Here is the latest computer engineering prank from the hallowed halls of academic learning (via my son).

Find a friend's computer which is unattended, hopefully not an software engineering student. From the task manager turn off explorer.exe process and insert your favorite screenshot for the desktop image. Sit back and enjoy your friend's frustration! (and for this I am paying thousands of dollars per year in tuition for my son?!). Actually, GE has offered Erik (my son) a very nice electrical engineering co-op job … thus some of the money must be well spent. Anyhow, Happy Thanksgiving everyone. At home on vacation enjoying time with my devious son who is also on Thanksgiving break from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. I plan to password protect my home latop ASAP!

And from MIT, learn about some classic engineering pranks … such as how MIT students took over the Rose Bowl scoreboard to announce they were beating CalTech!

• Where the Sun Shines, There They Hack

This will be my last vacation technology post from the Ozark Mountain Region. As all vacations must end, I will soon return to posting about engineering and knowledge management technology, but for the moment I ask you to take a trip back in time to the College of the Ozarks Grist Mill. This college and its students are unique; they run an actual Grist Mill and grind wheat into flour the old fashioned way. This is just one example of how the students at College of the Ozarks are not your typical college kids … the nickname for the school is HardWorkU. Anyhow … my video (44 seconds long).

I know there are great reasons why I am paying HUGE amounts of tuition to Rose-Hulman for my son to obtain his engineering degree … because…

1. Rose-Hulman has maintained their top ranking from US News.
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2. Like any good Minnesotan, I always wanted a Hoosier in the family.
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   but the real reason is …
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3. The obvious engineering design skills he is learning!

(click to maximize any image of the engineers at work … and the finished product)

I recently had a Mom of a prospective Rose-Holman student contact me about the scholarship process. While this example relates to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, it really could be about any private college and the scholarship award process. Here is an edited version of my private response to her: (read original blog post by my son about his college selection)

Dear Mary Jane:

I had similar concerns (about Rose-Hulman's scholarship offer).  In fact, my son Erik had better offers from other schools … some of which offered to pay for over 50% of his
education.

However, I was able to get Rose-Hulman to increase their award. This is the approach I took:

1. I did NOT take the position that their award level was a mistake
2. I DID mention the other scholarship offers (by school name and amount)
3. I stressed how much Erik liked Rose-Holman (he did then, and is still very happy with his choice)

Now we get to the important part of my email (sent to the head of
financial aide). I pointed out some aspects of Erik's background that
were unique and unusual in a "good way". I pondered whether they knew
these facts. I also discussed one or two items where Erik could have
done better (always hard for a parent to admit shortcomings in their own children).

It worked, and our offer was increased. Basically I politely implied that the admittance and scholarship process was a competition to get Erik's acceptance. However, I
communicated it in a manner that was both reasonable and allowed everyone to "save
face".

Rich

A colleague passed along this link: Boeing to Rank Colleges by Measuring Job Success. While the US News methodology is controversial, this may make schools think twice.  After all, Boeing has over 35,000 engineers. How was your performance appraisal?

Make certain you see my prior post and follow-up on college rankings. It generated some good discussion points by leading web thought leaders. Finally, link to my college search section of this blog. My son, Erik, gave me his permission to blog about his search for the perfect engineering school, which ended with his choice of Rose-Hulman.