Memorandum 66
Submission from Engineering Councils UK
CALL FOR
EVIDENCE: STUDENTS
AND UNIVERSITIES
INQUIRY
1. This response has been prepared by Engineering
Council UK (ECUK). It is based on first-hand experience gained
by ECUK as the UK accrediting body for engineering
degrees and as holder of the national register of engineers and
engineering technicians.
SUMMARY
2. Universities can be trusted to develop
systems and criteria to assess applicants that suit their mission
and the demands of their programmes.
3. The single biggest constraint on achieving
wider participation in engineering HE is the requirement for a
good understanding of mathematics on entry. Any programmes aimed
at widening participation must therefore include strategies that
enhance and support maths teaching.
4. Admissions processes must be fair and
robust. They must also be applicable to the likely increasing
numbers of applicants who are returning to learning and who therefore
present with different qualifications and/or experience than applicants
from school.
5. ECUK strongly supports the
concerns expressed by the Engineering Professors Council (EPC)
about the under-funding of engineering teaching in HE, and the
risk to the long-term sustainability of engineering disciplines
that are strategic to the UK, based on findings in a recent report
commissioned by the EPC and the Engineering and Technology Board
(ETB).[218]
The quality of the student experience is increasingly under threat.
6. ECUK strongly supports the
work of the HEA's Engineering Subject Centre to facilitate the
spread of innovative teaching practice for engineering academics.
It is very concerned about current proposals by the Higher Education
Academy to reduce the funding of the Subject Centre.
7. ECUK is concerned about the
possible detrimental effect on engineering education of a growing
number of engineering academics not being professionally qualified
engineers. This is reportedly caused by the priority and demands
on an academic's time of the research assessment exercise, by
the lack of recognition within HE for professional qualification
as an engineer, and by a funding regime that militates against
employing those from industry who lack a publications record.
8. It is difficult to see how QAA could
be independent of government and funding agencies. Rather than
simply reporting on HEIs, QAA should be given more channels for
advising HEFCE and DIUS on trends in HE.
9. ECUK welcomes the recommendations
of the Burgess Report, in particular the introduction of the HE
Achievement Record (HEAR) alongside the existing honours degree
classification system. The introduction of the HEAR has important
advantages for the UK in striving for compatibility with the Bologna
Process, leading to a wider understanding and recognition of UK
qualifications within Europe and beyond.
10. Providers of UK engineering degrees
have the added benefit of an internationally recognised ECUK
degree accreditation process that complies with the aims of the
UK's HE Concordat and that has been recommended as exemplary practice
by the Higher Education Regulation Review Group (HERRG).
11. ECUK supports the recognition
of an individual student's personal development planning. This
provides an important opportunity for engineering students to
begin recording the development of their engineering competence
and instills good habits which will be necessary to underwrite
their future continuing professional development and retention
of professional status.
ABOUT ECUK
12. ECUK regulates the UK's engineering
profession, setting and maintaining standards of competence and
ethics for engineers and engineering technicians. It operates
through 36 engineering institutions, which are licensed to assess
members for inclusion on the ECUK Register of Engineers.
This has three sections: Chartered Engineer, Incorporated Engineer
and Engineering Technician. ECUK also formally represents
the interests of UK engineers abroad. For more information visit:
www.engc.org.uk
ADMISSIONS
13. The publication by ECUK in
2004 of the "Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes"
handbook marked a shift in focus from looking at students' entry
grades towards the consideration of learning outcomes when considering
engineering programmes for accreditation. The accreditation criteria
are rooted in the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence
(UK-SPEC), which sets out the competence required for registration
as a professional engineer or engineering technician.
14. Notwithstanding the emphasis in accreditation
processes on learning outcomes and output standards, HE engineering
departments who seek ECUK accreditation are still required
to provide information about programme entry and how the cohort
extremes will be supported. UCAS data indicates that a quarter
of applicants accepted to engineering courses in 2006-7 were from
non-EU domiciled students, which may present particular challenges
for the UK HE engineering admissions process. Our reflection since
the introduction of UK-SPEC in 2004 is that universities can be
trusted to develop systems and criteria to assess applicants that
suit their mission and the demands of their programmes.
15. ECUK encourages wide access
provided that the graduate outcomes can still be attained. Given
the government's demographic data indicating a decline in 18 year
olds from 2007 onwards, it is likely that future entry cohorts
to HE will include increasing numbers of applicants who are already
in the workplace and are returning to learning. Following the
Langlands Report (2005) on Gateways into the Professions, ECUK
was awarded funding to develop an integrated learning and professional
development model for working engineers who register on an academic
programme. Already nearly 50 students are enrolled on such innovative
programmes that aim to attract those who would not otherwise have
been attracted to HE. Admissions processes will need to take account
of such students, and include fair and robust procedures for accrediting
prior learning and experiential learning.
16. The 14-19 Diploma in Engineering presents
an opportunity for students to see a clear pathway into engineering.
ECUK looks forward to applications for registration
from those achieving a (14-19) Diploma, and has encouraged its
Licensed Members to carry out any necessary mapping exercises
against the UK-SPEC standard competences to enable them to identify
any gaps and then consider providing advice and guidance for Diploma
learners, particularly in respect of additional and specialist
learning.
17. With regard to widening participation,
encouraging female participation in engineering and technology
from 15% to a level more representative of HE as a whole remains
a key issue (Engineering UK, 2008. ETB).
18. However, the single biggest constraint
on achieving wider participation is that engineering requires
a good understanding of mathematics on entry if students are not
going to struggle.
THE BALANCE
BETWEEN TEACHING
AND RESEARCH
19. We support the supports the concerns
expressed by the Engineering Professors Council (EPC) about the
under-funding of engineering teaching in HE, and the risk to the
long-term sustainability of engineering disciplines that are strategic
to the UK. These concerns are based on the findings in a report
commissioned by the EPC and the ETB (2007) that demonstrate how
under-funding has created an imbalance between the resources for,
and the needs of, engineering subject teaching in HE, such that
the quality of the student experience is increasingly under threat.
The capacity for further efficiency savings is limited and funding
must better reflect the true costs of teaching engineering, given
the requirements for space, laboratory equipment and investment
in changing technology.
20. Within the joint engineering accreditation
process undertaken by the Engineering Accreditation Board (EAB)
and administered by ECUK, we see evidence of innovative teaching
practice and EAB endeavours to share this. In our view, the HEA's
Engineering Subject Centre based at Loughborough University plays
a vital role in supporting the development of new teaching methods
by UK engineering academics, and ECUK strongly supports
the work of this excellent centre. We are therefore extremely
concerned by the proposals currently being discussed by the Higher
Education Academy, which would significantly reduce the Centre's
funding. The Engineering Subject Centre is very well respected
within the engineering community, not only amongst academic departments
but also within the professional bodies and other influential
organisations such as the Royal Academy of Engineering and the
Engineering Professors' Council. The Royal Academy of Engineering
report on Engineers for the 21st Century (June 2007) praised the
work of the subject centre and called for it to receive more resources
if it was to help the sector implement the changes needed in engineering
education to meet the demands of the knowledge led economy.
21. As part of the engineering accreditation
process, data about engineering academics is required. ECUK
is concerned about an apparent decline in the number of academic
staff who are professionally qualified engineers. Thus, increasingly,
engineering students are being taught by staff who may have little
direct experience of engineering practice. Almost invariably,
the reasons cited by academics for this lack of engagement with
the engineering profession revolve around the pressing demands
of the research assessment exercise and the subsequent lack of
time available to devote to becoming professionally qualified.
Further, funding constraints militate against universities employing
engineering academics who are from industry as they lack the required
publications record. Despite efforts by ECUK and some
of the engineering professional bodies, the registration levels
of engineering academics remain low, and are likely to remain
so until there is some system of credit for this within the HE
sector.
22. ECUK supports the work of
the QAA and has collaborated with the agency to good effect resulting
in QAA adopting the ECUK's UK-SPEC degree output standards (2004)
as the UK's engineering subject benchmark statement. Whilst it
is ideal for the agency that quality assures to be independent
of government and funding agencies, it is difficult to see how
this could be effected. Rather than simply reporting on HEIs,
QAA should be given more channels for advising HEFCE and DIUS
on trends in HE.
DEGREE CLASSIFICATION
23. ECUK is broadly supportive
of the UK honours degree classification system, believing that
this is understood by employers, and welcomes the recommendations
of the Burgess Report, in particular the introduction of the HE
Achievement Record (HEAR) alongside the existing honours degree
classification system. The introduction of the HEAR will assist
both students and employers, and importantly, it will assist the
UK in striving for compatibility with the Bologna Process, leading
to a wider understanding and recognition of UK qualifications
within Europe and beyond.
24. In addition to degree classification, providers
of UK engineering degrees have the added benefit of being able
to apply for programme accreditation by ECUK . The
process and criteria of ECUK degree accreditation have
been reviewed internationally and deemed to be a high standard
by the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education
(ENAEE). Thus, in addition to the UK system for degree classification,
students, graduates, employers and society in general can have
a high level of confidence in an ECUK-accredited degree.
25. As a consequence of the ENAEE review,
ECUK has been licensed to award the ENAEE's EUR-ACE
label to ECUK accredited degrees, so UK engineering
departments have a further mechanism available to them to help
maintain confidence in their degrees outside the UK.
26. ECUK remains committed to
ensuring that UK degrees are valued outside the UK and seeks to
do so as a signatory to various international agreements.
27. The methodology used by ECUK
for engineering degree accreditation was also reviewed by the
Higher Education Regulation Review Group (HERRG) and deemed to
meet the aims of the HE Concordat: reducing the burden on universities
without compromising quality standards. Further, the Final Report
of the HERRG recommended that government use the engineering profession
as an example of good regulatory practice.
STUDENT SUPPORT
AND ENGAGEMENT
28. Non-completion of HE engineering programmes
is highly correlated with poor A level performance and probably
inadequate maths skills. Any programmes aimed at widening participation
must therefore include strategies that enhance and support maths
teaching. The establishment of "maths drop-in centres"
or equivalent by some universities to support engineering students
have been deemed good practice by engineering accrediting panels,
but these are resource-intensive.
29. ECUK supports the recognition
within the Burgess Report of the importance of an individual student's
personal development planning. For engineering students this would
provide an important opportunity for them to begin recording the
development of their engineering competence and instills good
habits which will be necessary to underwrite their future continuing
professional development and retention of professional status.
January 2009
218 The costs of teaching engineering degrees. EPC
and ETB. Nov 2007. http://www.etechb.co.uk/_db/_documents/ETB_EPC_-_Costs_of_Teaching_Engineering_Degrees_Final_Full_Report.pdf Back
| 
