Abstract
The Washington Accord known as a mutual recognition agreement between national engineering regulatory bodies was signed in 1989 by six founding signatories. Through this mutual recognition agreement the signatories recognize that the formal educational programs accredited by the respective signatories are substantially equivalent. The stated objective of the Washington Accord is to ease the path of engineering graduates to professional registration or licensing in different jurisdictions. Since 1989, the signatories to the Washington Accord has increased threefold with an additional five countries as currently provisional signatories. This rapid expansion is a reflection of the need for international recognition of educational qualifications and competency across borders in an increasingly globalized world. Engineering accreditation bodies, particularly in developing countries, are proactively seeking recognition and mobility of their graduates. Within this context, the Washington Accord celebrates 25 years and charts a course for the next 25 years. This paper examines in detail the position of the U.S. licensing boards on the Washington Accord. It is concluded that with respect to the U.S. licensing boards, the Washington Accord has made only modest inroads in its first 25 years and needs to set a much more ambitious path for the next 25 to achieve truly reciprocal mobility.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology). (2014). “Is your program recognized by the Washington accord?” 〈http://www.abet.org/recognized-by-washington-accord/〉 (Aug. 20, 2014).
Anwar, A. A., and Richards, D. J. (2013). “Is the USA set to dominate accreditation of engineering education and professional qualifications?” Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng., 166(CE1), 42–48.
ASCE. (2014). “Policy statement 465—Academic prerequisites for licensure and professional practice.” 〈http://www.asce.org/issues-and-advocacy/public-policy/policy-statement-465---academic-prerequisites-for-licensure-and-professional-practice〉 (Dec. 16, 2014).
Engineers Ireland. (2014). “Chartered engineer accredited programmes.” 〈http://www.engineersireland.ie/services/accredited-courses/chartered-engineer.aspx〉 (Aug. 17, 2014).
Hanrahan, H. (2008). “The Washington accord: History, development, status and trajectory.” 7th ASEE Global Colloquium on Engineering Education, Cape Town, South Africa.
Hanrahan, H. (2014). “Dr Hu Hanrahan’s speech notes at Washington accord dinner.” 〈http://www.ieagreements.org/25_years/〉 (Aug. 16, 2014).
International Engineering Alliance. (2014a). “25 years Washington accord.” 〈http://www.ieagreements.org/25_years/〉 (Aug. 16, 2014).
International Engineering Alliance. (2014b). “PowerPoint presented at the 25 years Washington accord dinner.” 〈http://www.ieagreements.org/25_years/〉 (Aug. 16, 2014).
Lucena, J., Downey, G., Jesiek, B., and Elber, S. (2008). “Competencies beyond countries: The reo-organization of engineering education in the United States, Europe and Latin America.” J. Eng. Educ., 97(4), 433–447.
Minnesota Administrative Rules. (2014). Chapter 1800, Licensing and operation, Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior Design, 〈https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/?id=1800&view=chapter#rule.1800.2800〉 (Aug. 17, 2014).
NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying). (2004). The history of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying: 1920–2004, 3rd Ed., J. A. Corley, ed.
NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying). (2013a). “Model law.” 〈http://cdn3.ncees.co/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Model-Law-2013.pdf〉 (Sep. 20, 2014).
NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying). (2013b). “Model rules.” 〈http://cdn3.ncees.co/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Model-Rules-2013.pdf〉 (Sep. 20, 2014).
NSPE (National Society of Professional Engineers). (2007). “Century.” 〈http://www.nspe.org/sites/default/files/resources/pdfs/pemagazine/june2007_the_professional_engineering.pdf〉 (Sep. 5, 2014).
Phillips, W. M., Peterson, G. D., and Aberle, K. B. (2000). “Quality assurance for engineering education in a changing world.” Int. J. Eng. Educ., 16(2), 97–103.
Prados, J. W., Peterson, G. D., and Lattuca, L. R. (2005). “Quality assurance of engineering education through accreditation: The impact of engineering criteria 2000 and its global influence.” J. Eng. Educ., 94(1), 165–184.
Prichard, J. (2013). “Discussion to ‘Is the USA set to dominate accreditation of engineering education and professional qualifications?” Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng., 166(CE2), 56.
Richards, P. W., Williams, G., Schultz, G. G., and Nelson, E. J. (2011). “Present sentiment about ASCE Policy Statement 465 among business owners, university professors and state licensing boards.” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract., 122–126.
Uziak, J., Oladiran, M., Walczak, M., and Gizejowski, M. (2014). “Is accreditation an opportunity for positive change or a mirage?” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract., 02513001.
Walker, H. W. (2012). “Policy 465: Latest struggle in the ‘Revolt of the Engineers’.” J. Prof. Issues Eng. Educ. Pract., 283–288.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 141 • Issue 4 • October 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 24, 2014
Accepted: Jan 12, 2015
Published online: Feb 20, 2015
Discussion open until: Jul 20, 2015
Published in print: Oct 1, 2015
ASCE Technical Topics:
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.