Concerns with Licensure Eligibility Changes in NCEES Model Law Dee S. Fultz, P.E. Past Chair, Alaska Section Past Region 6 Secretary Region 6 Northwest Area Chair IEEE Educational Activities Board Meeting February 17, 2007

Overview I.Findings of ELQTF 2003 Report II.NCEES 2006 Model Law Revision III.Concerns with BS+30 IV.Recommendations IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB, BS+30: Bachelors degree plus 30 additional credit-hours ELQTF: Engineering Licensure Qualifications Task Force NCEES: National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying

I ELQTF Report u Concerns with Current Licensure System o Examination Timing, relevance of PE Examination Advanced Degree Exemption Practice Examination o Engineering Education Blurring of Science and Engineering Specialization/Splintering Reduction of Core Subjects Foreign Degrees Licensed Educators IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB,

I ELQTF Report u Concerns with Current Licensure System o Other Related Concerns Stature of Profession Engineers Not Seeking Licensure Mobility and Jurisdictional Concerns IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB,

I ELQTF Report u Recommendations for Model Law o Engineering Education Provide Bachelors plus additional courses in specialties related to practice Engineers must acquire additional fundamental knowledge Noted that students take 18 fewer engineering credits than in 1920s, but specific subject areas were not identified IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB,

I ELQTF Report u Recommendations for Model Law o Stature of the Profession Extended Education Task Force generally agreed Engineering has not kept pace with other professions; B+M/30 proposal advanced by ASCE not universally accepted by other disciplines, thus reluctance to move immediately to that requirement Recommended pre-engineering BS programs, and professional schools of engineering as long term solution IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB,

I.Findings of ELQTF 2003 Report II.NCEES 2006 Model Law Revision IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB, Overview BS+30: Bachelors degree plus 30 additional credit-hours ELQTF: Engineering Licensure Qualifications Task Force NCEES: National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying

II. NCEES Model Law 2006 Amendment to NCEES Model Law ( ): An engineer intern with a bachelor's degree must have an additional 30 credits of acceptable upper-level undergraduate or graduate-level coursework from approved providers in order to be admitted to the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) examination. - NCEES News Release, IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB,

Overview I.Findings of ELQTF 2003 Report II.NCEES 2006 Model Law Revision III.Concerns with BS+30 IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB, BS+30: Bachelors degree plus 30 additional credit-hours ELQTF: Engineering Licensure Qualifications Task Force NCEES: National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying

III. Concerns with BS+30 I. Need for additional credits has not been adequately demonstrated II. Additional credit study has not been well defined III. Implementation, course availability, and consequences have not been well thought out IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB,

I.Need for additional credits not adequately demonstrated o NCEES has not identified specific areas of engineering study that are lacking o View that there are technical content shortcomings in accredited programs isnt supported by NCEES PE Exam statistics Since Depth & Breadth Format change (2002), EE pass rate has increased from 30% to 60% o Majority of license investigations/punitive actions involve ethical violations; justification for BS+30 does not address this critical issue III. Concerns with BS+30 IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB,

II.Additional 30 credit study not well defined o Without identified specific voids in undergraduate study areas, how can required corrective study be formulated? o ABET accredited Bachelor programs should provide all necessary curricula - before engineering interns enter workplace o How will advanced/graduate studies be defined and standardized across all State jurisdictions to meet the NCEES objective? III. Concerns with BS+30 IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB,

III.Implementation, availability, and consequences not well thought out o Uniformity across state jurisdictions will be difficult o Majority of post-graduate programs are not focused towards practicing professional engineers o Colleges have little motivation to provide standardized Plus 30 programs Only 10% of graduating electrical engineers seek license Unavailability will act as a barrier to licensure o Concerns with State Jurisdictional acceptance 27 of 66 NCEES Members (41%) voted against BS+30 BS+30 may compound existing comity problems III. Concerns with BS+30 IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB,

Overview I.Findings of ELQTF 2003 Report II.NCEES 2006 Model Law Revision III.Concerns with BS+30 IV.Recommendations IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB, BS+30: Bachelors degree plus 30 additional credit-hours ELQTF: Engineering Licensure Qualifications Task Force NCEES: National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying

IV. Recommendations u IEEE Region 6 Operations Committee resolution, Feb. 10, 2007: Request that the IEEE Educational Activities Board refrain from any action on BS+30 until U.S. members have been thoroughly informed and have been able to provide comment u IEEE-USA Liaison to NCEES should assist in identifying specific shortcomings in core subjects of accredited undergraduate programs, to assist ABET in addressing concerns identified in ELQTF 2003 Report IEEE Alaska Section Presentation to IEEE EAB,