ANALYSIS OF THE GAP BETWEEN CURRENT AND DESIRED STATES OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION (CASE STUDY: UNIVERSITIES IN KERMAN PROVINCE)

This paper aims to identify the gap between current and desired states of engineering education. First, the validity of the extracted criteria from global models of engineering education was studied by sending electronic questionnaire to faculty members of engineering schools in Iran. From the perspective of engineering faculty members, all of the criteria specified bear higher importance than the average boundary; therefore, they should be addressed in engineering education programs of Iran. Then, to determine compliance with set criteria, the viewpoints of educators and senior students of engineering schools in Kerman province were studied. Results showed that the educator's viewpoint, the current state of majority of criteria in engineering education is average and lower than average. While, based on the student's viewpoint the current state of all criteria of engineering education is below the average. Also, by comparing the current and desired conditions of engineering education it has been revealed that based on the views of both educators and students, there is a difference between the current state of engineering education and desired state. Therefore, the state of engineering education is less than desired. Finally, it was concluded that all dimensions and criteria of engineering education should be considered in a framework of organized and systematic to promote quality of engineering education system in Iran.