فصلنامه آموزش مهندسی ایران
پیاپی 100 (زمستان 1402)

The quality of engineering education has become problematic. A kind of forgetting about the authentic narratives of learning the science has cast a shadow on our higher education system. We need a quality story. This study is an attempt to understand the collective memories leading to the repeated production of quality in the periods of growth and dynamism of engineering education in our country. The case of University College of Engineering, University of Tehran has been selected. An integrated methodological approach has been used in the form of documentary analysis, experts and key informant’ in-depth qualitative interviews and qualitative content analysis of narratives, documents, texts, and sources. Interviews were conducted with faculty members and managers who had significant experience of studying in various technical-engineering fields of Tehran University. Up to 21 participants based on the purposive sample frame to the extent of data saturation and theoretical saturation have been carried out. By using the »CIPP«framework, it was found that the core concept of engineering education quality during the period of grouth and flourishing was the penetrating experience  in science learning. The dimensions of external and internal contexts of concern about the quality engineering education was found. Inputs, processes and outputs were identified.

Quality is essential for the survival of modern educational institutions and a gateway to the globalization of higher education. In the last few decades, engineering has gone through many changes and certain criteria have been proposed for a standard engineering education. Today, leading engineering education schools have revised their educational programs to enable graduates to enter the national and international engineering job market. This situation calls for prioritizing improvement in educational program quality. One of the most common methods for identifying the quality of education is to pass the accreditation process successfully. In modern “accreditation”, instead of measuring what the university offers, the focus is on “outcomes” or what the graduates have gained. To judge the extent to which students achieve the desired outcomes, two methods of evaluation have been developed: “internal assessment” or “self-assessment” by the educational institution; and “external assessment” by independent accreditation bodies. This article first reviews the status of engineering education accreditation in the world and explains the mechanism of internal and external assessment. Then, measures that have been taken in the last decade to evaluate engineering education in Iran, according to the common criteria in the world, are explained

Continuous assessment of the quality of engineering education is one of the necessities of improving the quality of the engineering education system. Despite national and international emphasis on internal and external evaluation in higher education, the use of this approach has not yet been a common practice in Iranian engineering education system. One of the reasons for this is the complexity and time-consuming implementation of this approach. But one can use alternative approaches that are easier to implement. Among these approaches is the survey of student engagement at university life. In this approach, two main questions are answered: (a) what are the activities of students in the university environment, and learning environments in general, and what is their quality?; and (b) what measures academic institutions take to enhance student learning? Towards applying the above-mentioned research, a descriptive-analytical research project was carried out with the aim of conducting a survey of student engagement at the engineering colleges of the country. The population under study was the students of engineering colleges affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. The necessary data was collected through a questionnaire administered to a sample selected from the entire engineering education system of the country. The results showed that the level of active academic participation of engineering students is not favorable. In addition, the interaction of students with academic members is rather weak and engineering students do not have a very satisfactory experience of university education. Also, their learning is not at the level that expected. Finally, students believe that the university has not improved their knowledge and skills to the level that they could enter the labor market.

The purpose of a research project which is reported here was to analyze the quality of engineering education based on the data collected from the articles published in the Iranian Journal of Engineering Education (IJEE). Furthermore, based on the findings, suggestions towards improving the quality of engineering education in Iran have been provided. In doing so, the content analysis of aforementioned studies was conducted in two steps. In the first step, a scoping review method was carried out to a selected 31 study sources from the database of the IJEE from 1999 to 2023 by considering specialized keywords. Then, the qualitative content analysis was carried out. The findings were classified into three categories: input, output, and outcome factors. Input factors included students, educational and curriculum programs, higher education policies, university policies, faculty members, and facilities. Output factors included the unemployment of engineering graduates (job problems and migration of engineering elites) and the separation of engineering universities from the industry (shortcomings of the university and the industry). Outcome factors included the impact of social and cultural conditions, as well as economic and political conditions on engineering education graduates. In the end, based on the obtained results, executive suggestions for revising policies and improving the quality of engineering education have been proposed.

Today, higher education systems in general and engineering education in particular play a significant role in the sustainable development of countries. On the other hand, the production and development of different technologies has created new conditions for engineering education systems and has doubled its importance. In other words, engineering education should train engineers who can design effective solutions to meet the needs of society and adapt to new technological trends and tools, considering sustainable development. Therefore, along with the quantitative growth, the improvement of the quality of engineering education has been considered. In this regard, although Iran’s engineering education system has enjoyed increasing growth in recent years, its quality is challenged by overemphasis of the curriculum on theoretical knowledge, the mismatch of skills of the graduates with the needs of the labor market.  Then, as graduates lack entrepreneurship skills their unemployment causes problems.   Based on the above, this article, while examining the quantitative expansion of students in the engineering education system, analyzes challenges and the need to strengthen monitoring and assessment process to improve its quality. Then, the current situation and ideal role of Iranian Institute for Accreditation of Engineering Education are discussed.

In the United States of America (USA), there are two types of educational accreditation, regional and specialized. The former is practiced through associations of colleges and universities within defined geographical areas of the country (South, North Central, Middle Atlantic, New England, West and Northwest). Specialized accreditation grew out of a desire on the part of professional bodies to ensure the quality of education given to practitioners. Today, more than seventy fields in post-secondary education such as law, medicine, and engineering are subject to specialized accreditation conducted through the direct or indirect involvement of several national organizations and thousands of individuals. This paper reviews the standards and process for accreditation of construction education programs in the USA.