Are Australian and American Engineering Education Programs the Same? The Similarities and Differences between Australian and American Engineering Accreditation Procedures

In our ever more globally connected world, one of the principal objectives for engineering education accreditation standards is to maintain the international standard of quality of our engineering graduates. However, most of the world's engineering education accreditation guidelines are administered by organizations that are regulated at the national level, while the International Engineering Alliance provides comparison at the international level. At many steps in the Australian and United States accreditation processes there are similarities between the engineering education accreditation standards and procedures administered by ABET in the United States, and by Engineers Australia (IEAust) in Australia. But, there are also many differences. This paper is a comparative study that assesses the major differences and similarities between the two different engineering education accreditation infrastructures in Australia and the United States. Although in many cases the required standards for the graduate are very similar, the methods by which those standards are assessed throughout the course of the accreditation process differs considerably. The application for accreditation, the accreditation assessment procedures and the duration of accreditation tenure are all different between the two countries, and yet similar in structure. In both countries, the accreditation process is primarily directed at insuring the competence of graduates from all accredited educational providers. Accreditation is also a requirement for domestic Professional Engineering certification and licensure in both Queensland and Western Australia in Australia, as well as throughout the United States. Due to the focus of engineering education accreditation entities being focused predominantly on national issues, like domestic certification and licensure, the broader picture of international standards of engineering accreditation has necessarily received less attention. There are several multi-national accords that allow for reciprocal recognition of accredited engineering programs for the purpose of Professional Engineering certification and licensure. But, the policies and procedures of the engineering education accreditation infrastructure are far from standardized at the international level. This paper analyzes procedural differences in engineering education accreditation protocols between Australia and the United States. Background History of the International Accords There are numerous Mutual Recognition Agreements between national accreditation entities, which are either bilateral or multinational in nature. These MRAs are agreements made between primary accrediting entities from two or more nations that agree to reciprocally recognize the engineering education programs that are separately accredited by each of the national accrediting entities. In regard to this paper, there are principally only three MRAs that are applicable to the specific field of engineering education. The first, and most prominent of these MRAs, is the Washington Accord, which was signed by six nations’ engineering education accreditation entities in 1989. The original six signatories to the Washington Accord in 1989 are: 1 1. Engineers Australia (also referred to as IEAust) 2. The Canadian Council of Professional Engineers Are Australian and American Engineering Education Programs the Same? The Similarities and Differences between Australian and American Engineering Accreditation Procedures