Revising the civil engineering curriculum at the university of Sydney

A major revision of the civil engineering curriculum took place in 2004/2005. The reasons for the revision included: rationalisation of course offerings, changes in expectations from industry and the institutions, simpler integration with combined degrees offered by the faculty, moves toward a common engineering first year, reductions in staff numbers, changing student expectations and abilities, and greater integration of teamwork and generic skills development within the course. The review process involved a SWOT analysis of the undergraduate programme/department , surveys of alumni who have graduated since the last major course change in 1995, surveys of employers of engineering graduates, focus groups with current students, and input from the Department's industry advisory group. The paper will discuss some of the results of these surveys. It was found that the combination of a desire to take a gradual approach to change and the constraints provided by faculty and various combined degrees meant that there was little flexibility for innovation in curricula. However, the broad thrust of the changes were consistent with the objectives set out by the ASCE in their body of knowledge for the 21st century, and with statements by EUCEET in Europe. The paper will discuss the constraints and compare the adopted course outline with curricula in other parts of the world. Although one of the primary intentions of the course changes was to better integrate the various branches of civil engineering (structures, geotechnical, fluids, and project management) this was found to be difficult to achieve while allowing students the flexibility to take courses outside the core. There was considerable debate on the core curriculum and the value of professional engineering subjects within this core. The paper will discuss these issues and the compromises that were agreed. A further important consideration was the role of The University of Sydney as a research intensive organisation, and the desire to produce students with the skills and motivation to follow more academically focused careers.