Curricular Thread Definitions and Learning Objectives for College of Engineering

Cal Poly’s College of Engineering recognizes that issues related to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion factor into the roles and responsibilities of engineers now and in the future. In particular, we encourage all students to be civically engaged. Students in courses that address topics of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) should be able to:  

• Recognize the contributions to knowledge and civilization that have been made by members of diverse cultural and gender groups and other historically marginalized people in the United States and across the world (including identities such as racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, sexual orientation, disability and others)
• Define and describe the various issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in relationship to course content
• Critically examine their own personal beliefs, attitudes and biases about historically marginalized people and cultures in the United States and across the world
• Critically analyze the social and political context of scientific and engineering technologies (and apply ethical analysis and creative problem-solving techniques to design solutions for diverse user groups)
• Recognize and discuss who is benefiting from a specific engineering project, including addressing how the input/voices of the impacted community are being incorporated into the project

The term climate change refers to long-term shifts in weather patterns, temperature, precipitation, sea levels, and other climatic variables. Cal Poly’s College of Engineering recognizes that climate change will influence the present and future roles and responsibilities of engineers. Students who complete these courses should be able to:  

• Articulate the role of climate change within engineering disciplines and assess its implications for professional practice
• Explain how climate change may impact natural, economic, and social systems across local, national, and global scales
• Evaluate climate change impacts and multidisciplinary approaches to design, mitigation, adaptation, and resilience considering sustainability, effectiveness, feasibility, and socio-economic implications
• Evaluate scientific evidence, perspectives, and arguments from various stakeholders, including public and political perceptions
• Distinguish the difference between the impacts of climate change and the impacts of improper maintenance on aging infrastructure

Cal Poly’s College of Engineering defines systems thinking as the ability to think from multiple perspectives and through multiple scales. To consider systems thinking when making reasoned decisions, all graduating students from these courses should be able to:

• Define and apply systems principles within their academic disciplines
• Explain how natural, economic, and social systems interconnect
• Analyze and explain local, national, and global systems perspectives using a multidisciplinary approach
• Consider systems principles while developing personal and professional values
• Evaluate and explain the effect of subsystem interactions on overall system behavior
• Identify organizational structures that can address engineering problems from a systems perspective

Cal Poly’s College of Engineering defines data literacy as the ability to explore, understand, and communicate with data in a way that produces actionable insights. In order to consider data literacy when making reasoned decisions, all graduating students from these courses should be able to:

• Collect (both from curated collections and real-world noisy data), process, and analyze data to obtain and present insights within the context of their academic discipline
• Explain how data literacy skills can be used to produce actionable insights into technical, natural, economic, and social systems
• Articulate limitations of insights from data due to errors/gaps in analysis and/or uncaptured/missing or noisy data, etc.
• Analyze and explain actionable insights produced by data analysis in a multidisciplinary setting

Cal Poly’s College of Engineering defines computational thinking as a problem-solving process that requires analysis of the task at hand to build abstractions of the problem, to decompose the problem into subproblems, and to identify and represent the data needed such that an algorithmic solution can be expressed. To apply computational thinking in their disciplines, all graduating students from these courses should be able to:

• Identify and represent the data required to solve and the data to be produced by algorithmic solutions
• Build abstractions of concrete problems to allow for the application of generalized solutions
• Decompose large problems such that solutions to the subproblems can be composed as a solution to the original problem
• Incorporate existing algorithmic patterns in solutions to domain-specific problems
• Explain the societal implications of the collection and use of data in algorithmic solutions and the challenges that may stem from abstractions of real systems

Cal Poly’s College of Engineering defines ethics as the standards and moral conduct that govern the profession and its members, leading to the use of knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare. We consider ethics with respect to individuals and their interactions, as well as the collective profession and decisions about its social responsibilities. To consider ethics when making reasoned decisions, all graduating students from these courses should be able to:

• Define and apply ethics principles within their academic programs such that engineering knowledge and skills are used for the enhancement of human welfare
• Identify common ethical dilemmas that occur in their fields such as conflicts of interest, safety concerns, environmental risks, and global/societal impact
• Analyze and explain an engineering projects relationship to safety, health, and welfare of the public 
• Communicate ethical decision-making and rationale to a variety of audiences/stakeholders.
• Identify the ethical implications/issues of existing and emerging technologies within their field

Cal Poly’s College of Engineering defines Professional Readiness as a set of skills including communication, equity and inclusion, leadership, teamwork, and resiliency that contribute to career success. Students who complete these courses should be able to:

• Clearly and effectively exchange information within their academic disciplines and beyond, including conflict management (communication) 
• Build and maintain collaborative working relationships with diverse team members with a focus on building trust (teamwork)
• Demonstrate the awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills required to equitably engage and include people from different local and global cultures (equity and inclusion)
• Leverage personal and team strengths to achieve organizational goals including a continuous reassessment of priorities with a long-term view prioritizing the important vs simply what is urgent (leadership)
• Demonstrate a growth mindset, including resiliency and curiosity

Cal Poly defines sustainability as the ability of the natural and social systems to survive and thrive together to meet current and future needs. In order to consider sustainability when making reasoned decisions, all graduating students should be able to:

• Define and apply sustainability principles within their academic programs
• Explain how natural, economic, and social systems interact to foster or prevent sustainability
• Analyze and explain local, national, and global sustainability using a multidisciplinary approach
• Consider sustainability principles while developing personal and professional values