© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 Regulation and Accreditation in the UK Jim Birch Head of International Recognition

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 n ECUK provides voluntary regulation under government authority n ECUK sets the standards for registration and awards the titles Chartered Engineer, Incorporated Engineer and Engineering Technician n ECUK individually assesses each applicant for registration (carried out by Licensed institutions)

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 n ECUK sets criteria for graduate outcomes and accredits suitable academic programmes (carried out by Licensed institutions) n ECUK sets criteria for professional competence and assesses (through the Licensed institutions) the post- graduation training of applicants n ECUK (through the Licensed institutions) conducts an examination of professional competence for each applicant for registration

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 n Requirements for international mobility are factors in setting the UK criteria for engineering education and professional registration n ECUK is an active participant in international engineers organisations n Holders of ECUK titles are recognised throughout the world

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 n There are 35 engineering institutions licensed to accredit academic programmes and assess applicants for registration n ECUK has a QA system which ensures that each Licensed institution maintains comparable standards n It is the Licensed institutions which provide individual engineers (the institution members) with professional and technical support in their relevant area of work

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 n Accreditation is the primary quality assurance process used to ensure the suitability of an educational programme as the entry route to the engineering profession. Accreditation involves a periodic audit, against published standards, of the engineering education provided by a particular course or programme. It is essentially a peer review process undertaken by appropriately trained and independent panels comprising both engineering teachers and engineers from industry. The process normally involves both scrutiny of data and a structured visit to the educational institution

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 entry route to the engineering profession n Accreditation does not involve government – it is EC(UK) through its licensed institutions n Primary purpose of accreditation is to facilitate registration of engineers n Secondary purpose is to guide educational institutes on the course content required by the profession and industry

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 quality assurance process n EC(UK) only licences competent institutions n Institutions must have - assessment criteria, assessment procedures, competent personnel, internal audit n ECUK) ensures institution performance by external audit

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 published standards n UK-SPEC specifies criteria – graduates shall have n Knowledge and understanding n Intellectual abilities n Practical skills n General transferable skills

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 published standards n Courses shall provide n Underpinning science and mathematics n Engineering analysis n Design n Economic, social and environmental context n Engineering practice

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 published standards The generic standards are supported by n contextualised criteria relevant to the engineering discipline n indicators of infrastructure requirements

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 peer review n Peer accreditation committee n Peer assessment panel n Staff support n Internal audit

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 scrutiny of data and a structured visit n Initial application reviewed by committee and panel appointed n Submission assessed by panel n Visit by panel n Report written and checked by educational institution n Committee consider report and panel recommendation n Decision given to educational institution and EC(UK)

© Engineering Council (UK) 2002 Current Status n Compliant system has 4000 accredited course - > 1000 active n Outcome oriented n UK - SPEC n QAA benchmarks n EPC graduate standards n Compatible with n Washington Accord n EURACE