“Fall 2020 was a good time to be a UA Little Rock civil and construction engineering student” reported Professor Anne Turner, P.E. upon receiving the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) report for the second half of 2020. Of the students and alumni who took the Civil Engineering Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) and Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exams, 86% and 80%, respectively, passed the exams on their first attempts. Nationally, 69% and 67% of all first time examinees earned passing scores on the same exam over the same time period.
Both the FE and PE exams are administered by NCEES, and passing the exams is required to obtain a Professional Engineer (PE) license. UA Little Rock civil and construction engineering students are required to pass the FE exam and, upon graduation, are then eligible to obtain their Engineering Intern (EI) license. This makes them extremely competitive for high quality engineering jobs, which require professional licensure.
One of the qualifications to apply to take the PE exam is that a student must have graduated from an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited program. This year the department is seeking to renew accreditation with ABET, so news of the high percentage of passing first time PE exam takers comes at a fantastic time for the department.
To take the FE exam, students must be preparing to graduate from an ABET accredited program as well. The civil and construction engineering degree has been accredited since 2012. Since the first graduating class in 2013, 86% of UA Little Rock graduates from the program have passed the PE on their first attempt.