NSPE Adopts Position Statement on Engineering Education Outcomes
At its April 2010 Board of Directors meeting, NSPE adopted a new position statement advocating that certain engineering education outcomes be attained by engineers of all disciplines who become licensed professional engineers. These outcomes, listed below, are not currently required by existing accreditation criteria, and thus are not commonly included in engineering curricula.
1. Apply principles of leadership;
2. Account for risk and uncertainty in the solution of engineering problems;
3. Apply principles of project management;
4. Explain where and how public policy is developed and how it influences engineering practice;
5. Explain business concepts applicable to engineering practice; and
6. Apply principles of sustainability to the design and evaluation of engineering systems.
This position statement was developed by reviewing the “Body of Knowledge” reports that have been prepared for two engineering disciplines, comparing the education outcomes recommended in those reports and identifying the delta between current accreditation criteria and the recommended outcomes, and determining which of those new outcomes apply to all engineering disciplines.
As it was developed, this position statement was reviewed by a number of NSPE committees, representing practitioners and academicians, as well as engineers of various disciplines. It is interesting to note that the “what” of the list of six outcomes above was not significantly controversial among these different groups. As long as what is meant by each outcome is described adequately, there was general concurrence that a background in each of these topic areas is needed for the professional practice of engineering. It is the “how” that is controversial.
NSPE’s position statement doesn’t specify whether these outcomes should be required in baccalaureate education or in graduate programs; it simply advocates that these outcomes be attained by the time of licensure. The “how” has been left to ABET and the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying to determine the combination of accreditation criteria and licensure requirements of the future.
This is a visionary step on the part of NSPE to advocate raising the bar for engineering licensure requirements of the future. Rather than discussing degrees and credit requirements, this position statement addresses the issue at a higher level in defining professional practice topic areas that typically are not currently incorporated in the education of most engineers but are necessary in the education of professional engineers in the interest of enhancing the protection of the public health, safety and welfare.