Adopting the BOK2 Student Outcomes: A Six-Year Retrospective

In 2008, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) published the Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge, Second Edition (BOK2), reflecting ASCE’s vision of the skills and knowledge the next generation of civil engineers must acquire. The Department of Civil Engineering at Lawrence Technological University adopted the BOK2 that same year as part of its regular program review process. Faculty engaged in extensive debate on the prudence of adopting a new, more complex standard just two years before the ABET accreditation visit in 2010. However, the Department’s commitment to continuous improvement was the eventual impetus for adoption of the BOK2 student outcomes for our program. This paper provides an overview of the challenges faced and the various approaches taken by faculty to integrate the BOK2 outcomes into the civil engineering curriculum. The paper also documents the successful ABET review in 2010 in which the program was granted full accreditation and the maximum six-year review cycle. Finally, after six years of the Department functioning with BOK2 as student outcomes, the faculty can reflect and comment upon the successful and more the problematic aspects of the experience.