Newswise — ASME believes a four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university should remain the mandatory educational requirement for licensure as a professional engineer in the United States.
Responding to a recent change the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) made to its Model Law to increase the mandatory educational requirements for professional licensure, ASME has released an official position statement making the case for the traditional four-year bachelor's degree plus career-long continuing education.
"ASME believes that the typical scope of an ABET-accredited bachelor's degree has been demonstrated to accommodate technical breadth and flexibility and the intellectual skills necessary for engineering graduates to attain licensure as a professional engineer," says the position statement.
The ASME statement, Mandatory Education Requirements for Engineering Licensure, is endorsed by organizations that include the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), the Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society (ISA), Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Inc. (SME), the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME), and The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS), representing more than 302,000 engineers. The bachelor's degree, along with passing the Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles and Practices examinations and successfully completing a four-year internship, "assure that the knowledge, skills, and ethical standards expected from a professional engineer are attained," says the statement.
ASME believes continuing education is an essential component for maintenance of one's engineering license. The Society is a strong advocate of lifelong learning and sponsors continuing education and professional development programs, including short courses, in many technical areas.
The NCEES plan, known as "Master's or Equivalent," proposes 30 additional credits or a master's degree, on top of the bachelor's, for licensure. ASME states that the higher educational requirements are unnecessary.
"There is no evidence to suggest that adding 30 credit hours, representing a full academic year of upper-level undergraduate coursework or graduate-level coursework, will have a positive impact on the public's health and safety," according to the position statement.
The higher educational requirements also could produce an adverse affect on America's ability to place an adequate supply of engineers in the industrial workforce, enabling the nation to compete technologically and economically, according to ASME.
"Increasing the professional licensing requirements has the potential to reduce the supply of licensed engineers who are able to practice, therefore reducing the nation's technological competitiveness," says the statement.
The statement, Mandatory Educational Requirements for Engineering Licensure (POS08-18), is available at: http://www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRelations/PositionStatements/ A companion Web site www.LicensingThatWorks.org has been created by the Partnering Organizations listed above to share information and collaborate on the need to maintain the current educational requirements.
Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization promoting the art, science and practice of mechanical and multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences. ASME develops codes and standards that enhance public safety, and provides lifelong learning and technical exchange opportunities benefiting the global engineering and technology community.
RSS