UC Engineering Creates a New Home for Underclassmen: The Engineering Alumni Learning Center

“UC has a long-standing tradition of excellence and a long-standing tradition of opportunity,” says College of Engineering Dean Carlo Montemagno. “Our mission is as true today as it was 100 years ago when Dean Herman Schneider created cooperative education right here in the College of Engineering. Today we embark on a new tradition—one that will provide a unique educational opportunity and nurturing experience for our students and transform the educational process here at UC.”

Designed with input from current UC engineering students and engineering alumni, the Engineering Alumni Learning Center will transform the 8th floor of Rhodes Hall.

“Along with the center itself, we will work to improve students’ experiences with engineering courses taken by freshmen and sophomores. Our hope is to better engage our students and create increased contact between faculty and students during this time,” Montemagno adds. “Here, students will have a cooperative learning environment with interactive working areas.”

Typically, students enrolled in the College of Engineering have very little contact with the college itself during their first two years. Engineering freshmen and sophomores take required courses mostly outside the college and, as a result, are not engaged in the day-to-day operations of the College of Engineering. Young engineering students are not able to develop a sense of belonging to their home college, an issue that is particularly troublesome for students who live off campus.

“It is not surprising that attrition is highest during the freshman and sophomore years,” says Montemagno. “We need to provide a place for our students where they can come and study and learn together with their peers, a place that is their college home.”

Dean Montemagno’s vision is to create a common first-year experience for all engineering students—one that helps students with the transition from high school to university coursework expectations.

“Our goal is to enhance the undergraduate experience by focusing on the first 18 months of college by establishing a new department—the Department of Engineering Education—and creating the Engineering Alumni Learning Center,” says Montemagno.

The learning center will offer state-of-the-art classrooms, open study areas and faculty offices. Students will enjoy immediate access to both the dedicated engineering education faculty in their offices, as well as instructors invited from other colleges to teach their classes in the center. The area will be able to accommodate 175 students and feature classrooms, open study areas, mobile tables and chairs that can be arranged in various configurations, wired classrooms, ample white boards and an inviting café area. A central administration kiosk will be staffed around the clock. Besides interaction between the students and between the students and faculty, Montemagno will encourage interaction between alumni and current students as well.

Recent UC materials engineering graduate Kristen Kesse applauds Montemagno’s formation of the engineering education department and the new Engineering Alumni Learning Center as good steps in recruiting and retaining engineering students. 

“It’s hard to feel like you’re an engineer in your first couple of years,” says Kesse. “The center will enable development of a cohesive unit of people to study with, socialize with, learn with.”

“We will be able to provide our newer students with an environment that will offer them the support and tools they need to help them through the rough spots,” says Montemagno, “a physical space where students can come together to discover the adventure that is an engineering career and be guided through the education process by faculty dedicated to their excellence.” 

Learn more about today’s UC College of Engineering.