Engineering Council

The Engineering Council sets the overall requirements for the Accreditation of Higher Education Programmes (AHEP) in engineering, in line with the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC).

Our COVID-19 Information for HE providers is available below (under Useful Documents). This includes a University Impact Report template, which has been created to assist providers in submitting relevant information about adjustments (including those arising from factors other than COVID-19) that have had an impact on programmes that needs to be notified to the accrediting PEI(s).

AHEP sets out the standard for degree accreditation. It also outlines the purpose and application process for universities that wish to secure or maintain accreditation of their programmes. The standard for engineering degrees has been developed through consultation with the engineering profession and includes input from employers and academics.

Degree accreditation is undertaken by sector specific professional engineering institutions under licence from the Engineering Council.   These institutions interpret the standards as appropriate for their own sector of the profession and use them when deciding whether degree programmes meet the requirements to be awarded ‘Engineering Council accredited degree' status.

AHEP was first published by the Engineering Council in 2004, and adopts the same outcomes-focused approach as UK-SPEC. It was most recently reviewed and updated in 2020, with the fourth edition published in August 2020. Since 2006, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) has adopted the Engineering Council’s learning outcomes as the subject benchmark statement for engineering.