March/April 2019

Concepts
How Many Credit Hours Make an Engineering Grad? You May Be Surprised.

BY BETSY ENNIS DULIN, P.E., ESQ.

Based on admittedly anecdotal evidence—online discussion groups and conversations at networking events—it’s only recently that the professional engineering community has been paying attention to the trend of limiting the number of hours required for undergraduate degrees. Hours required for an engineering degree across all programs and disciplines have decreased since the more senior engineers in today’s workplace graduated. Many of these engineers, now in leadership positions in their organizations, express surprise when they view transcripts of more recent graduates.

PE colleagues often tell me they expect regulatory, education, and accreditation entities to “police” such matters. However, the missions of these groups, all of which answer to an array of stakeholders and constituencies, do not include defining the credit hours required for increasingly diverse and multidisciplinary fields of engineering study. My main point: Whatever your opinion on education requirements for engineers, there’s no substitute for staying informed and involved in education policy discussions and development. In fact, many of us believe that our professional code of conduct, with its primary emphasis on protecting the public, requires as much. (By the way, there’s no better organization than NSPE, and its state and local chapters, to facilitate these efforts.)

Mounting Pressure

For the past several decades, fueled by exponentially increasing higher education costs and concerns about education accessibility, political and education leaders have been limiting the number of hours required for completing undergraduate degrees. While these efforts were not focused on engineering and related programs, such programs have not been exempt. At the same time, engineering licensing and accrediting organizations have been making necessary changes to maintain their currency and relevancy as technology and work environments rapidly evolve.

What began as a grassroots consumer initiative several decades ago culminated in state legislation and other policies limiting the number of credit hours that colleges and universities could require for undergraduate degrees. Texas was one of the leaders, limiting by statute the requirement to 120 hours in 2005. Other states quickly followed suit, some through legislation, but most through policies and guidance from administrative agencies and governing bodies. Regional university-wide accrediting bodies also embraced hour limits. At a time when most undergraduate engineering and computer science programs were requiring well over 130 hours, many institutions offering these programs obtained waivers that set minimum requirements at 120 hours. As a result of negotiation and advocacy, policymakers mostly settled on 128 hours for engineering programs at that time.

Declining Credit Hours

Today, virtually all undergraduate engineering programs require 128 or fewer credit hours. Even seven years ago, a study by the nonprofit Complete College America (“Program Requirements for Associate’s and Bachelor’s Degrees,” 2012 ) showed that 50% of all degree programs (non-engineering and engineering) surveyed required 120 hours. Only 5% required more than 130 hours. The same study showed a mean of 128 hours (down from 132 hours in 1995) for engineering programs, with a range of 120–136 hours. The authors further found that “a significant minority of [engineering] colleges keep…programs close to the 120-credit standard,” including small and large universities.

At the same time, educational initiatives affecting both core and engineering curricula were developing. With more focus on critical thinking and writing requirements, the core curriculum at most universities has remained quite healthy. Additionally, the engineering profession, itself, and industry employers, identified the need for engineering curricula that incorporate and develop important career skills such as project management, communications, and team building. This led to modernized and performance-based ABET accreditation criteria and ASCE’s recommended “Body of Knowledge,” among other things. The bottom line: Many advanced technical electives, once available in undergraduate engineering programs, migrated into graduate programs, to accommodate decreasing credit hours and increasing breadth of study at the undergraduate level.

Joining the Conversation

Reacting to these developments and advocacy from engineering associations, the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying proposed a new model law and rules in 2006 that required a “bachelor’s plus 30 hours” for licensure. (The additional 30 hours could be obtained through a master’s degree or other equivalent education.) However, this proposed change failed to develop support in state legislative forums and among engineering employers, many of which believed they would now be required to finance additional education for new hires if they wanted to maintain continuity of their PE workforces. As a result, NCEES removed the new language from the model law in 2014 and, instead, issued a position statement strongly endorsing a “plus 30” requirement for initial licensure. That leads us to today.

Engineering education and licensing requirements have many moving parts, to be sure, and inspire many more individual opinions and preferences. But aren’t complex, multidisciplinary, dynamic projects in the PE’s collective wheelhouse? In a changing world, each of us should find a way to be part of the continuing discussion. Your national, state, and local engineering organizations are a good place to start.

Betsy Ennis Dulin, P.E., Esq., is a civil engineer, attorney, and former higher education administrator. She is president of the Virginia Society of Professional Engineers.