Beyond the BS, Teaching Innovation, Terrance Boult, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

This paper summarizes a novel approach to multi-disciplinary engineering education that moves beyond the BS in engineering and business fields. It introduces the Bachelor of Innovation™ (BI) family of programs and some of the challenges faced as we successfully defined and sought approval for this non-traditional program. The BI is a common structure, much like BS or BA, in which particular majors are defined. The BI degrees have been designed, where appropriate, to be consistent with ABET and AACSB accreditation guidelines. Each member of the family is composed of an emphasis/major, an innovation core, a cross-discipline core, and the general education requirements. The paper summarizes the unique aspects of the program and the rational behind them, from the 3-year multi-disciplinary team experience, to the globalization and cross-disciplinary options, to the trademarked name. We discuss how the NCIIA funding help in development and approval. The paper concludes with our lessons learned.

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