The PEGG

May, 2000

Improving Awareness
Of Title Violations

APEGGA's Compliance Department, and the Enforcement Review Committee have been active during the first quarter of 2000 with their program to improve the awareness for the practice of engineering, and the meaning and proper use of the engineering title.

Two full-page advertisements were placed during National Engineering Week (March 4-11) supplements to the Edmonton Journal and The Calgary Herald. Titled " Integrity", "Accountability", "Responsibility", the advertisements, although generic in nature, were specifically targeted at the proliferation of title and practice violations in the computer industry. A similar ad was published in the April 27 Edmonton Journal special report on technology.

In March, key administrators from educational and training institutions in Alberta, who offer or have the potential to offer unaccredited certified engineering programs and to grant titles such as "Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer" (MCSE), were invited to noon-hour meetings in Calgary and Edmonton. Sixty per cent of the 37 program providers invited, attended. APEGGA Executive Director and Registrar Neil Windsor, P.Eng., provided an overview of APEGGA's responsibilities under the EGGP Act and outlined concerns about the various unaccredited engineering programs being offered in Alberta and the titles granted to graduates of these programs which include the word engineer. Excellent feedback was received from the attendees, resulting in a much better understanding of the issues. The comments and feedback are being reviewed and further follow-up with the participants will be undertaken during the upcoming weeks.