THE
FACULTY
SENATE
Senate
Document Number 7207S
Date
of Senate Approval 05/03/07
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Statement
of Faculty Senate Action:
APC Document 62: Changes
to Degree Requirements in Mechatronics
Effective Date:
Fall 2007
1. Delete: On page
118, major requirements for Mechatronics
I. Required
courses in the major—64 hours: E 101; ECE 200, 206, 211, 212, 220, 301, 406,
455, 460, 480; EGM 180, 360; MAE 206, 208, 301, 310, 314, 315, 316, 435; MSE
201.
II. Required courses
outside the major—37 hours: CHEM 111, 132; CSCI 201, 202; ECON
102; MATH 191, 192, 291; PHYS 221, 222;
STAT 225.
III.
Other departmental requirements—Senior demonstration of competency in
the major, oral
competency, and computer competency are
all satisfied by the successful completion of the
Senior Design Project (ECE 480).
Add: On page 118,
in place of deleted entry:
Major in Mechatronics
I. Required
courses in the major—68 hours: E 101; ECE 109, 200, 209, 211, 212, 220, 301, 406,
455, 460; EGM 180, 360 482; MAE 206, 208, 301, 310, 314, 315, 316, 435; MSE
201.
II. Required courses outside the major—31 hours: CHEM 111, 132; ECON 102; MATH 191,
192, 291; PHYS 221, 222; STAT 225.
III. Other
departmental requirements—Senior demonstration of competency in the major, oral competency, and computer competency
are all satisfied by the successful completion
of the Senior Design Project, EGM 482.
Impact:
The
number of credit hours required for a major in Mechatronics
will change. Raising the number of
credit hours for ECE 200 increases the hour count in the major by 1. Replacing CSCI 201, 202 and ECE 206 with ECE
109 and ECE 209 results in a 3 credit hour increase in courses in the major,
and a 6 credit hour reduction in courses outside of the major. The net reduction of 2 credit hours lowers
the total credit hours required to complete a B.S. in
Engineering with a Concentration in Mechatronics from
128 to 126 credit hours.
The impact on resources and staffing in Computer
Science and Engineering will be minimal.
The change in credit hours for ECE 200 will have no impact. The increase
is required to maintain consistency with the course description in the Electrical
Engineering department at NCSU. CSCI 201 and CSCI 202 are taught by the
Computer Science department, whereas ECE 206 is taught at NCSU and presented
via distance education technology. In
the future, UNCA Computer Science faculty will teach ECE 109 and ECE 209. The
net teaching load for UNCA faculty will, therefore, not change.
Rationale:
CSCI
201 and 202 are standard introductory computer programming courses taught using
the Java programming language. ECE 206 is a machine architecture course taught
using the C programming language.
Because C is more of a low-level programming language than Java, it is
more appropriate for the embedded computer applications found in Mechatronics Engineering.
By introducing just one programming language and focusing on low-level
programming applications, it is possible to present the relevant material in a
two-course sequence as opposed to a three-course sequence. These changes are consistent with changes
made in the Electrical Engineering program at NCSU and they reflect current
trends in engineering curriculum for embedded computer applications.
ECE 480 addresses the design of electrical circuits
and systems. ECE 480, as it is taught at UNCA, includes mechanical design. To better represent the content of the JEM
senior design course, EGM 482 is being created.
All of these changes are requested by NCSU
Engineering which is responsible for the Engineering curriculum in the JEM
program.