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The ultimate goal of education is to improve each student's quality of life. Education is also more than training or a course that prepares one for a job; it is a total experience which prepares one for life and continues for a lifetime. The synergistic benefits from educating the mind, body, and soul are important. Moreover, the greatest benefit for many students will not be the actual science or engineering they learn; it will be the critical thinking skills they develop and use for a lifetime, regardless of their profession.
We strongly believe in the team approach to learning. We as educators serve as coaches to facilitate student learning, but a winning team depends on both coaches and players. We hire the highest quality professors to create a winning team. Students must do their part by studying hard and helping professors maintain a high-quality learning environment in every classroom and lab.
People do best what they enjoy, so we try to make learning fun and exciting. Students also refine their values based on what they see and respect, particularly in terms of the faculty and staff they look up to as role models. We interact with students in and out of class to build that mutual respect. We judge our ultimate success as educators in terms of the success achieved by every individual we have in the Department.
A key challenge is coping with the wide range of student needs and constant change. The institution must be dynamic and flexible in developing programs which respond to constituents: students, parents, and community sponsors. You have to listen to the constituents--students, parents, and corporate sponsors. Courses and programs must be tailored, and a business approach must be employed to develop, deliver, and monitor the effectiveness of courses and programs.
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