Civil Engineering (Non-Integrated Degree Apprenticeship)

The BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship programme at Exeter aims to equip graduates with the educational underpinning for a career as a professional and technically competent civil engineer in the construction sector. The programme builds steadily over five years, during which we deliver a unique teaching style based on the pillars of analysis, design and sustainability. In a fast-changing world we introduce advanced methodologies in design, construction and management of buildings and infrastructure systems. 

The suite of Civil Engineering Apprenticeship programmes are developed in collaboration with Laing O’Rourke and WSP and contains dual pathways for civil engineering contracting and civil engineering consultancy. The BEng Civil Engineering Site Management Degree Apprenticeship is the contracting pathway which is aligned to the Apprenticeship Standards for Civil Engineering Senior Technician (Level 4) and Civil Engineering Site Management (Level 6). The Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship Programme is the consultancy pathway which is aligned to the Civil Engineer (Level 6) Apprenticeship Standard.

The BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship programme is designed to deliver all of the required learning outcomes as set out in UK-SPEC for a Bachelor’s degree, and hence contributes towards graduates becoming professionally qualified engineers in the UK, with international recognition. The programme also aligns to the skills, knowledge and behaviours set out in the Apprenticeship Standards for Civil Engineer.  Students joining the BEng Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship programme are on the consultancy pathway and will work directly towards a Level 6 End Point Assessment. Upon completion of the BEng programme, you will proceed to the End Point Assessment element of the Level 6 apprenticeship standard (set out by the Assessment Plan). This will take the form of the membership review for IEng status of an appropriate Professional Engineering institution. The programme aims to enable you to become:

(a) flexible engineering graduates equipped to work effectively within engineering design and management and practice contributing specialist skills, demonstrating an awareness of the context within which you work, and taking responsibility for your own personal and professional development;

(b) aware of the environmental, economic, social and sustainability issues that are an integral part of the professional engineer’s role in society;

(c) able to work well in multi-disciplinary groups with experience of communication, organisation, planning and logistics.

Through this programme, the Department will provide you with: learning opportunities to match your abilities and aspirations, personal academic and pastoral support throughout your university career, appropriate methods of teaching and assessment and a programme of study that you find demanding, interesting and intellectually stimulating, while allowing you to enjoy other aspects of university life. The Department will also seek to promote the role of industry and engineering institutions and the benefits that they can provide to undergraduates e.g. through links with the industrial club and student membership of the engineering institutions.

The BEng Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship is a 5-year programme of study at Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) Level 6 (as confirmed against the FHEQ). This programme is divided into five Stages.

Exit Awards

If you do not complete the programme you may be able to exit with a lower qualification. If you pass 120 credits, you will be awarded a Certificate of Higher Education, and if you pass 240 credits, where at least 90 credits are at Level 5 or above, you will be awarded a Diploma of Higher Education.

Credit

The programme consists of 360 credits with 60 credits taken in Stages 1 and 2 (as part of the CertHE Civil Engineering Senior Technician (Higher Apprenticeship) programme), 75 credits taken in Stages 3 and 4 and 90 credits in Stage 5. You must take 120 credits at each of RQF Levels 4, 5 and 6.

Progression

The successful completion of the programme (RQF Levels 4, 5 and 6) constitutes the on-programme component of the Level 6 Apprenticeship Standard, Civil Engineering Site Management and requires successful completion of the external End-Point Assessment for the Level 6 Standard.

Condonement

This programme is accredited by a PSRB under licence from the Engineering Council. Therefore, the latest Engineering Council regulations on condonement apply to this programme. Please find further details in the TQA Manual here: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/about/governance/tqa/  
Assessment and Awards
 
Classification

Full details of assessment regulations for UG programmes and PGT programmes assessment regulations can be found in the Teaching Quality Assurance Manual (TQA) on the University of Exeter website.  Generic marking criteria are also published here.

Please see the Teaching and Quality Assurance Manual for further guidance.

In accordance with University policy a system of personal tutors is in place for all students on this programme.  A University-wide statement on such provision is included in the University's TQA Manual.  As a student enrolled on this programme you will receive the personal and academic support of the Programme Coordinator and will have regular scheduled meetings with your Personal Tutor; you may request additional meetings as and when required. The role of personal tutors is to provide you with advice and support for the duration of the programme and extends to providing you with details of how to obtain support and guidance on personal difficulties such as accommodation, financial difficulties and sickness. You can also make an appointment to see individual teaching staff.

Information Technology (IT) Services provide a wide range of services throughout the Exeter campuses including open access computer rooms, some of which are available 24 hours, 7 days a week.  Help may be obtained through the Helpdesk, and most study bedrooms in halls and flats are linked to the University's campus network.

Additionally, the College has its own dedicated IT support staff, helpdesk and computer facilities which are linked to the wider network, but which also provide access to some specialised software packages.  Email is an important channel of communication between staff and students in the College and an extensive range of web-based information (see https://intranet.exeter.ac.uk/emps/ ) is maintained for the use of students, including a comprehensive and annually revised student handbook.

The Harrison Learning Resource Centre is generally open during building open hours. The Centre is available for quiet study, with four separate rooms that can be booked for meetings and group work. Amongst its facilities, the Learning Resource Centre has a number of desks, four meeting rooms with large LCD screens, and free use of a photocopier. Also available are core set texts from your module reading lists, and undergraduate and MSc projects from the past two years.

Online Module study resources provide materials for modules that you are registered for, in addition to some useful subject and IT resources. Generic study support resources, library and research skills, past exam papers, and the Academic Honesty and Plagiarism module are also available through the student portal (http://vle.exeter.ac.uk)

Student/Staff Liaison Committee enables students & staff to jointly participate in the management and review of the teaching and learning provision.

Personal and Academic tutoring: It is University policy that all Colleges should have in place a system of academic and personal tutors. The role of academic tutors is to support you on individual modules; the role of personal tutors is to provide you with advice and support for the duration of the programme and extends to providing you with details of how to obtain support and guidance on personal difficulties such as accommodation, financial difficulties and sickness. You can also make an appointment to see individual teaching staff.

The application process is jointly coordinated by the University and apprentice employers; the latter must host a vacancy which candidates apply for.  All applications are considered individually on merit and nominated by the company that employs them. The University is committed to an equal opportunities policy with respect to gender, age, race, sexual orientation and/or disability when dealing with applications. It is also committed to widening access to higher education to students from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience.

Candidates must satisfy the general admissions requirements of the University of Exeter and the entrance requirements for this programme. These are published in full in the University of Exeter Undergraduate Prospectus (see http://www.ex.ac.uk/undergraduate/). In addition to candidates offering GCE AS and A2, those offering International Baccalaureate, and appropriate VCE A-levels will also be considered, as well as mature candidates with evidence of appropriate alternative qualifications. Direct entry to Stage 2 of the programmes will also be considered for candidates who have successfully completed study equivalent to the core material in the first stage of the programmes.

BEng: School and college leavers: Typical offers are as specified in the current University Prospectus: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/
 

Overseas students without English as a first language must show proficiency in English and have an appropriate qualification (e.g. IELTS, TOEFL, or equivalent).

Each academic programme in the University is subject to an agreed College assessment and marking strategy, underpinned by institution-wide assessment procedures.

The security of assessment and academic standards is further supported through the appointment of External Examiners for each programme. External Examiners have access to draft papers, course work and examination scripts. They are required to attend the Board of Examiners and to provide an annual report. Annual External Examiner reports are monitored at both College and University level. Their responsibilities are described in the University's code of practice.  See the University's TQA Manual for details.

The degree apprenticeship programme is required to satisfy the Apprenticeship Standard for Civil Engineering Site Management, through which a group of employers in the construction industry have defined the Skills, Knowledge and Behaviours required to demonstrate professional competency. The Apprenticeship Standard is defined by Industry, and approved by the Department for Education (DfE). Successful completion is measured by the End Point Assessment (EPA).

Completion of the BEng acts as the gateway for apprentices to pass through to the End Point Assessment stage of the degree apprenticeship, taking the form of membership review for IEng status with an appropriate Professional Engineering Institution. This assesses the professional competency of apprentices, and acts as a mark of assurance of the standard of the degree programme.

Certain programmes are subject to accreditation and/ or review by professional and statutory regulatory bodies (PSRBs).

The BEng Civil Engineering Degree Apprenticeship is accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators (JBM) comprising the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Structural Engineers, Institute of Highway Engineers, the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation and the Permanent Way Institution on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng). Candidates must hold a masters or doctorate accredited as further learning for CEng to hold accredited qualifications for CEng registration.

See www.jbm.org.uk for further information and details of Further Learning programmes for CEng.

Accreditation is a mark of assurance that the degree meets the standards set by the Engineering Council in the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC).

Accreditation is awarded for a maximum of 5 years under each assessment exercise. The dates applicable to the current accreditation of this degree programme can be viewed on the Engineering Council list of accredited degrees: www.engc.org.uk/acad

Students on programmes accredited by the Joint Board of Moderators will be assessed throughout their programme against the Engineering Council’s Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes (AHEP4) Learning Outcomes.

Further information about the AHEP4 Learning Outcomes is available on the Engineering Council’s website and relevant AHEP4 codes are included in the ILO section on module descriptors.