The Department of Engineering Technology and Multimedia Design (ETMD) within the School of Computing and Engineering Sciences at Eastern Washington University is developing a new program in the emerging discipline of Software Engineering Technology (SET). It was conceived on the basis of three major factors: industrial demand within the region and state, the small number of qualified graduates available to enter the workforce, and the increasing pool of potential students. Some of the projected

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... activities in the planning process include visiting nationwide university campuses that currently have SET programs, identifying new laboratory equipment needs, setting up an advisory board, creating a recruitment plan, and obtaining ABET accreditation. This paper will document this planning process. Funds from the National Science Foundation (NSF), in form of a recently approved grant proposal, will facilitate the planning process for this program. Some of the components of the curriculum design to be developed will include integrating new learning strategies and problem solving techniques, obtaining an active role of regional industry, and creating aggressive nontraditional student recruitment and retention plans. The incipient construction of a new building to host the recently formed School of Computing and Engineering Sciences will provide a state-of-the-art facility to house the SET program. The new building has been designed keeping in mind the space requirements for laboratories for the SET program. The ETMD Department's close ties with the Computer Science Department, and the new building extended facilities, will provide the necessary infrastructure and human resources to offer a Cybersecurity option. This option is consistent with the current research and academic trends in national security.