THE RAISE THE BAR INITIATIVE: RESPONSE OF THREE CURRICULA TO ASCE'S EDUCATIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS

摘要

Beginning in 1995 at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Civil Engineering Education Conference (CEEC '95), key educational and professional leaders of the civil engineering community in the United States have been working to reform civil engineering education. In 1998, the call for action from CEEC '95 ultimately resulted in adoption of ASCE Policy Statement 465 - Academic Prerequisites for Licensure and Professional Practice. ASCE PS 465 states that, in the future, education beyond the baccalaureate degree will be necessary for entry into the professional practice of civil engineering. In 2002, an ASCE Board-level committee, the Committee on Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice (CAP^3), was formed to study and implement the actions that would be necessary to achieve this vision for civil engineering. The last ten years have produced significant progress in in what has been called ASCE'S "Raise the Bar" initiative. This paper provides a review of the recommendations for formal education resulting from the "raise the bar" initiative that impact the undergraduate curriculum, and the effectiveness of the efforts to implement the recommendations based on a survey of civil engineering curricula to determine changes made in the undergraduate curriculum as a result of the recommendations. The curricular changes driven by the "raise the bar" initiative in three specific BSCE programs are reviewed. This is one of several papers presented in recognition of the tenth anniversary of establishing CAP^3. The collective papers will provide engineering educators and practitioners with a description of the history, lessons learned, and next steps related to the "raise the bar" initiative. Collectively these present the six different aspects of the "Raise the Bar" initiative: (1) The overall initiative, (2) The civil engineering body of knowledge, (3) changed university curricula, (4) draft guidelines for professional experience, (5) revised accreditation criteria, and (6) modified licensure laws and rules.