The Faculty of Engineering at Stellenbosch University (SU) has once again received full accreditation from the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) for all its engineering programmes until 2028. The accreditation, which occurs every five years, reaffirms the quality and excellence of the Faculty’s engineering degrees.
This accomplishment comes after a thorough accreditation process by ECSA’s teams during their visit to the Faculty on 28 and 29 of August last year. ECSA, as a statutory body, is primarily focused on safeguarding public safety, health, and interests concerning engineering work. It also supervises the behaviour of registered engineers and is involved in setting and auditing academic standards, which includes accrediting engineering programs at higher education institutions.
The purpose of ECSA accreditation for engineering programmes includes:
- Ensuring programmes meet registration educational standards.
- Evaluating international comparability of degree programmes.
- Providing assurance to the public regarding programme quality.
- Promoting improvement and innovation in engineering education to address global and national requirements.
Naturally delighted with the outcome, Prof Celeste Viljoen, Vice Dean: Teaching and Quality Assurance of the Faculty of Engineering, says the clean accreditation speaks volumes of the dedication with which all staff do their jobs. She adds: “Our students will reap the benefit of receiving qualifications that will support their registration as professional engineers locally and abroad, while employers can be confident when employing an SU Engineering graduate. Preparing the accreditation documentation was an extensive team effort by our academics and support staff, with special mention to the undergraduate coordinators of the different programmes.”
The following programmes offered by the Faculty of Engineering have been accredited until 2028:
- Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering
- Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering
- Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Bachelor of Engineering in Industrial Engineering
- Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering
- Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronic Engineering
Under the Higher Education Act, 101 of 1997 and the Engineering Profession Act, 46 of 2000, programme quality assurance is required, which empowers ECSA to conduct accreditation evaluations to evaluate these programmes. For accreditation to be granted, the ECSA team conducts a thorough evaluation encompassing credit assessment, knowledge profile, cohesive programme design, assessment of graduate attributes, teaching and learning quality, resource allocation, programme sustainability, and the resolution of previously raised concerns.
The reaccreditation reinforces SU’s position as one of South Africa’s major producers of top-quality engineers.
[Article by Amber Viviers]
