Structuring the Content of the First Course in Transportation Engineering: Perspectives of Engineers and Educators

Abstract

The views of practicing transportation engineers and those of instructors teaching the first/introductory course in transportation engineering can serve as vital inputs in development, or redevelopment, of this course. The priorities of practitioners and educators regarding possible course topics are discussed in this paper. The ranked topic priorities of practitioners and educators compared with one another and the current practitioner priorities are also compared with an older survey. A high degree of correlation was found in both cases. Although general trends are fairly consistent, some observations about specific topics can be made; for example, the importance of including topics addressing alternatives to private vehicle travel is notably higher in the most recent practitioner survey than in the older survey. Although the information derived from these surveys merits consideration in structuring the first course in transportation engineering, many other factors should also be considered. The role of the course in the greater civil engineering curriculum, the setting of the institution, the needs of its stakeholders, and preparation for the Fundamentals of Engineering examination are all factors that should be considered as well.