Projects for the differently-abled-laboratory innovation and assessment for undergraduate students

This paper describes specific example projects from the computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) class (which is part of the Manufacturing Engineering Technology curriculum) at Western Washington University (USA) during the last three years. These projects have involved students from all six academic programs within the department and all have resulted in projects that have been useful to differently-abled individuals in the local community. In addition to describing the projects, the paper describes the assessment methods used to evaluate the students and the course. In addition, the objectives that were used as goals for the team based project are described. Faculty time issues are also assessed. The paper concludes with a methodology for creating reasonable opportunities for creative projects within the curriculum as part of specific courses.