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

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