Engineering Council

EAB accreditation visits may be arranged where a Higher Education Institution (HEI) wants three or more professional engineering institutions to accredit a single degree or a suite of related programmes.  If just one or two professional engineering institution(s) are required for an accreditation visit, please contact the institutions(s) directly.

Those HEIs opting for an EAB visit have one point of contact through the EAB secretariat, receive a single visit to assess their various disciplines or programmes, and complete only one set of submission documents. 

HEIs are asked to submit requests for future visits as soon as possible, and we recommend at least 18 months in advance when you would like a visit to be held. Note the statement on future joint visit arrangements August 2023

Following an update to the Engineering Council's Standards HEIs may request accreditation against either AHEP 3rd edition or AHEP 4.0 learning outcomes, for visits held before the end on the 2023-24 academic year. For visits to be held after 31 August 2024 accreditation must be against AHEP 4th edition. 

Visits from 2023 onwards may be in-person or remote. The format will be confirmed on a case-by-case basis. 

HEIs considering a request for an EAB visit should familiarise themselves with the information and documentation on this webpage, particularly the EAB Accreditation Briefing Manual for Educational Institutions. This can be found under Useful Documents at the end of this page.

You should complete the EAB Form ACC1 Initial Data Form (this can be downloaded from the link in the EAB initial submission documentation section below) and email it to eab@engc.org.uk ideally, 18 months before you would like a visit to take place.

EAB visits are designed for accreditation of degree programmes delivered in a single location (or via distance learning) where a university is both the delivery provider and the degree awarding body, and where there is significant commonality between programmes. HEIs must make clear on initial submissions and in accompanying emails if they are requesting EAB joint accreditation visits with a broader scope (eg if accreditation is being requested for non-degree programmes or programmes delivered elsewhere to the main university campus) and such requests will be considered on a case by case basis.

This information will be passed to your specified professional engineering institutions for their consideration. If they are happy to proceed with a visit, the secretariat will contact you to arrange a suitable date.

The full submission documentation is required to be with the EAB secretariat at least 12 weeks before the visit is due to take place.

Click on the relevant link below to download the initial submission form. Please note these forms are for use with AHEP third edition (and therefore only applicable for visits to be held before the end of the 2023-24 academic year), a link to which can be found below.

HEIs are asked to submit requests for future visits as soon as possible, and we recommend at least 18 months in advance when you would like a visit to be held.

EAB Form ACC1 Initial Data Form (Word document)

EAB Form ACC1 Initial Data Form for international visits (Word document)

EAB visits are designed for accreditation of degree programmes delivered in a single location (or via distance learning) where a university is both the delivery provider and the degree awarding body, and where there is significant commonality between programmes. HEIs must make clear on initial submissions and in accompanying emails if they are requesting EAB joint accreditation visits with a broader scope (eg if accreditation is being requested for non-degree programmes or programmes delivered elsewhere to the main university campus) and such requests will be considered on a case by case basis.

Click on the links below to download the full submission form and appendices. Please note these forms are for use with AHEP third edition (and therefore only applicable for visits to be held before the end of the 2023-24 academic year) , a link to which can be found below. 

EAB Form ACC2 - Submission for Accreditation (Word document)

EAB form ACC2 Appendix A – Bachelors degree and integrated Masters degree learning outcomes (pdf)

EAB Form ACC2 Appendix B – Masters degree other than integrated Masters, and EngD learning outcomes (pdf)

EAB Form ACC2A - Methods of Assessment (Word document)

EAB Form ACC2B - Graduation Statistics (Word document)

EAB Form ACC2C - Output Standards Matrix – Bachelors, Bachelor (Honours) and integrated Masters (Excel spreadsheet)

EAB Form ACC2D - Output Standards Matrix – Masters other than integrated Masters, and EngD (Excel spreadsheet)

EAB Form ACC2E - Energy Matrix - To be completed only if the Energy Institute is requested for the visit (Excel spreadsheet)

To enable accrediting PEIs to assure themselves that all graduating students will achieve the required learning outcomes it is requested that information related to any changes to delivery and assessment (eg in response to Covid or industrial action) be made available in advance of a visit. If it is agreed that a visit will be held virtually additional information will be requested ahead of the visit to substitute information usually reviewed on campus. Documentation setting out additional information required may be published online in due course, but will initially be provided to HEIs on a visit-by-visit based to allow the requests for further information to be informed by circumstances and initial experiences of visits where programmes have been impacted by Covid and/or visits completed virtually. Further information required will include:

• a summary of any changes to delivery and assessment, and updated versions of programme documents and output standard matrix, where applicable
• for virtual visits, a pre-recorded laboratory tour and examples of assessed student work.

Deadlines for provision of further information will be set on a visit-by-visit basis, but it is anticipated that this information will be required at least six weeks in advance of a visit and may in due course be requested at the same time as the main ACC2 submission.

If you are responsible for pulling together an ACC2 submission and would like details of further information that might be required (if there have been changes to delivery and assessment, or a virtual visit is planned) please contact the EAB Secretariat by emailing eab@engc.org.uk.

Click on the relevant link below to download the initial submission form. Please note these forms are for use with AHEP 4.0. HEIs are asked to submit requests for future visits as soon as possible, and we recommend at least 18 months in advance when you would like a visit to be held.

EAB form ACC1 Initial Data Form for UK visits(AHEP 4)(Word document)

EAB form ACC1 Initial Data Form for non-UK visits (AHEP 4) (Word document)

EAB visits are designed for accreditation of degree programmes delivered in a single location (or via distance learning) where a university is both the delivery provider and the degree awarding body, and where there is significant commonality between programmes. HEIs must make clear on initial submissions and in accompanying emails if they are requesting EAB joint accreditation visits with a broader scope (eg if accreditation is being requested for non-degree programmes or programmes delivered elsewhere to the main university campus) and such requests will be considered on a case by case basis.

Click on the links below to download the Accreditation Briefing Manual for Education Institutions, ACC2 full submission form and annexes. Please note these forms are for use with AHEP 4.0 

EAB Accreditation Briefing Manual for Educational Institutions (PDF document)

EAB Form ACC2 - Submission for Accreditation (Word document)

EAB Form ACC2A - Methods of Assessment (Word document)

EAB Form ACC2B - Graduation Statistics (Word document)

EAB Form ACC2C - Output Standards Matrix (Excel spreadsheet)

EAB Form ACC2D - Energy Matrix - To be completed only if the Energy Institute is requested for the visit (Excel spreadsheet)

To enable accrediting PEIs to assure themselves that all graduating students will achieve the required learning outcomes it is requested that information related to any changes to delivery and assessment (eg in response to Covid) be made available in advance of a visit. If it is agreed that a visit will be held virtually (eg due to Covid restrictions) additional information will be requested ahead of the visit to substitute information usually reviewed on campus. Documentation setting out additional information required may be published online in due course, but will initially be provided to HEIs on a visit-by-visit based to allow the requests for further information to be informed by circumstances and initial experiences of visits where programmes have been impacted by Covid and/or visits completed virtually. Further information required will include:

• a summary of any changes to delivery and assessment, and updated versions of programme documents and output standard matrix, where applicable
• for virtual visits, a pre-recorded laboratory tour and examples of assessed student work.

Deadlines for provision of further information will be set on a visit-by-visit basis, but it is anticipated that this information will be required at least six weeks in advance of a visit and may in due course be requested at the same time as the main ACC2 submission.

If you are responsible for pulling together an ACC2 submission and would like details of further information that might be required (if there have been changes to delivery and assessment, or a virtual visit is planned) please contact the EAB Secretariat by emailing eab@engc.org.uk.

A number of professional engineering institutions currently charge for accreditation visits and/or recover accreditors’ accommodation and travel expenses. These charges vary from institution to institution and charging information can be provided on request.

There is no common policy on charging. It is a matter for an individual professional engineering institution to decide whether or not to make a charge for accreditation.

Note: any requests for EAB visits requiring visits to more than one location or outside of the UK,  will be considered on a case by case basis and may be subject to additional charges due to the additional costs involved.

Please refer to the EAB Visit Process Timeline for an overview of the EAB visit process. This can be found under Useful Documents at the end of this page.

EAB visits usually take place over two days, mid-week during either the autumn or spring term. The secretariat will provide you with a draft timetable in advance of the visit. The visiting panel will review student output such as examinations and coursework; tour the laboratories/facilities and hold discussions with academic staff, support staff and students on matters concerning the content and teaching of the programme(s) being considered for accreditation.

The EAB secretariat will be your main point of contact when arranging an EAB visit and in the case of any queries. Should any institution-specific issues arise; the secretariat will refer these to the professional engineering institution in question to be resolved.

Following the visit, the secretariat will produce a visit report and action plan (normally within 6 weeks). You will be asked to check the factual accuracy of the visit report and complete the action plan (usually within 4 weeks).

The visit report and your completed action plan will be sent to the participating professional engineering institutions for consideration by their accreditation committees.

You will receive a final decision letter once all of the institutions have made a decision on accreditation. Due to the varied times at which their committees meet, usually quarterly, this could take several months, or longer, if any of the institutions require additional information before confirming accreditation.

Wherever possible, the EAB secretariat will provide informal feedback on any decisions made in the interim.

An EAB Visit Process Timeline and the EAB visit concordat summarise the post-visit process. These can be found under Useful Documents at the end of this page.

For further information about EAB visits, to request a visit or if you have a question about accreditation-related activity, please email the EAB secretariat at: eab@engc.org.uk.