Asce Student Chapters: A Contributor To Achieving Program Goals

An analysis is presented of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Policy 465 outcomes, their origins, and the ways an ASCE Student Chapter could contribute to their attainment. The authors draw on their experience serving on ASCE’s Committee on Student Activities, working with student chapters and clubs, and serving on the ASCE’s Second Edition of the Body of Knowledge Committee. Using their experience from reviewing student chapter and club annual reports from many schools over several years, from attending and observing numerous Regional Student Conferences, from running Workshops for Student Chapter Leaders, from participating in Practitioner and Faculty Advisor Training Workshops, and finally from serving as advisor for the USMA student chapter, the authors assess the contribution of student groups to attainment of Policy 465 outcomes. Through community service projects, field trips, guest speakers, organizing and running local, regional and in some cases national events, and through the leadership opportunities offered in the ASCE student groups, civil engineering undergraduates can, and do, demonstrate that they are developing the skills and gaining experience in many of the areas outlined in the 15 outcomes of the BOK. When the student group has faculty and practitioner advisor participation, and takes on significant service projects and/or the running of events involving large numbers of participants, the learning and experience are at their best. The educational opportunities presented by an active and well run ASCE student group cannot be matched in traditional classroom settings. In examining recent initiatives of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) regarding the future of engineering education, it is clear that many typical ASCE student group activities can contribute to meeting the recommendations of the NAE immediately, without significant changes to a program’s curriculum. Finally, ASCE student group activities can also be used to support civil engineering program accreditation, under both current and proposed criteria.