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My degree hasn't been accredited by IET have I joined the wrong Institution?

Former Community Member
Former Community Member
I am looking to start applying for CEng and joined the IET as my work place is advising on this institution. But when I searched for my MEng degree it doesn't appear to have been accredited by IET. However other institutions IMechE, RAeS and IEE have accredited it for CEng.

Does this mean that I need to leave IET and join on of these three institutions instead?


Finally I am confused on what exemplifying qualification means. In the UK SPEC, the competency and commitment for CEng A to E. Does the MEng exemplify an applicant from any of these or does it just give you the ability to simply apply?


Thanks
  • 0
    I don't think that the old degrees should have their accreditation changed as the documentation regarding the accreditation will be from the IEE, not the IET. It is of course possible to state it was accredited by the IEE and add IET in brackets or similar to clarify.


    However to go back to the original post, this is something I brought up with the IET a couple of years ago and the answer is much as stated above. The degrees in specialised areas such as aeronautics are left to be accredited by the appropriate PEI, but if the individual applies for registration through the IET the accreditation will be accepted in full by the IET - as long as the degree is directly relevant to the work being undertaken by the applicant (e.g. someone with an accredited degree in Aeronautics will have that accreditation accepted if they are working in the aeronautics field, but if they are now doing computer programming it will not be seen as a full exemplifying qualification).
  • 0
    Just a thought. Wouldn't any IEE accreditation have lapsed anyway?
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    The degree in question - MEng in Aerospace Engineering (1524) was accredited by the IEE in the period of 09/1992 - 08/2006. If my understanding is correct, as long as the OP started and finished their course within that period then they are deemed to have achieved an accredited degree. If they then make their CEng application many years after the said period, then that would still be accepted as a valid accredited degree.


    As for whether the Job role has to match the degree subject to qualify for CEng registration; I can give two examples that suggests the opposite case. One being Naomi Climber (first female president of the IET) graduated with a degree in Chemistry, then joined the BBC as a Trainee Engineer. The other whose name I cannot recall, but read about in the IET magazine, gained a degree in Physics and worked in the construction industry as a Civil/Structural Engineer registered as a Chartered Engineer through the IET. So I don't see why someone with an MEng degree in Aerospace cannot work as a computer programmer (preferably related to Aerospace industry) and register for CEng. Unless of course, this is not the same thing as having an exemplifying qualification?
  • 0
    Engineering Council is responsible for Academic Accreditation carried out by Professional Engineering Institutions (PEIs). The PEIs are “licensees”, or what would be described in business as “franchisees”. 

    Engineering Council are also responsible for professional registration and set the rules about how accredited qualifications should be treated.

    Some PEIs attach great importance to whether or not they accredited a degree, or if not how similar it was to their "requirements". The IEE used to work like that.

    My understanding is that, The IET accepts all UK accredited degrees and those that can be verified as being of similar quality by a competent authority, as being valid evidence.  

       
    Engineering Council rules require applicants for professional registration be defined as either “Standard Route” or “Individual Route”. Anyone without fully accredited qualifications is “individual”. Therefore, IET Staff will check every case against the Engineering Council database, including an “older list” going back 40+ years, international treaties (such as Washington Accord), or NARIC for broader equivalence to UK standard.  

    A professional registration assessment by the IET, does not require an engineer’s work to be aligned to the title of their academic qualification.

    Trained IET registration assessors, will each have a professional opinion about how relevant a registration applicant’s academic evidence is to their overall underpinning knowledge and understanding (UK&U). Therefore, when IET Assessors feel it necessary during the initial stage of a registration assessment, they will discuss this with the other members of a review panel.  


    This initial stage of assessment requires the panel to justify why the applicant should go forward to interview, on the grounds of having UK&U and also sufficient evidence of having met UK-SPEC competences.  Being “standard route” is a common justification for having sufficient UK&U.

  • 0
    mbirdi:

    As for whether the Job role has to match the degree subject to qualify for CEng registration; ........ Unless of course, this is not the same thing as having an exemplifying qualification?


    Your final thought is right. To be an exemplifying qualification the degree has to be relevant to the work you are doing, but this does not stop anyone achieving Chartered status as can be seen by the many engineers gaining registration with a non-accredited degree, or even with no degree at all. I think that Roy's post sums it up quite neatly.


  • 0
    Jonathan Knowles:

    Just a thought. Wouldn't any IEE accreditation have lapsed anyway?


    No it doesn't, because it's all about whether the degree was accredited at the time the applicant took it.


    Now, why the PEIs should care about which exact degree someone achieved 15-20-25 years before they apply is somewhat beyond me, but there you go...and to be fair, that's exactly why it isn't seen as a big issue with experienced applicants as to whether their degree was accredited or not.


    Cheers,


    Andy  


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