Extension Communications
3614 Administrative Services Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3614
(515) 294-9915
7/30/99
For immediate release
Contacts:
Lynette Spicer, Extended and Continuing Education (515)
294-1327, lspicer@iastate.edu
Lois Hunt, Extended and Continuing Education (515) 294-4803,
x1hunt@exnet.iastate.edu
Turn-Around Is Fair Play for Rockwell Engineer/Professor
AMES, Iowa -- Bruce Smith, 45, an electrical engineer working at Rockwell International in Cedar Rapids, has taken advantage of the distance education opportunities of Iowa State University many times over the last two decades to advance his education and to earn advanced degrees.
After graduating in electrical engineering at ISU, Smith went to work for Rockwell. He took most coursework toward his master's degree on videotape, then returned to campus to finish. He received his master's in 1980. The company kept his job available to him. Back on the job full-time at Rockwell, he completed most of his Ph.D. course work through ISU's distance program. He received that degree in 1991. Now, Smith teaches engineering courses in the distance program at the Rockwell facility.
Last spring, Smith taught Avionics Systems Engineering to about 25 people enrolled in the Master of Engineering in Systems Engineering program, a distance degree program offered by Iowa State. Most, but not all, students are Rockwell employees. He also developed and taught a systems safety engineering course.
"While most of the distance education classes are brought in on videotape from ISU; some courses, like mine, are taught face-to-face," Smith said.
"Students who want to get degrees through the distance engineering programs are only limited by the amount of energy they put into it," Smith said. He estimated Rockwell has in excess of 150 students taking graduate courses. The distance program at Rockwell, he noted, is extremely successful, due in part to the availability of solid courses from Iowa State. Iowa State figures show about 300 students have participated in the Rockwell offerings in the last five years, and more than 30 have earned master's degrees.
The Master of Engineering in Systems Engineering program brings together various disciplines, according to Smith. "It's a structured approach. You look at a problem, analyze it for its requirements, then set about designing solutions. Ferreting out the requirements is the key element. This program automatically broadens any engineer that has a specific degree."
Smith said the company also has many who are taking course work towards a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. That undergraduate distance program was begun in 1996, and ISU expects to include some of its current students in the 2000 graduating classes, according to Ed Jones, professor of electrical engineering at ISU. Jones has coordinated the distance engineering programs at ISU since 1986.
Courses leading to a B.S. in Electrical Engineering as well as the Master of Engineering in Systems Engineering, and masters of science in computer engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering are available in a variety of formats -- videotape, Iowa Communications Network (ICN), face-to-face at off-campus locations and the Internet. They are offered through the ISU Extended and Continuing Education extension unit and the College of Engineering distance education office.
Jones said videotape courses for the master's degree programs are sent to such additional sites as Waterloo and Dubuque in Iowa, as well as to students in Illinois, Texas, Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Often companies work with ISU to make classes available to employees, but individuals also can receive classes.
Inquiries into all off-campus programs can be made to Jones at (515) 294-7470 or toll-free at (800) 854-1675 or by e-mail to n2ecj@iastate.edu. Information about all ISU Extended and Continuing Education off-campus courses is available by calling (800) 262-0015 or at its World Wide Web site: http://www.lifelearner.iastate.edu.
Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability.