2. UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING EDUCATION

2.6. Accreditation

• The accreditation criteria of the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) of CCPE for undergraduate engineering programs in Canada include requirements for the equivalent of one term of basic sciences, one term of mathematics, four terms of engineering sciences and design of which at least one term must be engineering sciences and one term design, and one term of social sciences and humanities. A term includes about 13 weeks of instruction plus time for examination, ie.,approximately 4 months.

• While the content requirements and proportions of the curricula are appropriate, an over-emphasis on the use of time-based numerical criteria by accreditation teams or by engineering faculties can mitigate against the appropriate integration of sciences, mathematics, and problem solving experiences including their social and environmental concerns into a design-oriented approach to curriculum presentation.

• Curricula and course descriptions usually emphasize the information content of courses rather than the educational objectives to be achieved. The accreditation process should rely heavily on measures of desired achievement of objectives as seen in the students rather than measures of the reported content.

RECOMMENDATION 21: The Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board should place its primary emphasis on criteria which depend on measures of the quality of the teaching staff, the quality of the learning environment and the quality of the attributes, skills and knowledge acquired by the undergraduate engineering students. The requirements for an appropriate mix of information content should be retained but given secondary emphasis.