Measuring Curriculum Effectiveness for Developing Principled Leaders in an Undergraduate Engineering Program

Abstract

An objective of most undergraduate engineering curricula is to prepare students to solve challenging problems by applying technical knowledge and original ideas and then turn those into practical applications. The demand for principled engineering leaders amplifies the importance of integrating ethical leadership and decision making as a core element of curriculum design. This study seeks to provide insights into the research question of whether the use of an integrated leadership and ethics training program can improve an engineering student’s ability to make ethical engineering decisions as measured by the National Society of Professional Engineers Code of ethics practice exam.