Associations Participating In
Common Examinations Program
by Al Schuld, P.Eng. APEGGA Deputy Registrar
APEGGA, along with most of the constituent associations of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (CCPE), is participating in a pilot project to make improvements in technical examinations available to candidates assigned them by the Board of Examiners.
The pilot project was instituted at a meeting
of the Canadian Engineering Qualifications Board (CEQB) in 1995. The reasons
for the project were:
- a concern that there would be a more uniform and consistent standard for the administration of examinations;
- that resources involved in the setting, administration and marking be used in a more effective way.
In the case of many of the smaller associations, there were very few candidates who were writing. The lead in providing examinations for the pilot project was taken by Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO). The initial pilot session ran in December 1996, with APEGGA's participation being limited to examinations in mechanical engineering and complementary studies. At that session, 365 examinations were written from 86 topics taken from the approved CEQB syllabus. Fifty examinations were written by APEGGA applicants, 67 by APEGBC applicants, and 211 by PEO applicants.
There were some policy differences in administration
that are under review by both the CEQB and the APEGGA Board of Examiners.
At the next session, in May 1997, APEGGA again participated with the examinations
from mechanical engineering and the complementary studies. A third session
is planned for December 1997, and a report on the pilot project will be
considered by the CEQB at its fall 1997 meeting.
A further initiative considered by the CEQB committee
was whether there could be some centralization in the setting of Professional
Practice Examinations. There was less demand by the Associations for this
to be done. All of the associations now require new applicants to complete
an examination set in accordance with the national guideline. All other
associations now accept APEGGA's examination as fulfilling the requirement.
Applicants to NAPEGG (the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists
and Geophysicists of the Northwest Territories) are asked to complete APEGGA's
examination as one of the admission requirements. A pilot project with
APEGBC to use APEGGA's format (a machine marked, 100 question multiple-choice
examination) has been run in the summer of 1997.