Accreditation of civil engineering degrees in the UK

1
Accreditation of civil engineering degrees in the
UK

• Simon Wheeler
• University of Glasgow, UK

2
Award of Chartered Engineer title

• Award of the title of Chartered Engineer is
  legally in the power of the Engineering Council
• The Engineering Council has delegated this power
  to individual engineering institutions, such as
• - Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
• - Institution of Mechanical Engineers
  (IMechE)
• - Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE)
• - Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
• - Institution of Structural Engineers
  (IStructE)
• - ..

3
Grades of professional engineers

• Chartered Engineer (CEng)
• Incorporated Engineer (IEng)
• Engineering Technician (Eng Tech)

4
Routes to Chartered Engineer status

• Accredited MEng degree
• - 3-4 years of approved training and
  professional experience
• - Chartered professional review
• Accredited BEng degree
• - Further learning equivalent to 1 year of
  further study (either MSc or short courses)
• - Approved training and professional
  experience
• - Chartered professional review

5

• In England, Wales and N. Ireland most students
  start university aged 18-19, whereas in Scotland
  most students start university aged 17-18
• In England, Wales and N. Ireland
• - MEng is 4 years duration
• - BEng is 3 years duration
• In Scotland
• - MEng is 5 years duration
• - BEng is 4 years duration

6

• Some universities provide only MEng degrees
• Some universities (such as Glasgow) provide both
  MEng and BEng degrees (MEng and BEng bifurcate
  prior to final year of BEng)
• Some universities provide only BEng degrees and
  degrees leading to Incorporated Engineer (IEng)
  status

7
For candidates wishing to gain Chartered Engineer
status without an accredited degree

• Candidates with a suitable, but non-accredited
  Civil Engineering degree from another country may
  have to sit all or part of the ICE Part 1 exams
• It is possible to ultimately gain CEng status
  without an accredited degree or sitting the Part
  1 exams. But this is very difficult and very long
  (at least 15 years). This route is extremely
  rare!
• As a consequence, MEng and BEng degrees which
  fail to gain accreditation are unviable and will
  be terminated by their university

8
Accreditation of MEng and BEng degrees

• Accreditation is by the Joint Board of Moderators
  (JBM) of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
  and the Institution of Structural Engineers
  (IStructE)
• The members of the JBM are appointed by the
  Councils of ICE and IStructE and consist of 50
  academics and 50 practising civil engineers
• Accreditation takes place every 5 years (with
  additional interim reviews if necessary)

9
Requirements for accreditation

• Suitable curriculum must include appropriate
  course in mathematics, mechanics, structures,
  materials, geotechnics and water engineering, but
  there is no national curriculum
• Design as an integrating thread
• Incorporation of management, financial and legal
  issues
• Incorporation of health and safety issues, risk
  analysis and environmental and sustainability
  issues
• Development of communication skills (written,
  oral and graphical)
• Use of individual and group projects
• Appropriate methods and standards of assessment

10
The accreditation process

• The university department submits a lengthy
  submission document following a standard format
• There is a 2-day visit to the university by a JBM
  Visit Team (2 academic members, 2 practising
  members, 1 JBM administrator)
• The Visit Team submit a report recommending
• - whether the degree should be accredited
• - whether the accreditation should be for the
  full 5 years
• - any points of concern and any actions
  required by the university
• The full JBM approve (normally) the
  recommendations of the Visit Team

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Content of the submission document

• Introduction (including aims of the degree
  programme)
• Course content
• Student numbers and entry standards
• Teaching staff
• Professional contacts
• Examination and assessment methods and standards
• Teaching facilities
• Research, consultancy and postgraduate courses
• Financial situation
• Graduate employment
• Future plans and intentions

12
The 2-day visit

• Meeting with Head of Department and Director of
  Teaching
• Tour of departmental facilities
• Inspection of students coursework
• Meeting with students
• Meeting with academic staff
• Meeting with teaching assistants
• Meeting with Industrial Advisory Group
• Meeting with University Principal
• Private meeting of Visit Team
• Final meeting with Head of Department