University of Washington, Tacoma
Institute of Technology
Planning Notice of Intent for the BS degree in Electrical Engineering (EE)
1. Program Description and Rationale
The BSEE program aims to provide students with a rigorous learning experience in the area of Electrical Engineering in a collaborative learning environment. The program will be responsive to regional needs and to engineering education reform. The BSEE program will serve both traditional and nontraditional students by providing degree pathways for both freshman and transfer students.
The demand for an electrical engineering program is very high from a student perspective. Both high school students and community colleges in the south sound would be interested in this program. In 2015, there were about 20 to 30 students in each of the pre-electrical engineering programs at Tacoma Community College, Highline Community College, and Green River Community College. Tacoma Power Utility, a local power company, has at least five employees interested in pursuing a BSEE degree at UW-Tacoma. The Department of Enrollment Services at UW-Tacoma estimates that at least 120 students from local school districts will enroll in the BSEE program. It should be noted that currently very few of these students enroll in engineering programs at UW-Seattle and UW-Bothell even though they are interested in EE. This suggests that students are reluctant to leave the south sound area to go to Seattle or Bothell. Local companies like Tacoma Power Utility, Peninsula Light, Puget Sound Energy, Intel, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and HP have expressed support for this program. Furthermore, these companies have expressed interest in hiring graduates from this program. Student demand in the state of Washington for electrical engineers is also evident from enrollments in the BSEE
programs at UW-Seattle (501 students) and UW-Bothell (185 students in five years). The
projected enrollment in the proposed BSEE program is at least 160 by year five. Student demand and employers both point to a compelling need for starting the BSEE program at UW-Tacoma.
Demand: Documentation of Need for Program
The BS degree in EE, if approved, would become the second engineering degree offered at the University of Washington Tacoma, after the BS degree in Computer Engineering and Systems (CES). A new program in Electrical Engineering is needed because of three reasons: 1. Students in the Tacoma area interested in majoring in electrical engineering have no option but to leave the area, 2. there is a projected need for electrical engineers both regionally and nationally, and 3. Electrical engineers command high salaries.
Student Need: There are more than 8000 high school students in the Tacoma school district.
Many students in the Tacoma area attend schools that emphasize STEM disciplines. Examples of such schools include the Science and Math Institute (SAMI) in Tacoma (with enrollment of 450 in 2013) and the Technology Access Foundation Academy in Federal Way, WA. Yet, a student wanting to study engineering has limited options. The only option is to study computer
engineering at UWT or PLU, or study mechanical/civil engineering at Saint Martin’s University, Lacey, WA. Tacoma Community College offers the first two years of many engineering
programs (including electrical engineering). However, students interested in majoring in electrical engineering must leave the area and transfer to UW-Seattle, WSU, Seattle U, EWU, WWU, SPU, or Gonzaga. Therefore, students interested in electrical engineering who cannot afford to leave the area due to various constraints, are compelled to major in an area that does not completely match their interest. The proposed program in electrical engineering will address this problem.
Projected Need: The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates a 7.3% growth in the number of
engineering jobs in the next 10 years. In the state of Washington the annual growth rate of engineering jobs from 2011 to 2021 is estimated to be 1.2% (it is 2.2% for computer related jobs). The estimated share of employment for architects and engineers in the state of Washington is 2.5% (in 2011) and projected to be 2.4% in 2021. In Pierce County the average annual total openings in STEM areas is 7.9% of all the openings (this is an estimate for the period 2016 through 2021). Boeing Corporation and its local subcontractors, and Intel Corporation would be the major employers of UWT engineering graduates. Other potential employers of EE graduates are Paccar, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Bremerton, HP, Tacoma Power Utility, Pierce County IT, Puget Sound Energy, Peninsula Light, and Mortensen Construction.
Nationally, there were 174,550 jobs for electrical engineers and 76,360 jobs for computer engineers (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May
2014, http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm#17-0000 ). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicted that employment of electrical engineers would increase by 5% from 2012-2022. The BLS also reported that these workers made an average salary of $95,780 as of May 2014. In Washington State there were 5,690 electrical engineers with an annual mean wage of $102,750 and there were 1,820 computer engineers with an annual mean wage of $105,020 (BLS, May 2014). The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average. The location quotient of
Washington State for electrical engineering is 1.52 (BLS).
Overall, the engineering profession in general and electrical engineering in particular has an excellent outlook from a jobs perspective.
High Salaries: Amongst the top 10 majors with the highest salary potential, electrical
engineering ranks sixth and computer engineering ranks seventh. According to the Payscale 2
College Salary Report for 2013-14, the starting salary for electrical engineering majors is $63,400 and the mid-career median salary is $106,000.
2. Overview of Program and Goals
The curriculum for the BS degree in EE will satisfy all the requirements of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Moreover, the curriculum will emphasize areas that are relevant to local and state companies/agencies such as Intel, HP, Boeing, F5, power utilities, and the army/naval bases. The program will offer electives in power systems,
communications, VLSI, signal processing, cryptographic hardware design, hardware security, and embedded systems.
Unique aspects compared to existing programs: Other than being responsive to the needs of
local students and industry, the BSEE program will participate in improving the cybersecurity offerings of the Institute of Technology. Cybersecurity has been a priority area in the Institute with courses being offered in cryptography and information assurance in the BS CSS and BS IT programs. The BSEE program will strengthen the cybersecurity initiative by providing courses in the hardware aspects of cryptography.
Relationship to institutional mission and program priorities
Fit with Campus and University Mission: The BS program in EE is consistent with the UWT mission of expanding the boundaries of knowledge and discovery. The need for electrical engineers both at the regional and national levels is clear from job demand estimates stated earlier. The new EE program would be consistent with UWT’s vision of being responsive to the needs of the region and nation.
The Institute of Technology at UWT’s CES program will share many courses with the proposed EE program, especially in the freshman and sophomore years. This coupled with high demand and salary for EE majors makes the proposed major a perfect fit with our campus mission. Effects on Other Programs: The BS in Computer Engineering and Systems (CES) will benefit greatly by having a BS degree that emphasizes circuit design. Students in the CES program will be able to take electives from the EE program. This second engineering degree will also provide more balance to the Institute itself, which is currently skewed, programmatically and in terms of faculty FTE, to computing related programs. Moreover, the proposed program in Cyber Security, currently under development, has required elements that an EE program can provide. The EE program proposal has support from the following units on campus: the Library, the Department of Information Technology, the Finance & Administration Office and the School of
Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.
Effects on students: The interaction between students in the Computer Engineering and Systems (CES) program and the EE program will result in interdisciplinary senior capstone projects, thus creating a more diverse learning environment.
3. Resource Impact Statement
The BS EE program will request for space in the new Tacoma Paper and Stationary building. The current renovation plan for the Tacoma Paper and Stationary building has space allocated for several large electrical engineering laboratories. The BSEE program will request for five new faculty members (one full professor, one associate professor, one assistant professor, and two full-time lecturers). These faculty members will have expertise in the following areas:
communications, power systems, cyber-physical systems, digital/analog VLSI, digital signal processing, and control systems. The new McDonald Smith (MDS) building has office space allocated to the Institute that can be used for EE faculty offices. Two staff members will be requested to help out with the EE program. These are a laboratory technician and an
advisor/recruiter.
Budget: The UW-Tacoma Finance Office has come up with a preliminary budget assuming that
160 students would be enrolled in the program by year 5. A summary of the budget in the fifth year is given in the table below.
Budget Item Amount
Faculty salaries and benefits (3 tenure track and 2 full-time lecturers)
$746,086 Staff salaries and benefits (1 lab tech, ½
advisor)
$117,515 Contract Services (telephones) $954 Goods and Services (Supplies) $3,250
Travel $2,625
Equipment $20,000
Total Direct Costs $890,430
Projected Tuition $1,559,161
UW-Seattle Overhead $155,916
UW-Tacoma Overhead $717,214
Total Costs $1,763,560
Net After Total Costs
(Projected Tuition – Total Costs)
-$204,399
Not shown in the budget is a $200,000 initial expense for laboratory equipment. The “net after total costs” indicates a deficit in year 5 of $204,399. However, this deficit decreases to $0 by year 7. It should also be noted that this loss in year 5 could be $0 if the enrollment were 220 by
year 5 or if 20 international students enrolled in the program. The BSEE program would also enable an MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) with little to no extra investment. A master’s degree in engineering is considered by many employers as the “working degree”
because of rapid advances in technology. The inclusion of the MS-ECE into the budget analysis will result in a $0 deficit by year five or earlier.
