Hi - Hope you can help!

I am just about to complete my final year of a FdSc Renewable Energy Engineering degree.

In September '12 I will be progressing on to the top-up 3rd year
BEng Tech (Hons) Renewable Energy Engineering degree
which will be brand new to my university.

What will having "Tech" after the BEng mean in real terms?

It is a 'non accredited' degree due to it being brand new I guess.
My uni are saying that us students have to individually apply to the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) for Incorporated Engineer (IEng) membership - It has been designed to fulfil UK-SPEC educational requirements to be worthy of membership.

Why is my uni asking us students to apply for accreditation? We seem to be the only course they haven't applied to have accredited.

Having read about accreditation it seems like the uni and the course would have to be inspected/scrutinised to see if it is worthy.
I don't see how us students can apply individually :s

Abit of background info...
My university realised that they didn't have a top-up degree suitable for us Renewable Energy Engineers and they're legally obliged to do so. So they have created one just for my class of just 5 people and there are no imminent plans to keep the course running after we graduate.
Could we be getting fobbed off with a rubbish degree?

How hard can being accredited be? What is involved?
If it doesn't get accredited would the degree be useless?
Surely it's unethical for a uni to run a degree course that isn't worth the paper it's written on.

Thanks for yourr patience

Look forward to hearing from you

Nicky

Hi Nicky

I am in a similar predicament at the minute.

The course I'm doing, Foundation Degree in Electrical and Electronic, is also not accredited. This was a huge disappointment when I found out, as we was all always led to believe that it was. I then looked into accreditation further and found out that if your university does end up getting accredited at a later date, they can back date and accredidate there degrees for so many years.

I have recommended my university to do this and we are now getting a vist from the IET to look into accredited are degree, which is a great success to us students. I also advice you to do this and try to get your course accrediated.

Although this is not a problem if you don't get the course accrediated, as you can apply for your own accrediatation from the IET. For example apply for CEng, IEng or EngTech, even though you will probably apply for EngTech first (dependent on experience).

I'm sure getting advice off a more experienced member of the IET, will tell you more about this subject though.
Hope this helps

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Fail to prepare...Prepare to fail!

Adam

Cheers Adam. Well done for persuing that! You sound like me lol I've been researching all about it so i'm more clued up now

The thing with my course is that I suspect it will probably only run as a one off as it's a brand new field and the student demand isn't there - there are only 5 on my course.

Best of luck!

Nicky

"Although this is not a problem if you don't get the course accrediated, as you can apply for your own accrediatation from the IET.
For example apply for CEng, IEng or EngTech, even though you will probably apply for EngTech first (dependent on experience). "

Yeah, a catch 22 situation.

1. Employers sometimes preferentially recruit accredited degree graduates. So if you do a none accredited degree your future progression may be handicapped.
2. No job = no experience
3. No experience = declined for IEng/CEng/etc. status.

Am I getting this right? I've read so much I don't wana confuse myself

Does your uni have other accredited engineering degrees with the IET?
If so, i've read that the membership is £500 a year.

Do you know what the one off fee for the voluntary IET moderators to visit is?
From what i've read they make it really affordable, just asking for the uni to cover travel expenses and such like.
Also they welcome multiple applications for accreditation per visit so if uni have already lined up a visit they are at no loss

Hi,

Sorry for the late reply, but i don't know anything further on fees and so on for the IET to accredit courses. All I know that the university will be getting someone in from the IET in September.

Also in regards to applying for your own accreditation, i have been personally told by a experienced member that works for the IET that it is not impossible to get accredited. I will be applying for EngTech at the end of the year and i do not have a accredited degree. I will be using my experience and my knowledge. Hopefully that will get me through...

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Fail to prepare...Prepare to fail!

Adam