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Implementing BOK2: A Modular Post-BS Civil Engineering Education Program

Abstract st The ASCE publication (BOK2) specifies 24 educational outcomes that are deemed essential for civil engineering graduates to practice at the professional level. Recognizing that it is impossible to meet all of the outcomes within the confines of a nominal four-year BS program, BOK2 envisions that some of the outcomes will be met through a program of study equivalent to approximately 30 credits of advanced coursework. The authors have just completed a process at their institution of mapping the post-BS outcomes to a series of course modules of non-traditional one to three credit hour graduate courses. These courses will be intended for three groups of students, including seniors and graduate students as well as practicing engineers planning to become licensed professional engineers. We present our educational assumptions, the general outline of our new system of courses, and several examples of new courses, and discuss how industry involvement was obtained to define these new course modules.

Project Justification st The ASCE recently 5 , which specifies 24 educational outcomes that are deemed essential for civil engineering graduates to practice at the professional level. Recognizing that it is impossible to meet all of the outcomes within the confines of a nominal four-year BS program, BOK2 envisions that some of the outcomes will be met through a program of study equivalent to approximately 30 credits of advanced coursework. The BOK2 report leaves open the question how individual civil engineers take the courses and how they will be offered and taught by various departments. The fundamental assumption is that civil engineers need to acquire an advanced body of knowledge, equivalent to at least 30 credits, before they become professional engineers. BOK2 also suggests (but does not mandate) how the total body of knowledge needed for practice should be distributed across the undergraduate program, the advanced study component, and on the job training obtained during the engineering apprenticeship period. Hence the exact content of the advanced component at a particular institution will depend to some extent upon how it is articulated with the undergraduate component, and assumptions or analyses made about the educational backgrounds of those entering advanced component courses who have completed their undergraduate education at other institutions.

Our Department is a medium size civil engineering department in terms of undergraduate students (more than 250 today, with growth of about 10% from 2008 to 2009) but small in terms of faculty, with only eight full time civil engineering faculty, two of whom have significant administrative responsibilities. This contradiction means that our faculty members are overloaded with teaching, research, and professional services with little time to invest in making fundamental changes and improvements in the existing graduate program. In other words, it is difficult to add to our offerings any traditional three-credit

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Arciszewski, T., & Bronzini, M., & Houck, M. (2009, June), Implementing Bok2: A Modular Post B.S. Civil Engineering Education Program Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--5365