Challenges in curriculum adaptation across institutions of higher education: international and national student transfer

The challenges associated with student transfer between institutions of higher education are investigated. The Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) requires that undergraduate courses from non-ABET accredited institutions are recognized across public universities and colleges in Utah Based on empirical data, we show that as a result, curriculum development now has to take place across institutions. As a first step, to maintain academic standards in this changing environment, before granted major status in Electrical Engineering, we propose an admissions test for all students. In addition, undergraduate student performance could be continuously monitored, similar to the monitoring process of international graduate students. Typically, the change in academic environment for students also includes the transition from a more personal to a more anonymous setting. Thus, we propose the creation of a "transfer student academic advisory' position-similar to an international advisor - in all colleges across Utah. Our research is a first step towards the goal of achieving unified engineering programs across institutions.