In the spring 2012 semester at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a one-credit independent study course entitled Marine Renewable Energy Seminar was offered a second time, previously having been offered in spring 2009 1 . In this second offering of the course, three engineering students and ten non-engineering students enrolled in this elective course. The intention was to bring together different majors to learn about the many facets of marine renewable energy (policy, technology, economics, etc.) and to develop cross-discipline communication. Of the fourteen scheduled meeting times throughout the semester, eight seminars were presented, two class periods were used for debates, another two for student presentations, and the remaining periods for discussion. The final paper was on the student's perspective of the future of marine renewable energy with respect to the U.S. Coast Guard.In this second offering of the seminar, the majority of the course content was similar in nature, with three seminars almost identical to a presentation from the first offering, while all other seminars were new, conveying the same content differently than in 2009. In the end-of-course survey of students, 75% of respondents replied that they had researched the issues discussed in class on their own after presentations or discussions, and 100% recognized the need for lifelong learning to stay current in the field. In 2009, 7% of students (2 respondents) found the library useful in success in the course, while 100% found the internet useful. In 2012, 12.5% (1 respondent) found the library useful, while 100% found the internet useful, so the way in which students are finding information is not changing. Overall, 100% of respondents positively responded to the statement "I learned something about marine renewable energy."
Course StructureThe course structure of the spring 2012 Marine Renewable Energy Seminar was a one-credit course that met once a week for the entire length of the semester. This was the same structure as in the Spring 2009 1 , however the course was renamed from "Renewable Ocean Energy Seminar" in 2009 to use the more commonly used terminology. This was an elective course offered to undergraduate upperclassman (juniors and seniors) in addition to the required courses of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. The course was co-taught in 2009 by an engineering instructor and a science instructor. In 2012, the course was again co-taught between engineering and science, with the same engineering instructor, and a different science instructor.In 2009, there were 29 students registered in the seminar; in 2012, there were thirteen students registered. This drop in total registrants could have been an issue of scheduling, as all courses at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy are during the day, Monday through Friday, and all the students are full-time. Anecdotally, several other students expressed interest in the course, but either did not have that timeslot available in their schedule, or were underclassman. It is not perceived that the drop in regi...