Using The National Society Of Professional Engineers’ (Nspe) Ethics Examination As An Assessment Tool In The Engineering Technology Curriculum

In an effort to better assess our students’ understanding of professional ethics, our engineering and technology department has been utilizing materials from the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). Specifically, we provide each student with a copy of the NSPE Code of Ethics and use an examination on this code, also provided by NSPE. These materials are available on the NSPE website. A solution to the exam with cross-references to the applicable NSPE Code of Ethics is also available. Our department uses this exam in the senior capstone course in order to get an overall picture of the depth of professional ethics understanding among our senior class of students. The capstone course combines students from multiple disciplines, including: Mechanical Engineering Technology, Computer Engineering Technology, Technology-Design, Technology-Manufacturing, and Technology-Construction Management. The use of the exam accomplishes a few objectives. First, it provides an assessment on student understanding of professional ethics for students that are nearing graduation. As such, it provides feedback as to the efficacy and depth of coverage of ethics principles that students have been taught throughout their four year academic career. Second, it creates a springboard for additional discussion of ethics. These capstone students are seniors and most have recently completed internships out in the ‘real world’ and this brings more depth and insight to these discussions than often happens in lower-level courses. And third, it provides the students with some motivation and resources for life-long learning in the area of professional ethics. This paper will discuss how the exam is used in the course as well as some results and observations from its use.