Welding engineering program takes hit
Utah State University’s dean of Engineering announced the phasing out of some of his college’s smaller technology programs amidst a firestorm of criticism Tuesday night.
About 100 students gathered in the Engineering Classroom Building to hear Scott Hinton, dean of the College of Engineering, talk about cuts to the welding engineering, computer electronics, computer-aided drafting and aviation maintenance programs.
Hinton said cutting small unaccredited programs that are already underfunded will save $600,000 in faculty and staff salaries. The money will be used to “change the direction” of the College of Engineering and open up more space and equipment for engineering students.
The decision is final and will not be changed, Hinton said, while many students challenged the justification for the elimination of the programs and said they will try to reverse the decision.
Hinton took questions from several students who disagreed with the program cuts at the meeting.
Doug Watkins, president of the USU chapter of the American Welding Society, he doesn’t feel that industrial leaders were consulted before the decision to cut the welding engineering program was made.
“Right now we have a worldwide reputation for being an excellent resource for industry in weld engineering. I think that’s something that Utah State should harvest,” Watkins said.
Hinton said, “Most engineering programs focus on being able to analyze and then design, whereas technology programs focus more on building something that has been designed and maybe a little bit on the design process.”
Watkins said he disagrees with Hinton’s statement that welding engineering is an applied technology program, not part of engineering.
“To say that welding engineering technology is not an engineering degree, I think, is shortsighted. It’s a support to the mechanical, civil and electrical [engineering],” he said.
Loren Austin, a sophomore in welding engineering, said, “[Hinton] doesn’t respect us at all. Why does he have such a hard time accepting us as engineers?
Tom Robins, a history major who said he helped organize protests to House Bill 331 last year, said “The higher ups make decisions without student input, but the student body is a sleeping giant. When they unite behind something, their voice is powerful and can change a fixed decision.”
Robins said although he is not a technology student, “If they cut a significant program, my degree is worth less.”
Watkins said some have a misconception that people with a welding engineering degree are just welders.
“Weld engineers fit into a really specific niche” between a design engineer and a welder, he said. “We apply the education we’re receiving here in engineering; then we’re able to use that to work between them. That’s where weld engineering technology fits in.”
Watkins said he could not get the same type of degree at applied technology school.
USU’s welding engineering program is one of only four in the nation and the only one in the West, he said.
Hinton said, “The reason that we’re doing this is not that we’re going to save a lot of money in July when the budget cuts occur; but we have to redirect the direction of the college to allow us to survive three or four years from now. That is the main motivation behind what we’re doing.
“The department is getting cut back so far, we’re at the point where we’re almost dysfunctional,” he said. “Somehow we have to find a way in these difficult times not only to make our program stronger” but to have more graduates by reallocating resources within the college.
“We’re not going to get more money from the Legislature to replace these budget cuts a year from now. That just won’t happen,” Hinton said.
The technology programs should be operated by applied technology schools like Weber State University and Utah Valley State College, he said. USU’s focus should be on becoming a research university, not an applied technology school. Hinton said he has already been in contact with Weber State about the possibility of creating a welding engineering program there.
Using the money saved on technology programs, the College of Engineering will put USU “on par with any of the top engineering programs” in the country, Hinton said. The college will put an increased focus on freshman programs and yearly design experiences.
The programs will be phased out over the next three or four years to allow existing students to finish their degrees. Next year freshman classes will not be offered. The year after, sophomore classes will be discontinued, and so on, until everyone has graduated.
“No student is going to be stranded,” Hinton said.
Watkins said although he will be able to graduate and find a good job, he thinks his degree will be devalued and industry will be hurt. “I’m concerned about the guys that aren’t here yet. To not have graduates in the future is very detrimental to industry, and I think it will be detrimental to Utah State.”
In the long run, Watkins said, he thinks it will cost the university more than it is saving to eliminate the programs.
“I think there needs to be more education about weld engineering technology. I think there needs to be more discussion before deciding to cut a program when you walk into a place and decide to take it out of where it’s been for 30-plus years,” he said.
Maurice Thomas, department head of the industrial technology and education department, said the change is a reinvention of the College of Engineering.
“Deans are hired to give leadership in their college,” he said.
Hinton has looked at the college and decided to make changes in its focus, Thomas said.
“When this kind of thing happens, the first thing people think is that the program is weak. These aren’t weak programs. The faculty is excellent, and these are good students,” he said.
Hinton said, “One thing that’s important for the students to understand that are in those programs is that the programs are not being closed because the programs haven’t been successful.” They are being discontinued, because “the university is taking a new direction and we have to reallocate resources based on the direction that President Hall is trying to take the university. We can’t have duplicated programs all across the state when we’re in these tough financial times.”
The governor’s initiative on funding and improving engineering programs in the state is a major factor in the decision to make the program cuts, he said.
Watkins said, “The American Welding Society is very concerned” about the program elimination.
Some local businesses, like Thiokol, that hire graduates are upset at the cuts, he said.
“They were astonished, and some were angry. It’s a resource they rely on,” Watkins said.
Students are meeting with lawmakers to try to change the decision, he said.
“We’ve met with Sen. [Lyle] Hillyard; we’re meeting with Rep. [Loraine] Pace; we’ve talked with Rep. [Brent] Parker,” Watkins said.
Hinton said students should focus on what they will do to finish their degrees and not on how to change the decision.
“It’s just something that has to be done,” he said.
–royburton@cc.usu.edu
Matthew Dushku, a mechanical engineering major, offers his concerns to Dean Scott Hinton of the College of Engineering on Tuesday.