UOG civil engineering program receives national accreditation
The University of Guam Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering program has achieved a "major accomplishment," according to the university's president, who announced Wednesday that the program is now nationally accredited.
The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, or ABET, accredited the UOG civil engineering program for the maximum term of six years, the UOG president said.
"This underscores our commitment to educate and train the professional engineers who will build our island's future. Civil engineering students no longer need to leave Guam and Micronesia to complete their studies and earn their (professional engineer) license," UOG President Anita Borja Enriquez said, adding that the accomplishment is a testament to the hard work of the faculty and staff.
As an accredited four-year program, students graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering can pursue professional licensing credentials.
"Achieving a PE license is crucial because it validates your ability to call yourself a professional engineer and take responsibility for design work," Hiroshan Hettiarachchi, dean of the School of Engineering, said in a UOG press release issued Wednesday.
Hettiarachchi said the accreditation is an important milestone for students and graduates, as many states inquire if licensees' degrees came from an ABET-accredited program.
UOG noted that it is one of 920 colleges and universities with an ABET-accredited program globally.
Accreditation is the latest milestone for the School of Engineering.
"The school evolved from a preengineering program started in 1989 to fill the critical need for engineers in Guam and one out of seven Western Pacific students attended school at UOG for two years before moving to ABET-accredited schools to complete their bachelor's degrees," the university said in the release
The School of Engineering was established in 2016 by the UOG Board of Regents and became a four-year program in 2019.
UOG reported that the program has had 32 graduates since 2021, and today there are 225 students in the program. One of the graduates is Megan Catahay, who was in the program's first graduating class in 2021.
Now a civil design engineer with SSFM International, Catahay said, "Being among the pioneers of a now-accredited program is an honor, and I look forward to seeing future graduates build on the foundation we helped establish."
The accreditation is not the only news the university shared. The School of Engineering will be getting a new facility in 2025.
"Students, faculty and staff ... will have a new building featuring specialized labs, classrooms, meeting spaces and offices outfitted with a wide array of cutting-edge engineering equipment to meet academic and research requirements," UOG said in the release.
The project costs $7.9 million and the 16,000-square-foot building is slated to be complete in April 2025.
"This new building will truly transform the way we teach and conduct research in engineering," said Enriquez. "With state-of-the-art labs and equipment, our students and faculty will have the tools they need to be innovative and address real-world challenges. It's an exciting step forward for the university and for the future of engineering in Guam and Micronesia."
