placement scheme for mathematics is based on the student’s high school GPA
and ACT or SAT scores. This alternate method can only be used for placement up to pre-
calculus (MATH 190). The placement grid is shown in Figure 5.
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Description:a high school GPA of at least 2.0 and an ACT standard composite score of at
least Provisional students must take at least 6, but no more than 12, credits per.
