Accreditation of civil engineering degrees in the UK

Simon Wheeler University of Glasgow, UK

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) - ………..

Grades of professional engineers

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

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

 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

 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

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

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)

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

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

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

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