The Washington Accord

What is the Washington Accord and why are we so eager to join it?

I looked up their website, but got only basic information. I asked Reynaldo B. Vea, president of Mapua Institute of Technology, the leader of Philippine attempts to join the Accord, to give me details. This is what I have pieced together.

According to its website, the Washington Accord, “signed in 1989, is an international agreement among bodies responsible for accrediting engineering degree programs. It recognizes the substantial equivalency of programs accredited by those bodies and recommends that graduates of programs accredited by any of the signatory bodies be recognized by the other bodies as having met the academic requirements for entry to the practice of engineering.”

So far, the signatories or members of the Accord are accrediting agencies in Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, UK, and USA. Any engineering graduate from accredited programs in any of these countries is automatically considered an engineering graduate in any and all of the other countries. Conversely, graduates from non-accredited programs or graduates from non-member countries are not recognized by the Accord members. Philippine engineering graduates, therefore, are not considered engineers in these countries.

Note that the Accord applies only to accredited programs, not to all programs within a member country. Even if we finally become a member, we still have to accredit undergraduate engineering programs for their graduates to be considered equal to those in other countries.

It is also important to distinguish equivalency in undergraduate education from licensing or passing professional exams. A licensed engineer from any of these countries may or may not be automatically recognized as licensed in another country. Before one can get a license in another country that requires a separate exam, however, one has to have a recognized degree. In effect, our country’s being in the Accord is a prerequisite for our engineers getting licensed in another country.

Why are we not yet members of the Accord? Because we are qualified. Why? Because we have only 10 years of basic or pre-university education, when the Accord requires 12. In short, unless we add two years to our pre-tertiary education and unless we are accepted into the Washington Accord, our engineers cannot practise their profession in the member countries.

Vea adds more details:

“Last June 2009, in Kyoto, during the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) Meeting, the state of three accords and three registers were considered. The three accords are the Washington Accord for professional engineers, the Sydney Accord for engineering technologists, and the Dublin Accord for engineering technicians. The three registers are the International Professional Engineers (IntPE) register run by the Engineers Mobility Forum (EMF), the register run by the Engineering Technologists Mobility Forum (ETMF), and the APEC Engineer Register. It was reported that a new accord, called Seoul Accord, for computing professionals was signed in 2008 and wants to be part of the IEA.

“The Philippines participates in the IEA Meeting as a partner in the APEC Engineer Register. The goal is to be a full participant in the IEA by being a signatory to all accords and being active in all registers. The initial step would be to try to gain membership in the Washington Accord.

“There is the equivalent of the Washington Accord in Europe. Formed only in 2006, the EUR-ACE now accepts non-European accreditation bodies as members.

“All of these developments have informed the moves to establish an accreditation system for engineering, computing, engineering technology, and engineering technician programs that will make the Philippines eligible for membership in all accords, including EUR-ACE.

“The accreditation system should be conceptually and philosophically compatible with the systems of the other Washington Accord signatories. It should be independent of schools, industry-linked, led by professional societies, outcomes-based, and promotive of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI).

“Last March 2, the Philippine Technological Council (PTC), the umbrella organization of engineering professional societies, and the PACUCOA signed a MOA that defines such a system. In this system the PTC shall be the signatory to the Washington Accord. The PACUCOA shall adopt outcomes-based criteria and do the accreditation. PTC shall certify that the accreditation decision of the PACUCOA has been made under the terms of the Washington Accord.

“The sustained drive for membership was initiated by the Engineering Sciences and Technology Division of the National Academy of Science and Technology. It was supported by DOST, CHED, PRC, UNESCO Philippine Commission, and the Department of Foreign Affairs. The big boost came from COMSTE, which has, among other things, secured funding for the process of applying for membership.

“Membership in the Washington Accord is important in order for our individual engineers to be eligible to be members of international registers of engineers. They cannot be outside looking in, without a place at the dinner table.”

As Senator Edgardo J. Angara, COMSTE Chairman, puts it, “Without membership in this exclusive group, our engineers are at a disadvantage as their education is not considered at par with international standards.”

We have taken the first big step towards our engineering graduates finally being recognized outside our country without having to take extra studies or, in some cases, foreign licensure examinations.