Why First-Year Engineering Programs Should Utilize Onshape

At the recent First-Year Engineering Experience (FYEE)conference, one theme came up again and again: first-year faculty at universities are navigating a complex landscape.

First-year students come from diverse backgrounds with varying levels of engineering experience in programming or CAD modeling. Some also have limited budgets for computers and arrive with devices that don’t meet the specifications communicated for coursework.

Faculty in first-year programs care deeply about students' experiences. They want to ensure that their first steps into engineering are positive and that they are well-prepared for the rest of their collegiate careers.

Meanwhile, these faculty are receiving input from multiple engineering departments and trying to ensure that students are able to build a foundation in multiple disciplines, including knowing how to use CAD software. Regardless of engineering discipline, being able to create and read models will enable future engineers to collaborate on product design and development.

The Onshape for Education team at a First-Year Engineering Experience (FYEE) conference.

The need for a simple, flexible, and collaborative CAD solution in these programs is clear. That’s where Onshape, PTC’s cloud-native CAD and education platform, comes in.

Accessibility

Students don’t (or can’t) always buy the laptop recommended by the engineering department. Whether they show up with a Mac, a Chromebook, or a tablet, Onshape works. It’s entirely cloud-native, so there’s nothing to install, no license keys to manage, and no IT tickets to submit. Students can sign up for a free plan and start designing immediately.

One of the most powerful advantages of Onshape is the device-agnostic accessibility. Because it runs entirely in the cloud, students can sign into their account from any device with a web browser, whether it's a personal laptop, a borrowed computer, or in a lab on campus.

This flexibility is a game-changer, especially when students forget their devices or encounter hardware issues. Even better, every action is automatically saved in real time, so there’s no risk of losing work due to crashes or forgetting to hit “save.” With Onshape, students can pick up right where they left off, anytime, anywhere.

Real-Time Collaboration

Group projects are a staple of first-year engineering, but traditional CAD tools make collaboration clunky. Onshape allows real-time collaboration, just like Google Docs. Students can be in a document together, seeing changes right as they are made. There is no more checking in or out or dealing with files named “Final”, “Final Final”, or “Final Final V2.”

Students can design and iterate together. They can even communicate easily with each other or their educators using the built-in commenting features, which allow tagging specific features, marking up a screenshot, and assigning a task as an action item.

Onshape’s built-in version control, branching, and merging capabilities empower student teams to explore bold design ideas without fear of losing progress or overwriting each other’s work.

Just like in professional software development, students can create branches to test new concepts or iterate independently, then merge successful changes back into the main design when ready. Every change is automatically tracked, creating a transparent history of design decisions and iterations. This not only supports better collaboration but also helps students reflect on their design process – an essential skill in engineering education.

Built for the Classroom

Onshape isn’t just a CAD tool – it’s an education platform. Faculty can create classes, assign work, and collect submissions all within Onshape. Rather than having students email or upload files and hoping they were properly zipped and used the same version of the software you are running, you can quickly find student work that has been submitted as an assignment directly in Onshape. If you prefer to use your school’s LMS, students can just turn on link sharing and submit the URL to their Onshape documents.

Onshape makes it incredibly easy for instructors to view student work and provide timely, targeted feedback. You can leave comments directly on the model, track version history, and even see how students collaborated in teams.

For assignments where all students are completing the same task, the CAD Checker app can automatically evaluate models against predefined criteria, saving time and ensuring consistency in grading. This streamlined workflow helps faculty focus more on teaching and less on file management.

Insights and Analytics

Faculty using the Onshape Education Enterprise plan can utilize powerful analytics tools to better understand student modeling behaviors. This can help educators refine their assignments and teaching strategies. By analyzing how students approach design tasks, such as the features used or time spent on specific components, instructors can identify areas where additional instruction is needed or where instructions should be adjusted. These insights can inform continuous course improvement and support evidence-based teaching practices. Additionally, the ability to document student engagement and skill development over time can be a powerful asset when preparing materials for ABET accreditation, offering concrete data to demonstrate how course outcomes are being met.

Want to know how your student teams are working together? Onshape’s analytics tools give educators clear visibility into who contributed what within a team project, making it easier to assess individual engagement and ensure accountability.

When paired with Onshape’s real-time collaboration, this becomes a game-changer for team dynamics. In the past, it was common for one student, who was often the most CAD-experienced, to dominate the design process, leaving others on the sidelines. Now, every student has the opportunity to actively participate and build their skills, knowing their contributions are visible and valued. This not only promotes equity within teams but also helps all students grow in confidence and competence with CAD tools from day one.

Curriculum and Self-Paced Learning Content

Whether you want to assign structured tutorials or encourage independent learning, the Onshape Learning Center is filled with resources that can supplement your engineering design curriculum.

There are self-paced courses that students can complete, such as CAD Basics (for students who have never utilized CAD) or Onshape Fundamentals (meant for a user with a background in CAD who is new to Onshape).

These courses have several 3-5 minute videos followed by a modeling exercise to get students started before they begin project work. Some first-year engineering courses require students to submit certificates of completion in their LMS for a grade.

If you would like to assign your students specific modeling exercises, the learning center also offers a wide range of ready-to-use curriculum modules. Each contains Onshape documents with step-by-step tutorials that guide students through key modeling concepts and design challenges. These resources are designed specifically for education, making it easy to align with course objectives and scaffold learning effectively.

Whether you're teaching sketching basics or introducing assemblies, the Learning Center provides structured, high-quality content that students can follow independently or as part of a guided assignment – saving faculty time while enhancing student learning.

A Win for Busy Faculty

First-year engineering faculty are often balancing input from multiple departments while trying to create a cohesive, engaging experience for students with widely varying levels of preparation.

Onshape’s simplicity, flexibility, and education-focused features make it a low-friction, high-impact addition to any course. From device-agnostic access and real-time collaboration to version control, analytics, and ready-to-use curriculum, Onshape removes many of the traditional barriers to teaching CAD – especially in the first year, when students are just beginning to build their engineering identity.

Whether you're looking to streamline assignment management, promote equitable teamwork, or gather meaningful data for continuous improvement and accreditation, Onshape offers a modern, scalable solution that meets the needs of both students and instructors. And with the Onshape Learning Center and free Education plans, getting started is easier than ever.

Check out the Onshape Education plans to explore how you can bring these benefits to your course.