CHEMICAL ENGINEERING ON THE COOPERATIVE PLAN AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
Education for the field of chemical engineering i s enhanced by a co6perative plan in which the theory and practice of the profession are effectively coordinated. Such a program in chemical engineering has been i n effect continuously at Northeastern University since 1909. I n the course of this twentytwo-year period the School of Engineering has eerolved a highly deereloped guidance plan for integrating its scholastic work with the engineering practzce proded the students i n the plants of approximately 250 companies in New En&nd and vicinity. When at work students are paid on the same basis as other empLoyees which enables them to contribute i n large measure to their own college expenses. Although this financial adnantape i s jar from negligible, yet the paramount nalue of the plan i s its ca@city for training prospectiwe chemical engineers in job wisdom and social understanding.
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The chemical engineer has been described as "a professional man experienced in the design, construction, and operation of plants in which materials undergo chemical and physical change." It is the function of the chemical engineer to make commercially useful the results of chemical research. He develops step by step processes for large-scale production; he selects necessary operating equipment, or designs new equipment if this is required; he supervises the erection of new plants and solves coustruction problems peculiar to the chemical 4dustry. After the completion of the plant the chemical engineer must be continually on the alert to improve methods of production, to better the quality of his products, and to reduce operating costs to a minimum. In periods of economic depression the responsibilities of the chemical engineer become increasingly arduous and important in view of the keen competition that exists between competing plants. In the light of these considerations, i t is obvious that preparation for the chemical engineering profession should include considerable experience under operating conditions as well as a study of the theoretical principles involved. The curriculum in chemical engineering a t Northeastern University is designed to fulfil both of these requirements for it is planned on a cooperative basis which enables each student to lay a sound foundation in both the theory and the practice of his profession. In common with other engineering curricula a t Northeastern, the cnrricnlum in chemical engineering is five years in length, comprising one year of full-time study and orientation and four years of cooperative training. The present technic of coordinating classroom instruction and actual engineering practice has evolved in the course of the past twenty ycars during which the university has been committed to the cooperative plan. The 894
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School of Engineering was apparently the first to introduce this type of education to New England, three years after Dean Herman Schneider had instituted the pioneer cc4perative school in the United States a t the University of Cincinnati. From a small beginning in 1909 Northeastern has grown to be one of the largest cooperative institutions in the country, enrolling over 1600 students and cooperating with over 250 industries in New England and adjacent territory. The chemical engineering curriculum was one of the first to be established at Northeastern. It does not differ in any essential way from that of other engineering schools except that in addition to his scholastic training each student spends 98 weeks a t supervised cooperative work as part of his program for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. The scholastic work includes the usual instruction in the fundamental sciences of chemistry, physics, and mathematics, in the elements of mechanical and electrical engineering, and in the basic chemical engineering unit operations such as heating, evaporating, filtering, distilling, crushing, drying, etc. How this instruction is integrated with the engineering practice assignments perhaps can best he explained by describing briefly the guidance program in effect a t Northeastern. At the time of his matriculation each freshman is assigned to a personal adviser, a member of the faculty, who serves as an interested and friendly counselor during the perplexing period of transition from school to college. A personal record card is prepared for each student, containing certain pertinent data from his preparatory school recorg, the report of his physical examination a t Northeastern, his score on various psychological tests, the results of placement examinations, and any special notes which may be of significance in advisory work. The aim of the freshman advisory system is primarily to assist students in making an effective start upon their programs and secondarily to acquire for the later use of guidance officersa fund of significant information relative to every freshman. Advisory work is under the direction of a Dean of Students, assisted by a full-time clinical psychologist who handles the diagnosis and remedial treatment of problem cases. In the course of the freshman year, the student is interviewed periodically by his coordinator, a member of the chemical engineering department who is responsible for establishing and maintaining cooperative relationships with appropriate industrial organizations. The advantages and disadvantages of different jobs are considered frankly; the requirements of one type of work are contrasted with those of another; and the student's questions are answered as far as possible by the coordinator. Sometimes these questions cannot be answered with exactness; but in every case the best available information is given so that the student may a t least analyze his own problem in the light of the facts which are known to affect it. The
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purpose of these interviews is to determine the type of chemical engineering activity toward which the student should aim. At the beginning of the sophomore year the student commences his cooperative training. He is paired with another student of approximately similar abilities and interests who becomes his alternate. Together these men agree to cover the industrial assignment throughout the period of one year, alternating between the school and the job a t five-week intervals, one student always being a t work when his alternate is a t school or on vacation. Students are placed on the basis of individual aptitudes and general fitness for the job involved, always with the purpose of providing the boys with vocational experience that will be of definite value to them. These coi5perative assignments are in every case actual jobs. The nature of the work includes the routine operation of machines, supervisory duties, laboratory activities, and research work. The students hold these jobs on the same basis as other employees and with no special privileges other than the privilege of alternating on the five-week plan. The training of every cooperative student is carefully planned so that i t will be of maximum educational advantage to the boy. In many instances, sequentially arranged training courses have been established so that students cooperate over a period of three or four years with the same company. In smaller organizations, which cannot offersuch varied training programs, students are placed for shorter periods. In this way they obtain occupational tryouts that coordinate well with their academic progrpms and fit them either for promotion to positions of responsibility with the same organization or for different work with other companies. Typical of the many different jobs upon which the boys are engaged are these: 1. Sampling, physical testing, and chemical analysis for process control and process improvement. 2. Factory work in several departments with a final year in the laboratory or on control and development work. 3. Scheduling materials and equipment. 4. Testing of new designs of equipment. 5 . Appliance testing for e5ciency and check on underwriters' specifications. 6. Smoke inspection and elimination. 7. Boiler water treatment and control. 8. Fire insurance inspection. In general, second- and third-year students are placed upon the routine and manual labor assignments while fourth- and fifth-year men are assigned to the more advanced jobs which call for greater technical skill and training.
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The range of industries with which cooperation is in effect includes a great variety of chemical engineering fields. Approximately 45 per cent. of all the jobs held by cooperative students are in the production departments of manufacturing plants. The chemical engineering department feels that plant practice is of fundamental importance in the training of chemical engineers and consequently places much emphasis upon this phase of cooperative work. I t is planned that every student shall have a t least one year of this type of experience. Other fields of cooperative work are metallurgical engineering, public utilities, chemical research, engineering service, and sales engineering. Figure 1 shows the distribution of chemical engineering cooperative students among these several fields of work. Chemicd Research and Control
Metaliurocal Englneerl
Engineering Service
__
Production and Development
Leather Dressings Rubber Cements Woolen G w d a Rubber Shoes Watches Paper Rayon Silk
Paint Food Pmdvcts Sales Engineering
Public Utilities
Electric Cable Inaulat& Wire
By-pmduot Coke Steam Heating Equipment Specialized Rubber Products
Each employer is regularly visited so that he may report upon the student's progress and so that necessary adjustments, transfers, or promotions may be made. I t is intended that the cooperative training shall be as thorough and complete as the academic work. Thus the plant experience ranges from the handlmg of the raw materials to the shipment of the finished product and provides an opportunity to acquire a knowledge of executive duties as well as a facility in the use of equipment. At the end of every five-week period employers return report cards to the Department of Cooperative Work indicating the progress of each student in their employ. In addition the students prepare cooperative work reports dealing with various phases of their industrial experience. During the following school period the coordinator discusses with his students their reports and the employers' ratings, the aim being always t o
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stimulate in the students a thoughtful and investigative attitude toward their working environment. Problems which arise a t work are talked over with a view to developing the student's sense of values and his personality as well as to advancing his immediate status on the job. Attitudes and modes of conduct which are most conducive to vocational success are discussed. To further promote an understanding of their responsibilities as future chemical engineers the students are organized as a Chapter of the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society. During school periods this group meets regularly under the supervision of a co6rdinator. The members elect a chairman and secretary and in the course of a year every student prepares a paper bearing upon some phase of his working environment, which he presents to his classmates for consideration. Discussion leaders, who have had previous opportunity to study the problem which is presented, comment upon the talk and open up the moot points for genera! consideration. It is not infrequent to find 100 per cent. student participation in the vigorous discussions which develop over controversial questions. The coordinator does not direct the procedure; his function is rather to remain in the background as an interested observer, whose advice is available when it is desired. When the faculty member does participate it is primarily to guide discussion into those channels which are likely to prove most profitable or to emphasize some point of particular importance. Evening meetings are held from time to time a t which prominent chemical engineers address the students on recent Qevelopments in various phases of chemical engineering. Chemical engineering students a t Northeastern thus acquire in the course of their five-year programs not only a substantial technical education, but also a keen appreciation of the realities of chemical engineering practice. Coaperative students are paid on the same basis as other employees; their salaries are based upon the nature of the work involved and the hours of labor. The cooperative plan of education is sometimes looked upon primarily as an economic expedient designed to accommodate young men whose financial limitations would not otherwise permit their continuance in a program of formal education. Such a view of the plan is incomplete and therefore erroneous. As a matter of fact, although most cooperative institutions in the field of higher education regard this monetary advantage as a valuable concomitant of the scheme, nevertheless, they consider other of its aspects to be of much more fundamental importance. Specifically-the fact that a boy is enabled to earn a substantial portion of his college expenses may contribute in a very helpful way to the solution of his temporary financial problems; but the fact that a boy is enabled to acquire, while he is still in school, a first-hand acquaintance with the actual
operating conditions of the profession for which he is preparing is of far greater significance to his permanent welfare. To sum up, the cooperative plan at Northeastern endeavors t o correlate professional theory and practice in the training of chemical engineering students. Chemical engineering industries in New England have cooperated substantially in carrying out this educational program and the results have been gratifying. The boy who is under the twin disciplines of study and work is ever on the alert for new ways of doing things. What is more, he learns through rubbing elbows with his fellow workers that all the wisdom in the world is not contained between the covers of college textbooks; and he acquires that most important attribute which cannot he taught in the classroom-the ability to get along with people in different walks of life. The cooperative plan would seem t o he particularly adapted to the field of chemical engineering and management for it emphasizes in a unique manner the paramount importance of human relationships and paves the way for successful careers.
