On-line laboratories for undergraduate distance engineering students

Undergraduate students enrolled in the accredited distance engineering degree program at the University of North Dakota (UND) are required to spend up to three weeks each summer on the UND campus taking condensed engineering laboratories. This imposes a significant financial and social burden on the students, who are typically married with families and full-time jobs. To reduce this time on campus, a three-year project funded by the Department of Educations´ FIPSE program was initiated in 2002 to design several 50% on-line laboratory courses. The on-line assignments that have been developed include simulations (packaged and developed programs), and real time operation of equipment located in UND and North Dakota State University (NDSU) engineering laboratories. Simulations include process analysis, electrical circuit analysis, materials selection, and programmable logic control. Real time assignments detailed in the paper include process dynamics and control, electrical circuit analysis, steam turbine electricity generation, vibration analysis and programmable logic control.