The New Engineering Education Transformation Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology: The Evolving Design and Implementation of a Programmatic Evaluation Study

Abstract

The New Engineering Education Transformation (NEET) program was launched in 2017 as a cross-departmental endeavor to reimagine undergraduate engineering education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). NEET prepares students to tackle authentic 21st-century challenges by learning about new machines and systems, engaging in making and discovering activities, employing hands-on pedagogy, and cultivating the NEET Ways of Thinking. Students join the program for three years, from sophomore to senior year, in one of four threads: Autonomous Machines, Climate and Sustainability Systems, Digital Cities, or Living Machines. Once they complete the program, students receive a certificate of program completion. During Fall 2019, at the start of its third operational year, NEET leadership decided to initiate a comprehensive evaluation of the program. The authors conducted semesterial evaluations of the program from Spring 2020 till the present. Data for these evaluations were collected from program leadership, faculty, instructors, staff, and students, as well from institutional sources. We describe the evolving cycles of programmatic evaluation, including the design and implementation of these efforts, the suggestions made to program leadership, and the implementation and subsequent evaluation of those suggestions. We outline the challenges and opportunities which came up during evaluation. Finally, we provide recommendations for evaluators of similar programs.