Seniors maintain 100 percent pass rate on national engineering exam, second year in a row
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Seniors at Lipscomb University’s Raymond B. Jones School of Engineering have scored a 100 percent pass rate on the national Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (FE exam). This marks the second year in a row for Lipscomb students to score the 100 percent pass rate, having only taken the exam three years. The exam is used throughout the nation as a mandatory step for people wanting to acquire an engineering license.
This is only the third year Lipscomb students have been eligible to take the FE exam due to the fact that only universities with ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accreditation are allowed to participate. Lipscomb’s program received the accreditation for its computer engineering and engineering mechanics programs in 2004. ABET is the only organization recognized by the U.S. Government that can evaluate and accredit engineering programs.
“This success speaks to the quality of our program,” said Fort Gwinn, associate professor and chair in the department of engineering mechanics at Lipscomb University. “We use the FE exam to measure how well we are teaching the material, and we are very pleased that the numbers show we are doing well. The results also show us that our students are succeeding in the areas the profession thinks are important.
“A large portion of this success is due to the personal relationships we develop with our students. With a low student-to-teacher ratio, we can work one-on-one with students, helping them with trouble areas. Also, we have been blessed to recruit and retain extremely competent students. And the two of those together make for an unbeatable combination.”
Matt Sheppard, a graduate of Lipscomb, is now working at the Nevada Automotive Test Center as a test engineer. He believes that the Lipscomb engineering program prepared him well for every aspect of his future.
“Lipscomb not only provided me with an outstanding engineering program, but also with an outstanding education in life,” said Sheppard. “My education prepared me, not only to become an engineer, but to become a Christian engineer. Lipscomb was the best fit for me and I cannot think of a better place to have gained my degree.”
Lipscomb’s engineering faculty has also spent time with students in a review course offered to help them prepare for the FE exam. Last year, the course was open to non-students as a way to provide a formalized review for people in the community who are looking to become licensed.
The success of recent graduates from the engineering program serves as a strong foundation for future efforts.
“We are very proud of all of our students and the success they have achieved,” said Gwinn. “We now plan to concentrate on the programs we already have in place and to make sure that we continue improving them. We have two fields accredited and we need to spend some time making them the best they can be before trying to add more programs. Our goal is to have over 10 percent of the students at Lipscomb in the engineering program. Once we achieve that goal, we will look at adding other programs. For now, we want to spend time perfecting the ones we already have.”
“Our students have set a standard of success that we plan to maintain and grow on,” said Fred Gilliam, associate dean of the Raymond B. Jones School of Engineering. “Prospective students can look at the success of our graduates and know that at Lipscomb, they are going to get a very strong engineering education. We are very proud of all of our students.”
Students from Lipscomb who took and passed the FE Exam this fall include Adam Barney, Christie Clayton, Stephen Collings, Kara Climer, Ben Ness, Elizabeth Watts, Heather Cochran, Jason Frankum, Kris Hatchell, Brent Taylor and Matt Tanner.
For more information about Lipscomb’s engineering program, visit http://engineering.lipscomb.edu or contact Gilliam at 615.279.5887, 1.800.333.4358 ext. 5887 or fred.gilliam [at] lipscomb.edu.