Many elite engineering programs in the United States (I don't know if this is what you mean by "our") are elite solely due to social status (rankings need to publish rankings that feel right, or they're ignored, and they accept bribes to rank specific programs) and research output, with little to do with quality of pedagogy. Instead, pedagogy is generally poor because the elite researchers usually view teaching as a chore and many don't have any real skill in it either.