Posted: August 26th, 2021
DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT FOR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION PROGRAM
Student’s Name
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Abstract
The construction industry serves an integral role in the United States economy. The success of individuals entering the professions of construction is not only reliant on a robust, practical foundation for construction skills but also capabilities such as problem-solving skills, collaboration, leadership, and creativity. The competencies and skills are maintained and developed throughout the undergraduate construction programs offered by the learning institutions and by Construction Engineering and Management and accredited by Construction Management, American Council for Construction Education, and Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology. The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology approves multiple undergraduate programs like civil, construction, architecture engineering offered by various learning institutions in the united states. At the same time,the American Council for Construction Education certifies non-engineering programs like construction management. This research paper will cover the topic of Construction Engineering management and Construction Engineer student ‘s undergraduate education development. The article covers the CM/CEM undergraduate education current situation and CM/CEM undergraduate education program development trend or direction. Further, the article incorporates the significance of the ACCE/ABET Accreditation system and the effect of the accreditation organization. It is achieved by comparing various learning institutions offering the courses. The methodology section of the paper includes a comparison of the multiple accreditation organizations and their respective process.
Table of Contents
2.2 CM Undergraduate Education Current Situation. 5
2.3 CM/CEM Undergraduate Education Program Development Trend or Direction. 6
2.4 Accreditation (ABET or ACCE) Requirement 6
2.5 Accreditation Organization Effect 6
2.6 IT Courses In CM/CEM Undergraduate Program.. 7
Table 1. Summary of category semester (quarter) hour requirements. 9
3.1. Analyze which categories courses need to adjust. 9
Table 2. Construction Engineering Management Summary. 10
Graph 1 & 2. The number and proportion of CEM IT courses. 13
4.0 Data Analysis and Discussion. 13
4.1 Accreditation Organizations. 14
Table 6. Sample of CM Courses Type. 15
4.2 ABET Accreditation Characteristics and Effect 16
Figure 2. Acreditation of CM and CEM by ABET and ACCE system.. 16
Table 7. Schools in Illinois, US offering MEP and IT. 17
4.3 ACCE Accreditation Characteristics and Effect 17
4.4 CEM/CM and Accreditation Development 19
Table 8: A summary of Construction Management course. 20
1.0 Background
With the continuous development of the construction industry, the division of labor in the construction industry is continually being refined. Education has developed two separate majors for the Construction Management Profession: Construction Management (CM) and Construction Engineering Management (CEM). Construction Management is a professional service that uses specialized project management techniques to oversee the planning, design, and construction of a project from its beginning to its end. The purpose of CM is to control a project’s timelydelivery, cost, and quality – sometimes referred to as a project’s “triple constraint. Construction engineering management (CEM) involves the application of technical and scientific knowledge to infrastructure construction projects. While engineering focuses on design and construction management is concerned with overseeing the actual construction, CEM often represents a blend of both disciplines, bridging design and management or project execution.
According to theresearch of the University of Washington of American architectural development (Hildreth and Gehrig2010), the period of the American construction industry booming was in the 1950s. After the Second World War, large-scale construction projects were planned throughout the United States. Since then, the construction industry has required a large number of professionals.According to the analysis of the development history of some construction management programs, the first batch of construction management undergraduate degrees in the United States was established in the 1950s. For example, Colorado State University (CSU)s construction management program was established in 1946. The University of Washington’s construction management program was also found in the 1950s. After half a century of development, the construction management profession has recorded a lot of growth in undergraduate degrees and expansion in curriculum content. With the advent of the information age, technical and computer skills have become one of the necessary competencies for future project management professionals. It is also the next development trend of the construction management profession.
The
existence of the construction engineering management and construction
management professional education level industry has influenced the
establishment of organizations that set industry standards and requirements.
The American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) was established in 1974.
It has been a leading global advocate of quality construction education that
promotes, supports, and continues toimprove postsecondary construction
education. ACCE accredits construction education programs in colleges and
universities that request its evaluation and meet its rigorous standards and
criteria(ACCE 2019-20120).ABET, incorporated as the Accreditation Board
for Engineering and Technology, Inc., is a non-governmental organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering
technology.
ABET was established in 1932 as the Engineers’ Council for Professional
Development (ECPD)
by seven engineering societies. In 1980, it was renamed ABET. After 70 years of
development, ABET has 35 members(ABET 2018).
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
The section provides a brief analysis of the recent research that Ahn and other researchers conducted concerning construction engineering management. These researchers survey graduate participants working in 100 construction companies. Further, the review briefs on the 14 essential competencies that graduates need to possess before they can work effectively in the construction industry. More so, the literature study gives an analysis of the accreditation requirements, coupled with the incorporation of information technology. Indeed, the review provides an overview of the accreditation organization’s effect on the application of education program development trends among graduate engineers.
2.2 CMUndergraduate Education Current Situation
As the construction industry continues to evolve, the skills required for graduates of CM and majors are increasing. The study seeks to examine the perception that the US construction industry has when it comes to crucial competencies that a construction graduate should have (Ahn, Pearce, and Hyuksoo 2012). They used the survey method to gather the information they required for this study. They used survey recruiters for over 100 construction companies in the eastern part of the US. In their survey, they generated 14 essential abilities that a graduate from the CEM program must-have. They asked the participants to rate these capabilities from the most important to the least. The 14 competencies were: problem-solving abilities, interpersonal abilities, ethical issues, collaborative abilities, adaptability, safety matters, interdisciplinary administration, leadership, rational comprehension, communication, technical skills, computer skills, estimating/scheduling skills, and environmental consciousness (Ahn, Pearce and Hyuksoo 2012).
After summarizing all the collected data, these researchers analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis. Each course is graded according to its impact on industry needs. The construction industry rates the level of demand for different courses.Ethical issues had the highest mean of 4.52 out of a normal scale of 5, implying that most graduates prefer to be instilled with moral lessons consideration while advancing the construction management related skills. Technical and computer skills had a mean of 3.8 and 3.77, respectively (Ahn, Pearce, and Hyuksoo 2012). Although these two values were close to the environmental awareness mean, which was ranked the lowest, this was an indication that the construction industry is slowly starting to value the technical ability of CM/ graduates. It can be seen that according to the industry’s standards and the needs of the modern construction industry, the demand for the construction industry graduates is gradually increasing due to the increasing demands for green and sustainable building innovations (Becerik-Gerber, Burcin and Jazizadeh 2012). Not only is there a demand for professional skills, but there is also a higher demand for students’ Comprehensive capacity.
According to Ahn, Pearce, and Hyuksoo, construction engineering and construction management programs are found on the fundamental principles of civil engineering (2012). The majority of the CM/ undergraduate education programs offer the learners a balance of coursework and programs in building management and technologies practice. Besides, a further study from other courses equips the students with experiences and abilities required to navigate the workplace (Russell 2007). According to theACCE and ABET reports, primary education, professional engineering courses, and some other supplementary courses combine to form all the courses of the university.
2.3 CM/CEM Undergraduate Education Program Development Trend or Direction
The CM/CEM undergraduate education programs prepare the students for a career in the dynamic and complex construction industry. The CM/CEM courses program aim to provide an inclusive and state of the art education that prepares the graduates for professionals as well as responsible construction positions within the government, business and consulting and industry firms. Specifically, there has been a trend where the CEM undergraduate education program is increasingly incorporating Information and Communications Technology (ICT) (. Key technical competencies are needed to allow students to take part in the construction projects fully due to the construction industry’s nature. According to the three renowned researchers, there is a need to haveindividuals in the building industry who play a vital role in the design, specification, and implementation of future building process support systems. An integrated view into the complex construction process which requires a combination of ICT tools and in-depth construction knowledge. Consequently, there is about 63 CM IT courses currently offered at the various learning institutions. Further, there are about 22 CM IT courses. Indeed, the integration of ICT among the graduates will lead to enhanced communication, increased in the speed of work, minimization of errors, and quick access to data when participating in the construction industry (Becerik-Gerber, Burcin, and Jazizadeh 2012).
2.4 Accreditation (ABET or ACCE) Requirement
ABET is the accreditation system for engineering degrees and has a program for other degrees like CM/CEM. ACCE is the most common accreditation system for CM/CEM degrees. Most universities endeavor to earn accreditation for their degrees.
Accreditation is mainly concerned with whether the courses offered to meet the ACCE certification standards.
1.1.1.1 Be located in an educational institution of higher learning that is legally authorized under applicable laws to provide a degree program of education beyond that of the secondary level. Furthermore, in the case of those institutions in the United States, be accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting agency, and in the case of other countries, be certified by the accrediting agency appropriate for its locale, if such exists.
1.1.1.2 Have been in operation for sufficient time to have at least one (1) class of graduates receiving the degree for which accreditation is sought.
1.1.1.3 Offer either a Bachelor or Associate Degree program with a significant emphasis on professional construction education.
1.1.1.4 Have a designated administrator responsible for the leadership and management functions for the degree program under review.
2.5 Accreditation Organization Effect
The effect of the accreditation organization is that it has helped assure quality, engender employer confidence, and ease the transfer of students. Accreditation is the primary way through which the learning institutions and the programs guarantee quality to the public and learners. The accredited status is the sign that the undergraduate programs meet the standards for the curriculum, faculty, and students. The program accredited status is integral to the employers when assessing the job application credentials and when deciding on whether to support the undergraduate programs related to construction when pursued by the staff. Accreditation is vital to the learners for consistency and possible transfer of credits and courses amongst institutions of higher learning and the programs. Students who have pursued accredited programs can compete effectivelyin the complex construction industry. ACCE assists learners through identifying programs and institutions which provide quality education in the industry. It ensures that the students obtain high-quality learning and ensure that they are updated with the latest technologies, requirements, and construction industry trends.
Assessment is one or more processes that identify, collect, and prepare data to evaluate the attainment of student outcomes. The practical assessment uses relevant direct, indirect, quantitative, and qualitative measures as appropriate to the issue being measured (ABET2018). ABET is used to interpret the data accumulated during the evaluation process by gathering the process of evaluating multiple schools. The assessment results reflect the results of students’ education. According to the collected data, the demand and development direction of the industry can be judged more accurately.
2.6 IT Courses In CM/CEM Undergraduate Program
3.0 Methodology
The purpose of this study is to gather and analyze course information on existing CM and CEM undergraduate degree programs in the US to provide information and recommendations for the new CU Denver BS in CM and CEM, which is underdevelopment.
This study starts with a database prepared by Laleh Ghanbarc. She compiled and prepared a spreadsheet that has programs, courses, and certifications offered by all the schools that provide information. Based on the data received, statistics were collected for all courses of the CM and CEM majors. There is a need to have the ACCE and ABET certification requirements to help compare with the primarilycollected data. Many thanks to Laleh Ghanbarc for creating a database enlisting all the courses offered by CEM and CM undergraduate students revering from 54 colleges., Indeed, she completed the preliminary statistics of the collected data coupled with the inherent implementation of CM/CEM courses in 53 universities. Likewise, she considerably marked the accreditation status of each school based on the figure below.
Figure 1.Undergraduate courses list from each university.
The first step of this research study was to divide the courses of all universities into two parts: CEM andCM.Therefore, each course program depends on the ACCE and ABET curriculum for CM/CEM program;the course is divided into 15 categories, including (1) estimates, (2) M&M, (3) PCS, (4) MEP, (5) business and management, (6) structure, and (7) IT & Technology. , (8) Geology, (9) Risk and Safety, (10) Construction and Management, (11) Sustainability, (12) Environment, (13) Cost, (14) Measurement, and (15) Others.Bachelor Degree programs required a minimum of 120 semester hours (180 quarter hours). Associate Degree programs needed a minimum of 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours).The table below shows the ACCE category requirement. The minimum credit requirement for quarter school and semester school is different for different curriculum.
Table 1. Summary of category semester (quarter) hour requirements
For the ABET accreditation requirement. The ABET criteria requirement document state that “the program must prepare graduates to apply knowledge of mathematics through differential and integral calculus, probability and statistics, general chemistry, and calculus-based physics; to analyze and design construction processes and systems in a construction engineering specialty field, applying knowledge of methods, materials, equipment, planning, scheduling, safety, and cost analysis; to explain basic legal and ethical concepts and the importance of professional engineering licensure in the construction industry; to explain basic concepts of management topics such as economics, business, accounting, communications, leadership, decision and optimization methods, engineering economics, engineering management, and cost control. ” (ABET,2018). The second part, through the analysis of statistical data, calculates the proportion of various courses, statistics the distribution of CM/CEM professional courses, and compares the requirements of the certification body to the college and students and the needs of the current industry.
3.1. Analyze which categories courses need to adjust.
After getting all the necessary data, divide all the data into two parts: the CEM program part and the CM program part. The two parts of the data are combined into different forms. In the process of creating a form, the first question is how to display all universities’ data to find useful information about the research.
Next section, after obtaining preliminary statistics of more research value, we have drawn two summary tables 2 and 3 for the CEM program and the CM program, so that in the next step, the data will be analyzed to determine the proportion of each discipline in the profession. The summary table summarizes 15 categories. The first column of the table is for all course categories. The second column of the form is the type of CM course offered, indicating the total number of the directions provided in this category. The third column of the structure is the course offered, which represents the sum of the total number of courses by each school in this category. The fourth category of forms is the professional scale, which represents the proportion of the directions provided in the CM or CE course. The fifth column of the structure is the school, which serves the number of schools offering this course. The proportion of schools in the sixth column represents the proportion of all schools in this category.
| Major | Type of CM Courses Offered | Offered Courses | Proportion of Major | School | Proportion of School |
| IT | 18 | 63 | 5.12% | 40 | 80.00% |
| Contract & LAW | 22 | 118 | 9.59% | 49 | 98.00% |
| PCS | 14 | 65 | 5.28% | 46 | 92.00% |
| Estimate | 17 | 85 | 6.90% | 46 | 92.00% |
| M&M | 25 | 113 | 9.18% | 47 | 94.00% |
| MEP | 23 | 74 | 6.01% | 37 | 74.00% |
| Business | 45 | 207 | 16.82% | 47 | 94.00% |
| Structure | 24 | 88 | 7.15% | 41 | 82.00% |
| Technology | 11 | 17 | 1.38% | 11 | 22.00% |
| Geology | 15 | 41 | 3.33% | 29 | 58.00% |
| Risk & Safety | 7 | 45 | 3.66% | 38 | 76.00% |
| Construction & Management | 30 | 106 | 8.61% | 44 | 88.00% |
| Sustainable | 7 | 28 | 2.27% | 25 | 50.00% |
| Environmental | 59 | 16 | 1.30% | 14 | 28.00% |
| Other | 7 | 165 | 13.40% | 49 | 98.00% |
| Total | 324 | 1231 | 1 | 50 | 1 |
Table2.CM Summary
| Major | Type of CEM courses Offered | Offered Courses | Proportion of Major | School | Proportion of School |
| IT& Technology | 16 | 22 | 9.78% | 10 | 1 |
| Estimate | 6 | 11 | 4.89% | 8 | 0.8 |
| Structure | 29 | 42 | 18.67% | 10 | 1 |
| PCS | 6 | 10 | 4.44% | 8 | 0.8 |
| Contract & Law | 8 | 12 | 5.33% | 8 | 0.8 |
| MEP | 5 | 8 | 3.56% | 8 | 0.8 |
| M&M | 11 | 21 | 9.33% | 10 | 1 |
| Business & Management | 16 | 21 | 9.33% | 9 | 0.9 |
| Construction & Management | 17 | 21 | 9.33% | 9 | 0.9 |
| Others | 24 | 27 | 12.00% | 9 | 0.9 |
| Geology | 7 | 9 | 4.00% | 5 | 0.5 |
| Risk & Safety | 4 | 7 | 3.11% | 5 | 0.5 |
| Cost | 2 | 3 | 1.33% | 3 | 0.3 |
| Environmental | 4 | 4 | 1.78% | 2 | 0.2 |
| Surveying | 9 | 7 | 3.11% | 5 | 0.5 |
| Total | 164 | 225 | 100.00% | 10 |
Table 2. Construction Engineering Management Summary
Next, there would be a categorization of the data on the accreditation status of each schoolby classifying the schoolsinto two categories. Onne is accredited,whereas the other is not certified, as illustrated in the table below. After analyzing the courses offered by the two classes of schools, it is clear to note that the number of accredited schools is much more as compared to its counterpart class. Therefore, it implies that a lot of accredited schools offer the right courses that facilitate the better acquisition of knowledge-based skills (ACCE 2016).
| Accreditation | ||
| Accredited | Unaccredited | |
| ACCE | 35 | 15 |
| ABET | 8 | 2 |
Table 3. Accreditation
Based on the current industry development needs for undergraduate graduates combined with the needs of ACCE and ABET accreditation courses requirement,it is essential to choose a category analysis that can have a positive impact on undergraduate education. So, I decidedon data for IT courses. First, extract all IT class data and summarize them into two tables, CM (table7) and CEM (table8). This table summarizes the detailed classification and summary of IT courses in all collected school information. IT courses are divided into five categories: Graphic & CAD, Construction, Geology, BIM, and Others in the second column. The third column lists the total number of courses offered by all schools in each category. The fourth column represents the proportion of each group of students undertaking the IT course. This column shows different types of courses that require undergraduate to make the IT unit. The fifth column is the name of the course offered in each category. The sixth column represents the number of the directions provided.
| IT | Type | Offered Course | Proportion | Course Name | Number |
| Graphic & CAD | 33 | 52.38% | 3D Graphics | 3 | |
| 3D Animation and Rendering | 2 | ||||
| CAD for Construction | 6 | ||||
| Graphic Communications/CAD | 4 | ||||
| Con. Graphics/Take-off | 2 | ||||
| Construction Graphics | 15 | ||||
| Construction Graphics Laboratory | 1 | ||||
| Construction | 11 | 17.46% | Business Computer Proficiency or Database Applications | 1 | |
| Construction Computer Applications | 8 | ||||
| Construction Computer Applications Laboratory | 1 | ||||
| Advance Construction Computer Technique | 1 | ||||
| Geology | 1 | 1.59% | Geotech Apps | 1 | |
| BIM | 15 | 23.81% | CAD and BIM Tools | 6 | |
| Commercial Architectural Design/Drafting (BIM) | 7 | ||||
| IT in Design and Construction | 1 | ||||
| REVIT for Construction Managers | 1 | ||||
| Other | 3 | 4.76% | Management Personal Computer Application | 1 | |
| Associate Constructor Prep & Soft Skills | 2 | ||||
| Total | 63 | 100.00% |
Table 4. CM IT Courses
| IT | Type | Offered Course | Proportion | Course Name | Number |
| Graphic & CAD | 8 | 36.36% | CAD Tools for Civil Engineering Design | 2 | |
| CAD & BIM | 1 | ||||
| Construction Graphics | 5 | ||||
| Construction | 5 | 22.73% | Computer Apps-Construct | 1 | |
| Applied Analysis for Construction Tech | 1 | ||||
| Construction Technology | 2 | ||||
| Construction Technology and Equipment | 1 | ||||
| Geology | 1 | 4.55% | Intro to GIS Science & Cartography | 1 | |
| BIM | 3 | 13.64% | Building Automation and Control Systems. | 1 | |
| Bldg. Info Model Constr. | 1 | ||||
| IT in Design and Construction | 1 | ||||
| Other | 5 | 22.73% | Building System Technology | 1 | |
| Analytic Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing | 1 | ||||
| Infantry Mgmt. IT Applica. | 1 | ||||
| Computer Estimating | 1 | ||||
| Building Systems Tech Lab | 1 | ||||
| Total | 22 | 100.00% |
Table 5. CEM IT Courses
Graph 1 & 2. The number and proportion of CEM IT courses
4.0 Data Analysis and Discussion
The report involved the use of the Relative Importance Index (RII) to calculate and determine the recorded score coming from either the school institutions offering such courses when analyzing the significance of the technical skills associated with both the CM and CEM courses. Further, the study encompassed the application of the Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient (SRCC) to measure the statistical dependence existing among the scores input of ABET and ACCE (Gunderson et al. 2015). Apart from that, the employment of the Percentage Frequency Distribution (PFD) technique was relevant in the study since it was useful in ascertaining the degree of significance and level of association existing between the collected responses and opinions of CEM and CM graduates, employers, as well as the faculty members (Gunderson et al. 2015).
There have been quite many research studies that established how the RII ranking technique is globally used in construction research to measure the perceived degree of importance (Gunderson et al. 2015). Conceptually, this section identified the measured technical skills on an ordinal scale of 5, where every graduate was tasked with giving responses that ranged from 1 to 5. From the analysis, 1 implied the least important, whereas 5 signified the most important. Using such a scale, there was the calculation of each item based on its value of the RII. To get a clearer picture of the study, it was important to apply the standard deviation and mean of the item values to help evaluate the total ranking orders existing among the validation relationship of each item (Gunderson et al. 2015). Notably, the RII was established mathematically by applying the following formula:
/(B x N); (0 ≤ RII ≤ 1)
From the formula, A = weight assigned to each respondent’s item that varies from the lowest point of 1 (least significant) to the highest point of 5 (most significant), B = the maximum weight (which was considered 5 in the study); N = total number of respondents. Consequently, all items were ranked on a scale using the formulae, thus establishing their RII value (Gunderson et al. 2015).
4.1 Accreditation Organizations
In the United States, both CM and CEM programs have been accredited in most of the universitiesto promote the quality of education. ABET primarily focuses onbasic Science and Mathematics as core subjects before issuing accreditationfor PCS, Estimate, and Material & Method as the three most important accreditation programs. ABET has a very high academic score requirement for construction courses. It requires practicing engineers to proficiently carry out experimental work and lab tests before the commencement of the major projects they are involved in. It is also important to point out that ABET accredits its construction engineers after they have demonstrated a good depth of knowledge and use of computer skills in solving complex engineering problems. ACCE puts into consideration other lesser subjects. ABET primarily focuses on the overall field of engineering (CEM) program. ACCE courses requirement focus on basic science and mathematics courses also required the school open Business and other related courses. ACCE focuses more onthe Construction Management (CM) program.
ABET certification offers the declaration that a learning institution CEM program meets the specific excellence standards. ABET accreditation process is found on demonstrating the learners’ outcomes. Besides the general outcome criteria that have been recommended for all the engineering programs, CEM programs are supposed to prove the graduate’s realization of results that are particular to the subject of construction. ABET certification requires the CEM program to show that the graduates have achieved a wide array of skills (Hildreth and Gehrig 15.8.3). The graduates need to demonstrate high mathematical expertise. The graduates should demonstrate proficiency when it comes to engineering design in a CEM specialty. They should have total apprehension of professional and legal issues touching on the construction industry (Hildreth and Gehrig 15.8.3). They need to fully understand the various issues related to the material structure, as well as the cost analysis of many other problems. Graduates should demonstrate a high level of understanding of various management topics.
The table settings for the CEM program and the CM program are the same. First, to make the tabular data more identifiable, we set the first row of the table to an alphabetical list of schools. Each column represents the data of the school. Schools with different semester systems set different colors. The background of the semester school is blue, and the background of a quarter of schools is green. The second line gives all universities a mark on whether ACCE accredits them; ABET; Higher Learning Commission；Engineering Accreditation Commission；ATMAE; Association of Technology and Management and Applied Engineering, and by the American Council for Construction Education.
| School | Total | Alfredstate | ASU | |
| ACCE&ABET Accredited | 35 | 1 | 1 | |
| CM Classes | 1231 | 22 | 28 | |
| IT | 3D Animation and Rendering | 2 | ||
| 3D Graphics | 3 | |||
| Advance Construction Computer Technique | 1 | |||
| Associate Constructor Prep & Soft Skills | 2 | |||
| CAD for Construction | 6 | 1 | ||
| CAD and BIM Tools | 6 | |||
| Commercial Architectural Design/Drafting (BIM) | 7 | |||
| Construction Computer Applications | 8 | |||
| Con. Graphics/Take-off | 2 | |||
| Construction Computer Applications Laboratory | 1 | |||
| Business Computer Proficiency or Database Applications | 1 | |||
| Management Personal Computer Application | 1 | |||
| Construction Graphics | 15 | 1 | ||
| Geotech Apps | 1 | 1 | ||
| REVIT for Construction Managers | 1 | |||
| Construction Graphics Laboratory | 1 | |||
| IT in Design and Construction | 1 | |||
| Graphic Communications/CAD | 4 | |||
| Total | 63 | 0 |
Table 6.Sample of CM Courses Type
Creating a summary table based on the data provided by Laleh. During the creating table1 to the Integration of the data, courses with the same content and different names are combined according to the courses’ syllabus that can search on the school’s website. The adjusted course classification is after the second column. The corresponding course column goal provided by each university has a mark number “1” for statistical purposes. Finally, we added three sets of statistics to the entire table. The first group marks the number of courses in the next column of the course name. The second group shows the number of courses offered by each school under the name of the school in the second line. The third group sets a row under each category to calculate the total number of courses offered in that category.
The purpose of the ACCE review and evaluation is to assess the adequacy and completeness of the organization, the curriculum, and the effectiveness of the academic program that the university can modify and adjust to improve and meet the changing needs of the academic and construction industries. ACCE maintains and improves academic quality by setting and evaluate its course goals and evaluates learning outcomes annually through internal and external measures. ACCE professional certification will be based on academic performance and potential, the GPA of all courses, the quality, and extent of relevant experience and completion of ACCE certification prerequisites.
4.2 ABET Accreditation Characteristics and Effect
All programs applying for accreditation from ABET should demonstrate that they meet the essential criteria for the following undergraduate degree program.
According to statistical data, 11 out of 56 schools offer CEM primary school. ABET accredits eight schools, 1 school is accredited by ACCE, 2 schools are not approved (You must give every figure and table a label and explicitly explain what they are showing).
Figure 2. Accreditation of CM and CEM by ABET and ACCE system
By comparing the courses offered by accredited and non-accredited schools, we can find that some courses affect the accreditation of the school. ABET certification requires students to demonstrate the practical ability of engineering, and MEP courses are an essential part of construction engineering. All non-accredited schools do not offer MPE-type courses. Also, ABET required students must have the ability to design and conduct an experiment and carry out in-depth analysis and interpretation of data. Most of the IT courses offered by non-accredited schools are mainly Graphic courses and do not have independent design and data sharing and BIM courses.
Table 7. Schools in Illinois, US offering MEP and IT
ABET has always been keen on ensuring the realization of a general conceptual foundation towards lifelong learning and development with a particular focus on knowledge, skills, and attitudes. These skills and attitudes are necessary for pushing for the realization of social, economic, and political participation and transformations that apply to a wide range of professional contexts (Ganbat et al. 2018). Therefore, ABET certification maximizes flexibility to meet the needs of students and the market. Based on courses offered by accredited schools, we can find ABET has put in place several criteria and learning outcomes requirements for CM and CEM education. ABET requires that CEM and CM students should be able to apply mathematics, science, and applied sciences in implementing their assigned projects. Students should be able to understand construction materials to achieve the desired goals in the field. Also, they should follow the behavior of the structural element. The student should have some decision-making skills as regards the economic and estimate if construction project.
4.3 ACCE Accreditation Characteristics and Effect
ACCE accredits specific construction industry undergraduate programs that meet its set educational quality standards for the construction industry. ACCE has particular guidelines for universities wishing to be certified. For a specific school to be approved, ACCE requires it to complete the following steps.
As the defining characteristics of ACCE, the body looks at the following metrics in all the undergraduate programs that it accredits.
According to the statistical data, 50 out of 56 schools offer the CM primary school, therefore implying that many universities have learned and clearly understood regarding the importance of incorporating the framework of the construction management among the undergraduates. Indeed, it is essential to enlist the accreditation of such course programs in the education system. Categorically, 5 schools are ABET accreditation accredited, 33 schools accreditation accredited by ACCE, whereas 12 schools are accreditation unaccredited.
ACCE only recognizes those undergraduate programs that are continuously improving and relevant to the needs of the industry. Therefore, the organization requires accreditation of these courses to ensure that students have sufficient competence. ACCE requires students to be trained in a total of 115 units. The undergraduate program includes internships to be completed in four years fulltime or taken part-time. The following are the top 10 accredited undergraduate units accredited by ACCE for a student to be conferred with the undergraduate CM and CEM degrees (Civil and Construction Engineering).
ACCE has proposed many changes and effects in the research and practice of construction management and construction engineering management. The mandatory internship requirements established by ACCE help students acquire practical skills before entering the job market. On the academic front, ACCE demands that CM and CEM learning outcomes emphasize the management similar education guide for students (ACCE 2016).
4.4 CEM/CM and Accreditation Development
The world of construction engineering and building management is developing at an alarming rate. According to the requirements of the construction industry, the need for certification accreditation makes it possible to improve the methods and opinions of many graduates considerably.. Tables 2&3 indicate the significant differences in the major types of courses offered, the considerable proportion and schools offering the courses. There are approximately 324 categories of CM courses delivered in more than 50 f learning institutions in the United States. The total number of CM courses offered is 1231, as shown in the table.
Table 8: A summary of Construction Management course
There are 18 types of IT Courses, 22 Contract & LAW courses, 59 Environmental courses, 7 Sustainable courses, 30 Construction & Management courses, 7 Risk & Safety courses, 15 Geology courses, 11 Technology courses, 24 Structure courses, 45 Business courses, 23 MEP courses, 25 M&M courses, 17 Estimate courses, 14 PCS courses, and 22 Contract & LAW courses.
There is an about of one hundred and sixty-four CEM courses being offered at ten learning institutions in the U.S. There are two hundred and twenty-five Construction Engineering Management associated courses being provided. There are 16 IT & Technology courses, 6 Estimate Courses, 29 Structure Courses, 6 PCS courses, 8 Contract & Law Courses, 5 MEP Courses, 11 M&M Courses, 16 Business & Management Courses, 17, Construction and Management Courses, 7 Geology Courses, 4 Risk & Safety Courses, 2 Cost Courses, 4 Environmental Courses, 9 Surveying Courses. In comparison, there are 24 Other related Courses. There are various IT courses offered by CM and CEM programs. There is 63 CM IT courses, and they include 33, Graphic & CAD Courses, 11 Construction Courses, 1 Geology Course, 15 BIM Courses, and 3 Other CM IT Courses.
Conversely, there are 22 CEM IT Courses. There are 8 Graphic &Card Courses, 5 Construction Courses, 1 Geology Course, 3 BIM Courses, and 3 Other CEM IT Courses. By analyzing the certification status of these courses and each school and comparing the certification needs. ABET and ACCE require students to learn CEM and CM to improve their ability to design systems or process components to meet the desired industry and customer needs. Most accredited schools offer courses in AutoCAD and BIM. At the same time, students are encouraged to work in teams by encouraging joint work and group work. Online collaborative office and information processing will become the future development trend of the construction industry. In the future, the certification bodies of the industry will focus on this.
5.0 Conclusion
With the advancement of the construction industry, there has been a constant increase in the required skills among graduates for CM and CEM majors. There is a need to re-examine the perception in the US construction industry regarding the crucial competencies that a construction graduate should possess. They used the survey method to gather the information they required for this study. They used survey recruiters for over 100 construction companies in the eastern part of the US. In their survey, they generated 14 essential abilities that a graduate from the CEM program must-have. They asked the participants to rate these capabilities from the most important to the least. The construction industry rates the level of demand for different courses. Ethical issues had the highest mean of 4.52 out of 5, which indicated that this is an essential value for construction graduatesconcerning the ethical considerations. Technical and computer skills had a mean of 3.8 and 3.77 out of 5, respectively. Although these two values were close to the environmental awareness mean, which was ranked the lowest, this was an indication that the construction industry is slowly starting to value the technical ability of CEM graduates.
The majority of the CEM undergraduate education programs offer the learners a balance of coursework and applications in building management and technologies practice. Specifically, there has been a trend where the CEM undergraduate education program is increasingly incorporating ICT. Key technical competencies are needed to allow students totake part in the construction projects fully. According to the CM, there is a need to establish an industry for individuals who play a vital role in the design, specification, and implementation of future building process support systems. Notably, the accredited ABET system for engineering degrees also offers other degree programs, thus making the ACCE the most common accreditation system for CM/CEM degrees. Most universities endeavor to earn accreditation for their degrees. Accreditation is mainly concerned with whether the courses offered to meet the ACCE certification standards. Therefore, it must be located in an educational institution of higher learning that is legally authorized under applicable laws to provide a degree program of education beyond that of the secondary level. Furthermore, in the case of those institutions in the United States, be accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting agency, and in the case of other countries, be certified by the accrediting agency appropriate for its locale, if such exists.
The effect of the accreditation organization is that it has helped assure quality, engender employer confidence, and ease the transfer of students. Accreditation is the primary way through which the learning institutions and the programs guarantee quality to the public and learners. Certification is vital to the learners for consistency and possible transfer of credits and courses amongst institutions of higher learning and the programs. Students who have pursued accredited programs can compete effectively in the complex construction industry. Indeed, ACCE assists learners through identifying programs and institutions which provide quality education in the industry by ensuring that the students obtain high-quality learning. Integrating IT courses with traditional CM and CEM undergraduate learning methods have gained popularity over the years. The students that are currently pursuing construction courses are tech-savvy, and they wish to have the tech experience in their classes. Introducing IT courses in the undergraduate programs will help the students improve their technical knowledge as well as create an exciting learning environment for the students. The significant advantages of integrating IT courses with traditional learning methods include improving the efficiency of undergraduate students once they start working as professionals. Therefore, the use of technology in construction is beneficial because it saves both time and money, which are a critical part of the construction industry.
The
methodology section has employed the analysis of statistical data, calculates
the proportion of various courses, statistics the distribution of CM/CEM
professional courses, and compares the requirements of the certification body
to the college and students and the needs of the current industry. Apart from that, the comparative analysis of
the courses offered by accredited and non-accredited schools gives a sense of
various classes that affect the school accreditation process. ABET
certification requires students to demonstrate the practical ability of engineering,
and MEP courses are an essential part of construction engineering. All
non-accredited schools do not offer MPE-type courses. Also, ABET required
students must have the ability to design and conduct an experiment and carry
out in-depth analysis and interpretation of data. Consequently, most of the IT
courses offered by non-accredited schools entail chiefly Graphic courses that
do not have independent BIM design courses.
Reference List
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