In this series I’ve covered why accreditation of engineering programs is important, and what the programs should contain. However, it’s not enough to just have the right program content. The programs have to also achieve a long list of “outcomes”, meaning that students graduating from the programs should have the following attributes:

• Engineering knowledge base: competence in math, sciences, engineering fundamentals, and discipline-specific knowledge.
• Problem analysis: ability to use the knowledge to solve engineering problems and make substantiated conclusions.
• Investigation: ability to approach complex problems using experiments, data analysis, and synthesis of information.
• Design: ability to meet goals and make decisions for complex, iterative and open-ended problems using all the tools available, including health & safety, sustainability, economic and other constraints.
• Use of engineering tools: ability to create, select or extend techniques and methods to solve problems, while understanding the limitations of these tools. This is often software & calculational tools, but can include other stuff.
• Individual and team work: ability to work as a member and leader in teams, preferably multi-disciplinary.
• Communication skills: ability to communicate complex engineering concepts to other engineers and the broader society. Includes reading, writing, speaking, listening, comprehending and writing effective reports & design documentation.
• Professionalism: understanding the roles & responsibilities of professional engineers, especially in protecting the public.
• Impact of engineering on society and the environment: understanding the interactions between engineering and societal effects such as economics, health & safety, legal, cultural, sustainability, environmental.
• Ethics and equity: ability to apply professional ethics, accountability and equity.
• Economics and project management: incorporating economics and business practices, including project, risk and change management, and knowing the limitations.
• Life-long learning: ability to identify and address personal educational needs to maintain competence in the field.

So everyone graduating from an engineering program should have achieved these attributes at some reasonable level, recognizing that they are just beginning a career and will continue to develop skills. In the next post, we’ll look at the actual accreditation process and how programs have to demonstrate that they have the right content and that their graduates have all the required attributes.