Preparing the Future Civil Engineer: ASCE’s Proposed Revision of the ABET Civil Engineering Program Criteria
- Conference
- Location
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Minneapolis, MN
- Publication Date
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August 23, 2022
- Start Date
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June 26, 2022
- End Date
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June 29, 2022
- Conference Session
- Page Count
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21
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--41592
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/41592
- Download Count
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353
Paper Authors
Leslie Nolen American Society of Civil Engineers
Leslie Nolen serves as Director, Educational Activities for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, VA. She oversees the Society’s higher education efforts, including accreditation of engineering programs through ABET, Inc., faculty development through the popular ExCEEd Teaching Workshops, and activities of the Department Heads Council. She is the staff liaison for the Committee on Education and the Committee on Accreditation. Prior to working in educational activities, Leslie managed the Society’s grassroots advocacy strategy. Among her primary responsibilities were overseeing the Key Contact Program and the annual Legislative Fly-In Program, bringing civil engineers to Washington to learn about and lobby their elected officials on legislative issues affecting civil engineering. Prior to joining ASCE, she served as Government Relations Associate for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (now the Auto Care Association.) Leslie is a member of the American Society of Association Executives and is a past chair of the Government Relations Section Council. She achieved the Certified Association Professional (CAE) credential in 2015.
Leslie received a Bachelor of Arts in Government with a minor in Music from The College of William & Mary in Virginia.
Jay Puckett University of Nebraska - Lincoln
David Dzombak Carnegie Mellon University
David Dzombak is the Hamerschlag University Professor and Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. The emphasis of his research and teaching is on water quality engineering, water resource sustainability, and energy-environment issues.
Dzombak received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also holds an M.S. in Civil Engineering and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Carnegie Mellon, and a B.A. in Mathematics from Saint Vincent College. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania, a Board Certified Environmental Engineer, a Diplomate Water Resources Engineer, a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. His current professional service includes the ASCE Committee on Education and the ASCE Civil Engineering Program Criteria Task Committee.
Wayne Bergstrom
Wayne Bergstrom is a Principal Engineer at Bechtel Infrastructure and a Bechtel Fellow. His technical focus is on heavy civil and earthwork engineering for Bechtel’s major infrastructure projects throughout the world.
Bergstrom received a Ph.D. in civil/geotechnical engineering from the University of Michigan. He also earned B.S.C.E. and M.S.C.E. degrees from Michigan Technological University and Purdue University, respectively. He is a registered professional engineer in 5 states, and a board-certified Diplomate Geotechnical Engineer. An ABET Fellow, he is an ABET Past President and has served on many ABET evaluations of civil engineering programs, either as a PEV or Team Chair. He is also an ASCE Fellow and the Chair of ASCE’s Civil Engineering Program Criteria Task Committee.
Abstract
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) employs a methodical approach to aligning the needs of the civil engineering profession, and the needs of the public it serves, with its standards for education and practice. The primary tools involved in this approach are the Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge (CEBOK) and the program criteria for ABET-accredited civil engineering programs, both of which are reviewed by ASCE and revised, if deemed necessary, on an 8-year cycle. Following the publication of the Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge, 3rd Edition (CEBOK3), in May 2019, ASCE convened a Civil Engineering Program Criteria Task Committee (CEPCTC) in January 2020 to review the current ABET Civil Engineering Program Criteria and propose revisions, if needed, based on (1) the content of the CEBOK3, (2) a significant revision to the ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) General Criteria which became effective for reviews during the 2019-2020 accreditation cycle, and (3) compliance with guidance from the EAC on curricular topics and faculty qualifications. This paper is the second in a series of papers to describe the efforts by ASCE and the CEPCTC in reviewing and revising the Civil Engineering Program Criteria throughout the Task Committee’s planned two-year lifespan. The first paper, presented at the 2021 ASEE National Conference and Exposition, documented the formation of CEPCTC and its development of an initial draft of proposed criteria revisions.
This paper focuses on a) the solicitation and collection of feedback from a broad community of stakeholders regarding the initial draft of proposed criteria changes, b) further revisions to the proposed criteria in response to that feedback, and c) the process currently underway to develop a Commentary and training materials that will support implementation and use of the proposed program criteria. By describing the proposed criteria and their development, this paper will aid in understanding and implementing the criteria by the civil engineering education community. It is proposed that ABET Member Societies share their approaches for promulgating and updating program criteria to improve these activities across the engineering profession and, perhaps, also improve the resulting program criteria across disciplines.
Nolen, L., & Puckett, J., & Dzombak, D., & Bergstrom, W. (2022, August), Preparing the Future Civil Engineer: ASCE’s Proposed Revision of the ABET Civil Engineering Program Criteria Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41592
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