Transforming Undergraduate Education
in Engineering/Computer Science (TUEE)
Breakthrough Announcement 8-20-2025
Texas State University College of Science and Engineering (TXST) in San Marcos, Texas has begun the Start-up Phase for its decision whether to be the lead university for
the proposed TUEE Collaboratory national initiative to transform undergraduate education in engineering (TUEE). TXST is in the process of inviting major technical companies in the Austin/San Antonio area to be Strategic Corporate Partners (SCPs) in this two-year pilot project. TXST Alumni working for the companies would establish informal alumni chapters with each SCP during fall 2025. Alumni would complement faculty as coaches, mentors and providers of domain expertise to undergraduate students (first year through fourth year) that participate in the pilot project. This process enables many more students throughout the undergraduate experience to participate in
student centered active learning while faculty can focus on teaching theory and conducting research. By mid November 2025, TXST and its SCPs will decide whether to proceed with conducting a small demonstration model throughout the upcoming 2025-2026 academic year in preparation for conducting the full comprehensive pilot in 2026-2027. It is anticipated that two or three additional large universities in the southwest and western states will join TXST as lead universities in this project. Details and announcements will be made periodically on this temporary website.
The Proposed TUEE Collaboratory Model:
The TUEE Collaboratory initiative is designed to close the decades old “skills gap”, in that it has traditionally taken about 2-years for industry to develop new graduates into practicing engineers. In addition, the model provides a fundamental breakthrough for another decades-old capacity problem that has prevented large universities from implementing Student-centered team-based problem solving and project learning throughout the undergraduate experience. The primary problem has been far too few faculty versus the number of faculty needed to provide the necessary coaching, mentoring and domain expertise for all undergraduate students. Especially important is to establish a “design spine” that would include design projects, at all four levels including best practice industry sponsored 3rd-year and Senior Design Capstone projects.
The TUEE Collaboratory (link to description) is a systemic student-centered experiential engineering education model. The model includes (1) a four-year design spine of curricular design projects, (2) multiple types of internships, (3) a unique Transfers Scholars Program (TSP) with an emphasis on student success and retention of high-potential, low-income students, and (4) a wide variety of student-centered co-curricular professional and career development programs, activities & events that engage practicing professionals with students as coaches and mentors to complement the limited number of faculty, especially at large universities. The model also establishes new standards for higher education/industry collaboration, applied across the entire undergraduate spectrum.
Harvey Mudd College and Olin College of Engineering have been doing very well at student-centered, active project learning throughout the undergraduate experience for decades but they have a combined enrollment of only 1,400 students, a tiny percentage of the number of engineering graduates each year.
Each University currently being invited to be a lead university, as noted below, would engage its own alumni as the source of practicing professionals to provide the additional human resources needed to complement the limited number of faculty currently available at all large universities nationally to develop, then implement the proposed comprehensive TUEE Collaboratory model pilot through June 2027. “The University” would immediately invite major local companies to become Strategic Corporate Partners (SCPs). The founding SCPs would host the newly established The University “alumni gatherings” by fall 2025. Student chapter members of ACM, ASME, BMES, and IEEE would also reach out to include alumni members of local professional chapters of their National Professional Societies. The student chapter members of AISES, NSBE, SHPE, and SWE would also reach out to alumni of local professional chapters of their National Diversity Organizations.
Throughout the 2025-2026 academic year development phase, then implementation phase of the 2026-2027 comprehensive two-year pilot project, planned courses, programs and activities would be conducted as currently planned. Except for a few faculty involved in oversight of the diverse, high-potential, 100-150 student cohort carrying out all aspects of the comprehensive pilot, the vast majority of faculty members would not be affected and would carry out their normal activities through June 2027.
Release of Phase I (industry input) in 2013 of the five-year multi-phase NSF-funded ASEE TUEE initiative stimulated an emerging national movement to transform undergraduate education in engineering. However, a viable transformation model that could be implemented throughout the undergraduate experience, especially at large universities, has failed to materialize.
The long-awaited option for a viable comprehensive model to begin Transforming Undergraduate Education in Engineering (TUEE) is now here, including at large universities. It is anticipated that up to three large universities will be selected by October 2025, to begin preparing for implementation of up to three small regional demonstration model pilots throughout the 2025-2026 academic year. Regional pilots are in the process of being planned in the Gulf Southwest (LA, NM, TX), Pacific Southwest (AZ, CA, NV), and Rocky Mountain (CO, UT, WY) regions. The model is designed to enable regional Collaboratories to be established across the nation within a few years. It seems unlikely for another comprehensive transformation model to be forthcoming in the foreseeable future, especially, at major large universities.
Creating and establishing the TUEE Collaboratory is an independent effort being conducted by Corporate & University Relations Group. The TUEE Collaboratory was established in November 2024 as a non-profit corporation, that has applied for 501(c)(3) status. Corporate & University Relations Group (CURG) and its senior associates are solely dedicated to providing breakthrough systemic experiential learning solutions for the stalled national effort to Transform Undergraduate Education in Engineering/Computer Science (TUEE).
Please direct any inquiries and comments to Paul Jones. Currently, I am especially interested in responses from 1) Deans (and direct reports) of Engineering/Computer Science from Universities in the Gulf Southwest, Pacific Southwest, and Rocky Mountain states, 2) CTOs and Vice Presidents (and direct reports) of major companies with headquarters and/or major operations in those same states.
Paul M. Jones
President
Corporate & University Relations Group
Email: paul@curg.net
Website: www.curg.net
Founder & Executive Director
TUEE Collaboratory
Transforming undergraduate education
in engineering/computer science (TUEE)
Website: www.tueecollaboratory.org (under development)
“It’s kinda fun to do the impossible” – Walt Disney
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