ASCE Policy
465
Academic
Prerequisites for Licensure and Professional Practice
(Adopted by the
Board of Direction on October 8, 2001.)
Policy
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) supports the concept of the
Master's degree or Equivalent as a prerequisite for licensure and the
practice of civil engineering at a professional level.
ASCE encourages institutions of higher education, governmental units,
employers, civil engineers, and other appropriate organizations to endorse,
support, and promote the concept of mandatory post-baccalaureate education
for the practice of civil engineering at a professional level. The
implementation of this effort should occur through establishing appropriate
curricula in the formal education experience, appropriate recognition and
compensation in the workplace, and congruent standards for licensure.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
For the
full Policy Statement 465 (in PDF form)
Click Here or on link at left.
For
the Key Points about Policy 465 by the ASCE Committee on Academic
Prerequisites for Professional Practice (in PDF form),
Click Here or on link at left.
Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge (BOK)
for the 21st Century
As part of the
on-going implementation of ASCE Policy Statement 465, the Body of Knowledge
(BOK) Committee was formed by ASCE's Committee on the Academic Prerequisites
for Professional Practice (CAP^3). The BOK Committee's charge includes
defining the "Body of Knowledge needed to enter the practice of civil
engineering at the professional level (licensure) in the 21st Century."
The Committee's
final report was released at a press conference held at the National Academy
of Engineering on February 25, 2004. The Abstract of this report is shown
below.
EDITOR'S
NOTE:
1. For the
BOK report Abstract in PDF form, Click Here or on link
at left.
2. For the
BOK report Executive Summary in PDF form,
Click Here or on link at left.
3. For the Complete
BOK
report in PDF for, Click Here or on link at
left.
CIVIL ENGINEERING BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Abstract
Destiny is not a matter of
chance, it is a matter of choice.
William Jennings
Bryan, American statesman
ASCE’s Board
of Direction acted in recognition of increased complexity of civil
engineering practice coupled with reductions in credit hours required for
graduation.
Today’s world is
fundamentally challenging the way civil engineering is practiced. Complexity
arises in every aspect of projects, from pre-project planning with varied
stakeholders to building with minimum environmental and community
disturbance. Addressing this increased complexity will require understanding
and solving problems at the boundaries of traditional disciplines. At the
same time, reductions in credit hours required for graduation are making the
current four-year bachelor’s degree inadequate formal academic preparation
for the practice of civil engineering at a professional level in the 21st
century. Recognizing the preceding, and in keeping with the leadership role
of civil engineers in the infrastructure and environmental arena and in
protecting safety, health and welfare, the ASCE Board of Direction acted.
The Body of
Knowledge (BOK) Committee was charged with defining the BOK, addressing
experience, and describing the roles of faculty, practitioners, and
students.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Policy
Statement 465, unanimously adopted by the Board of Direction in 2001, states
that the Society “…supports the concept of the master’s degree or equivalent
as a prerequisite for licensure and the practice of civil engineering at the
professional level.” The ASCE created the Task Committee on Academic
Prerequisites for Professional Practice (TCAP3) to “develop, organize and
execute a detailed plan for full realization of Policy Statement 465.” (In
November 2003, in recognition of the long-term nature of implementing Policy
Statement 465, TCAP3 was changed to the Committee on Academic Prerequisites
for Professional Practice [CAP3], a permanent Board-level committee.) TCAP3
developed an implementation master plan for which the Body of Knowledge (BOK)
was the foundation. TCAP3 subsequently formed the Body of Knowledge
Committee and its charge included defining the BOK, addressing the role of
experience and describing the roles of faculty, practitioners, and students.
The BOK has
what, how and who elements.
The BOK Committee
conducted its deliberations and presents its recommendations in this report
arranged by these three themes: 1)
what
should be taught to and learned by future civil engineering students; 2)
how
should it be taught
and learned; and 3)
who
should teach and learn it. The Committee’s primary focus was the
what.
Included in the
15 outcomes are the 11 outcomes currently used by the Accreditation Board
for Engineering and Technology.
The
what
recommendations are cast in terms
of 15 outcomes that, compared to today’s bachelor’s programs, include
significant increases in technical depth and professional practice breadth.
Included in the 15 outcomes are the 11 outcomes currently used by the
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Each outcome is
further described with a civil engineering commentary. The outcomes include
recognition, understanding or ability competency levels in broad and deep
areas essential to the future
practice of
civil engineering at the professional level.
Attitudes are an
essential part of the BOK.
Knowledge and skill, while necessary, are not sufficient to
be a fully functioning professional civil engineer. A civil engineer’s
attitude, that is, the manner in which he or she approaches his or her work,
will determine how effectively he or she uses hard-earned knowledge and
skills. Accordingly, attitudes are an essential part of the BOK. Stressed in
the
how
recommendations are
existing and new undergraduate/graduate tracks that help students fulfill
the BOK, the growth of distance learning and non-traditional educational
providers, the essential role of experience in fulfilling the BOK, and
incorporating the BOK into the licensure process. The
who
recommendations identify success factors for full and part-time faculty.
Teachers should be scholars, teach effectively, have practical experience,
and serve as positive role models. Also addressed in the
who
recommendations are student obligations and expectations and
matching students to the civil engineering profession.
The BOK will
prepare tomorrow’s licensed civil engineers to proactively function in the
challenging national and global environment of the coming decades.
The preceding
recommendations of the BOK Committee, combined with those of the parallel
Accreditation, Curricula and Licensure Committees, are enabling CAP3 to move
further ahead in carrying out its charge to implement ASCE Policy Statement
465. By so doing, we prepare the civil engineer for the future.
The empires of the future are
the empires of the mind.
Winston Churchill,
British Prime Minister
