Engineering and Technology

Preamble

These Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) are designed for the education and training of undergraduate students wishing to obtain first degrees in the different areas of Engineering and Technology in the Nigerian University System.Presented in this Section are the basic operational elements that serve to define the minimum academic standards required to achieve the cardinal goal of producing graduates in  Engineering and Technology with sufficient academic background and practical exposure to face the challenges of a developing economy in an increasingly globalised world economy.

It is pertinent to note that this CCMAS Document is expected to guide institutions in the design of curricula for their engineering and technology programmes by stipulating the minimum requirements. Being such, institutions are encouraged to take due cognizance of the CCMAS while bringing necessary innovation into the content and delivery of their programmes towards achieving the overall goals of engineering education and training in the country.

Programmes and Degrees

Presented in Table 1.1 is the list of programmes and the degrees in view covered in the CCMAS Document An attempt has been made to cover not only the programmes being currently run in various Faculties of Engineering and Technology, but, also, proposed new programmes in response to the local and global dynamics of the requisite knowledge and skills of products of engineering and technology. Overall, it is expected to serve the needs of  existing  faculties  contemplating  minor  or major  programme  review  and  also  new institutions seeking to chart a new path away from the existing programmes in the system.

Table 1.1:     List of Programme(s) and Degree(s) in View

S/N	PROGRAMME	DEGREE(S) IN VIEW
1	Aerospace Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
2	Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
3	Automotive Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
4	Biomedical Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
5	Chemical Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
6	Civil Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
7	Computer Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
8	Electrical Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
9	Electrical and Electronic Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
10	Electronic Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
11	Environmental Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
12	Food Science and Engineering/Technology	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
13	Industrial and Production Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
14	Information and Communication Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
15	Marine Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
16	Materials and Metallurgical Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
17	Mechanical Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
18	Mechatronics Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
19	Metallurgical Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
20	Mining Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
21	Natural Gas Engineering	B.Eng/B. Tech/B.Sc.
22	Petrochemical Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
23	Petroleum Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
24	Petroleum and Gas Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
25	Structural Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
26	Systems Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
27	Telecommunications Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
28	Water Resources Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.
29	Wood Products Engineering	B.Eng./B. Tech./B.Sc.

The  above  programmes  are  designed,  in  general,  to  be  broad-based  to  equip  the graduates with the diverse tools of the profession. However, where it is considered absolutely essential to reflect the various areas of specialization in a programme, such area can be indicated appropriately in the degree title.

Philosophy

The Philosophy and Mission Statement underlying the programmes in Engineering and Technology are aimed at achieving the goals and objectives of the National Policy on Industrialisation and Self-Reliance. This is to be achieved through:

1. broad–based foundation  in  Engineering  and  Technology  as  well  as  specialized knowledge and practice in a particular discipline therein;
2. practical exposure to application of Engineering and Technology to problem solution;
3. adequate training in human behaviour and organisational management;
4. developing in the students, entrepreneurial knowledge, a sense of public responsibility and a spirit of self-reliance;
5. nurturing of partnership between the institution and industry for effective programme delivery;
6. creating an awareness and understanding of the moral, ethical, legal, and professional obligations needed to function as part of a professional enterprise while protecting human health and welfare and the environment in a global society; and
7. creating an awareness and understanding of the need to develop leadership and team building skills to maximize the benefits of an engineering education and its application to solving problem

The general philosophy therefore is to produce graduates with high academic and ethical standards and adequate practical exposure for self-employment as well as being of immediate value to industry and the community in general.

Objectives

The general goal and objectives of Engineering and Technology education and training should be in consonance with the realisation of national needs and aspirations vis-à-vis industrial development and technological emancipation.  The graduates must therefore be knowledgeable, creative, resourceful and able to perform the following functions:

1. application of the knowledge of mathematics, basic and engineering sciences, and proficiency in using standards, codes, and modern information and communication technology tools in engineering practice;
2. design engineering projects and supervise their implementation;
3. design and implement components, machines, equipment and engineering systems;
4. design and develop new products and production techniques in industries;
5. conceptualise, implement  and  maintain  complex  engineering  systems  for  optimal performance in our environment;
6. adapt and adopt exogenous technology in order to solve local engineering problems;
7. ability to  consider  ethics,  the  environment  and  sustainability  in  the  solutions  to complex engineering problems;
8. exercise original  thought,  have  good  professional  judgment  and  be able  to  take responsibility for the execution of important tasks;
9. improve on indigenous technology for deployment to  the solution of engineering problems; and
10. demonstration of emotional stability, and endowment with critical multidisciplinary and team-work, goal-getting and life survival capabilities and skills, necessary in managing people, funds, materials, equipment and technologies.

Admission and Graduation Requirements

Admission Requirements
Candidates are admitted into the degree programme in any of the following two ways:

1. Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) Mode (5 Year Degree Programme)
2. Direct Entry(DE) Mode (4 Year Degree Programme)

Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) Mode

For the five-year degree propgramme, in addition to acceptable passes in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the minimum admission requirement is credit level passes in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in at least five subjects, which must includes English Language, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and other acceptable science subjects at not more than two sittings.

Direct Entry (DE) Mode

For four-year Direct Entry, in addition to five (5) Senior School Certificate (SSC) credit passes  which  must  include  English  Language,  Mathematics,  Physics  and  Chemistry, candidates  with  at  least  two  passes  in  relevant  subjects  (Mathematics,  Physics  and Chemistry) at the GCE Advanced Level or IJMB or JUPEB may be considered for admission. Candidates who have good National Diploma (ND) result in relevant Engineering Technology programmes may also be considered for admission into 200 level. Holders of upper credit pass and above at Higher National Diploma (HND) level, are eligible for consideration for admission into 300 level.

Graduation Requirements

The following regulations shall govern the conditions for the award of a honours degree in Engineering and Technology:

1. candidates admitted through the UTME mode shall have registered for a minimum of 150  and  maximum  of 180  units  of courses  during  the  5–year engineering  degree programme. Such candidates shall have spent a minimum of ten academic semesters;
2. candidates admitted through the Direct Entry mode shall have registered for minimum of 120  and  maximum  of  150  units  of  courses  during  a  4–year  engineering  degree programme. Such candidates shall have spent a minimum of eight academic semesters;
3. The minimum  and  maximum  credit  load  per  semester  is  15  and  24  credit  units respectively;
4. a student shall have completed and passed all the Courses registered for, including all compulsory courses and such elective /optional courses as may be specified by the university/faculty or department; obtained a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) specified by the university but not less than 1.00; and
5. a student  shall  also  have  earned  the  15  credit  units  of  Students  Industrial  Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), 8 credit units of University General Study courses and four credit units of Entrepreneurship courses.

For the purpose of calculating a student’s cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in order to determine the  class  of  Degree  to  be  awarded,  grades  obtained  in  ALL  the  courses registered, whether compulsory or optional and whether passed or failed must be included in the computation. Even when a student repeats the same course once or more before passing it or substitutes another course for a failed optional course, grades scored at each and all attempts shall be included in the computation of the GPA.

Prerequisite courses must be taken and passed before a particular course at a higher level. Furthermore, if a student fails to graduate at the end of normal academic session, he or she would not be allowed to exceed a total of 15 semesters in the case of students admitted through UTME and 13 semesters in the case of Direct Entry students.

Course System

All  Engineering  and  Technology  programmes  shall  be  run  on  a  modularised  system, commonly referred to as Course Unit System.  All courses are therefore be sub-divided into more or less  self-sufficient  and logically consistent  packages  that  are taught  within a semester  and  examined  at  the end  of  that  particular  semester.    Credits  are  weights attached to a course.  One credit is equivalent to one hour per week per semester of 15 weeks of lectures or three hours of laboratory/studio/workshop work per week per semester of 15 weeks.

Definition of Course System

This should be understood to mean a quantitative system of organization of the curriculum in which subject areas are broken down into unit courses which are examinable and for which students earn credit(s) if passed.  The courses are arranged in levels of academic progress. There shall be five levels of courses numbered 101-199, 201-299, 301-399, 401-499 and 501-599. For ease of identification, course numbers can be prefixed by a three- character programme/subject code. Thus, the course code is in the form: DEP LNJ (where the three-letter code DEP identifies the programme, ‘L’ in LNJ represents the level of the course (1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 for all undergraduate courses), N represents the sub-subject area while J represent the semester the course is offered some hierarchical code. Thus, for example, MEE 207 is a 200-Level course with number 0 say for labs and 7 indicating 1st semester, offered in the mechanical engineering programme. The glossary of all the course codes are presented earlier under Glossary of Codes.

The second aspect of the system is that courses are assigned weights allied to Units.

Units:  Consist  of  specified  number  of  student-teacher  contact  hours  per  week  per semester. Units are used in two complementary ways: one, as a measure of course weighting, and the other, as an indicator of student work load:

1. As a measure of course weighting for each unit course e.g. the credit unit to be earned for satisfactorily completing the course is specified; thus a 2-credit unit course may mean two 1-hour lecture per week per semester or one 1-hour lecture plus 3-hour practical per week per seme
2. As a measure of work load, “One Credit Unit” means one hour of lecture or one hour of tutorial per week per seme For other forms of teaching requiring student teacher contact, the following equivalents may apply: two hours of seminar: three hours of laboratory or field work, Clinical practice/practicum, studio practice or stadium sporting activity,  six  hours of teaching practice; four weeks  of industrial attachment  where applicable.

Normally, in the Course Credit System, courses are mounted all year round, thus enabling students  to  participate  in  examinations  in  which  they  are  unsuccessful  or  unable  to participate on account of ill health or for other genuine reasons.  In such a system, no special provisions are made for re-sit examinations.

The  minimum  number  of  credit  units  for  the  award  of  a  degree  in  engineering  and technology is 150 units, for a 5-year programme subject to the usual Department and Faculty requirements.  A student shall therefore qualify for the award of a degree when he has met the conditions.The minimum and maximum credit load per semester is 15 and 24 credit units respectively.

For the purpose of calculating a student’s cumulative GPA (CGPA) in order to determine the class of Degree to be awarded, grades obtained in ALL the courses registered, whether compulsory or optional and whether passed or failed must be included in the computation. Even when a student repeats the same course once or more before passing it or substitutes another course for a failed optional course. Grades scored at each and all attempts shall be included in the computation of the GPA. Pre – requisite courses must be taken and passed before a particular course at a higher level.

Grading of Courses

Grading of courses shall be done by a combination of percentage marks and letter grades translated into a graduated system of Grade Point as shown in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2: Grade Point System

Mark %	Letter Grade	Grade Point
70 – 100	A	5
60 – 69	B	4
50 – 59	C	3
45 – 49	D	2
40 – 44	E	1
< 40	F	0

Grade Point Average and Cumulative Grade Point Average

For the purpose of determining a student’s standing at the end of every semester, the Grade Point Average (GPA) system shall be used.  The GPA is computed by dividing the total number of Units x Grade Point (TUGP) by the total number of units (TNU) for all the courses taken in the semester as illustrated in Table 1.3.

The Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) over a period of semesters is calculated in the same manner as the GPA by using the grade points of all the courses taken during the period.

Course	Units	Grade Point	Unit x Grade Point (UGP)
C1	U1	GP1	U1 x GP1
C2	U2	GP2	U2 x GP2

Table 1.3:     Calculation of GPA or CGPA

–	–	–	–
–	–	–	–
Ci	Ui	GPi	Ui x GPi
–	–	–	–
–	–	–	–
CN	UN	GPN	UN x GPN
TOTAL	TNU		TUGP

Degree Classifications

The following regulations shall govern the conditions for the award of an honours degree.

1. Candidates admitted through the UTME mode shall have registered for at least 150 units of courses during the 5-year degree programme.
2. Candidates must have registered and passed all the compulsory courses specified for the programme.

The determination of the class of degree shall be based on the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) earned at the end of the programme. The CGPA shall be used in the determination of the class of degree as summarized in Table 1.4. It is important to note that the CGPA shall be calculated and expressed correct to two decimal places.

Table 1.4: Degree Classification

Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)	Class of Degree
4.50 – 5.00	1st Class Honours
3.50 – 4.49	2nd Class Honours (Upper Division)
2.40 – 3.49	2nd Class Honours (Lower Division)
1.50 – 2.39	3rd Class Honours Pass
1.00 – 1.49	Pass

Students  who  transfer  from  other  departments/programmes  or  universities  shall  be credited with only those courses deemed relevant to the programmes, which they have already passed prior to their transfer.  Such students shall however be required to pass the minimum number of units specified for graduation for the number of sessions he/she has spent in the Faculty; provided that no student shall spend less than two sessions (4 semesters) in order to earn a degree.  Students who transfer from another programme in the Faculty or other faculties for any approved reason shall be credited with those units passed that are within the curriculum of the programme to which he/she has transferred. Appropriate decisions on transfer cases shall be subjected to the approval of Senate on the recommendation of the Faculty.

Probation

A student whose Cumulative Grade Point Average is below 1.00 at the end of a particular year of study, earns a period of probation for one academic session. A student on probation is allowed to register for courses at the next higher level in addition to his/her probation level courses provided that:

1. the regulation in respect of student work-load is complied with; and
2. the pre-requisite courses for the higher-level courses have been passed.

Withdrawal

A candidate whose Cumulative Grade Point Average is below 1.0 at the end of a particular year of probation should be required to withdraw from the programme.  However, in order to minimize waste of human resources, consideration should be given to withdrawal from programme of study and possible  transfer  to  other  programmes  within  the  same University.

Evaluation
Techniques of Student Assessment

Practicals

By the nature of the programmes in Engineering and Technology, laboratory practicals are very important in the training of students. To reflect the importance of practical work, a minimum of 9 hours per week or 135 hours per semester (equivalent to 3 units) should be spent on students’ laboratory practical’s. Consequently, some of the courses have both theory and practical components. Thus, in the description of courses to be taken in any programme, as presented in Sections 2 and 3, the number of lecture hours (LH) and the number of practical hours (PH) per semester are indicated. The overall performance of students in such courses is to be based on the evaluation of the performance in written examination (which tests theory) and also the performance in the laboratory work (based on actual conduct of experiments and the reports).

The experiments to achieve the practical’s components of the courses must be designed in quality and quantity to enrich the grasp of the theoretical foundations of the courses. It is left for the department to organize all the experiments in the best way possible. One of the ways to achieve this is to lump all the laboratory practical’s under a course, which the student must pass.

Tutorials

The timetable for courses shall be designed to make provision for tutorials of at least one hour for every four hours of lecture. Thus a 3-unit course of 45 hours per semester should attract about 10 hours of tutorials. Postgraduate students are normally employed to help in giving tutorials to undergraduate students. This is a veritable training ground for academic career.

Continuous Assessments

Continuous assessment shall be done through essays, tests, and practical exercises.

1. Scores from continuous assessment shall normally constitute 30 per cent of the full marks for courses which are primarily theoretical.
2. For courses which are partly practical and partly theoretical, scores from continuous assessment shall constitute 40% of the final marks.
3. For courses that are entirely practical, continuous assessment shall be based on a student’s practical work or reports and shall constitute 100% of the final marks.

Examinations

In addition to continuous assessment, final examinations should normally be given for every course at the end of each semester. All courses shall be graded out of a maximum of 100 marks comprising:

Final Examination:               60% – 70%
Continuous assessment (Quizzes, Homework, Tests, Practical’s):   30% – 40%

Each course shall normally be completed and examined at the end of the semester in which it is offered.

External Examiner System

The external examiner system should continue.  This system should be used only in the final year of the undergraduate programme to assess final year courses and projects, and to certify the overall performance of the graduating students, as well as the quality of facilities and teaching in the faculty.  Furthermore, the existing practice of using different External Examiners for major subject areas in professional programmes, such as Engineering and Technology, should be continued.

SIWES Rating and Assessment

In engineering education, industrial attachment is very crucial.  The minimum duration of the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) should be 45 weeks accomplished in 3 modules.

SIWES  I : (3 Units) 9 weeks during long vacation at the end of 200-Level session

SIWES II : (4 Units) 12 weeks during the long vacation at the end of the 300-Level

SIWES III: (8 Units) 24 weeks from second semester of 400-Level to the beginning of the following session.

SIWES is an important aspect of the education and training of engineering students in the universities organised for exposure to some elements of industrial art as articulated below under the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) and the Technical Support Unit (TSU). This is being emphasised herein in view of the rather poor handling of SIWES, in particular, in most existing faculties of engineering and technology in the country. It should be noted that Industrial Training as a course involves the following: working successfully in the industry or an industrial setting for the specified period; submitting of a Work Report to the  Industrial  Training  Coordinating  Centre  at  the  end  of  the  training  period;  and presentation of seminar on the industrial training experience.

Faculties of Engineering in universities are expected to organise Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) or what most commonly refer to as Industrial Training. Universities are expected to establish a Unit to coordinate SIWES not only for engineering programmes, but also programmes in other faculties that have SIWES component.   The SIWES Unit is to shoulder the following responsibilities: soliciting co-operative placements (jobs) in business, industry, government or service agencies depending upon the needs and qualifications  of  the student,  and placing  students  on  such training  assignments  after analysing the technical contents; need to establish firm strategy to ensure students get placements and options when they cannot get places; coordinating and supervising the co- operative employment of students in such a way that students have the opportunity of learning useful engineering and technological skills on real jobs and under actual working conditions; conducting follow-up activities regarding all placements by checking regularly each student’s job performance through company visits and individual student’s interview; assembling individual inventory records of students and employers for the purposes of placements and supervision in addition to maintaining functional departmental and personal records and reports; providing necessary advice to students as to the relevance of their chosen field to the industrial requirements of the country;   organizing and conducting students’ seminars on Work Reports; and Liaison with NUC, ITF, other agencies and industries on student industrial training programme of the University.

All the 15 experiential units of SIWES will be credited towards the overall assessment for graduation/award of the degree. The Grading template for SIWES will be:

SIWES Supervision Continuous Assessment (from Industry)                    25%
SIWES Supervision/Log Book Grading (by University Supervisor)            25%
SIWES Comprehensive Report                                                                  25%
Seminar: Oral presentation (defense) of SIWES activity                           25%

(i) and (ii) will be scored for each SIWES upon completion and the weighted average for each student computed. However, the consolidated report for all industrial experience will be submitted for seminar and assessment at the end of the 400-level SIWES. The overall grade will then be collated with the 400-level CGPA.   This scoring system requires hard work, and adequate funding to sustain the interest of lecturers and industry supervisors, whose  capacity  must  also  be  enhanced  through  industry  and  reverse  immersion programmes respectively.

The Committee of Deans of Engineering and Technology (CODET) is assigned the statutory role of leading the coordination and mobilization of resources, infrastructure and the triple- helix partnership for ensuring effective SIWES, while all engineering and technology departments  prioritize  SIWES  assignments  with  utmost  dedication.  The  triple-helix partnership will involve the following MDAs and Stakeholders: (i) Federal Ministry of Education,  (ii)  Federal  Ministry  of  Science  and  Technology,  (iii)  Federal  Ministry  of Investment, Trade and Industry, (iv) Federal Ministry of Finance and FIRS, (v) Industrial Training Fund (ITF), (vi) NUC, (vii) NBTE, (viii) TETFund, (ix) COREN and NSE, (x) Nigerian Content Board, (xi) SMEDAN, (xii) MAN, (xiii) NESG, (xiv) Chambers of Commerce and Industry, (xv) Vice Chancellors and Councils of Universities, (xvi) Committee of Vice Chancellors (CVC) and Pro-chancellors (CPC), and others as the prevailing context demands.

Reverse Exchange Programmes

There will be well organized and remunerated industry immersion exchange programmes for university staff during the vacations and industrial training periods. Similarly, there must be a reverse immersion period for industry staff, as academic associates/senior associates engaged  in  teaching  and  practical  assignments  in  universities.  CODET  to  propose appropriate funding guidance for this scheme. CODET should also collate and document innovations and other Intellectual Property Products (IPPs) that emerge from these novel initiatives.

Industrial Parks and Tech Incubation Centers

Universities that offer engineering and technology courses are encouraged to establish Industrial Parks, Innovation hubs and Tech Incubation Centers. The Federal Government and relevant MDAs should facilitate the establishment of 6 regional Industrial Parks and Tech Incubation Centres to be located in partnership with a university in each of the 6 geo- political zones for a start and ultimately in each state. These parks shall be, to a large extent,  private  sector driven  and  only  facilitated  by  government  to  limit  bureaucracy. Government should provide detailed incentives for companies that establish within the Industrial Parks and Tech Incubation Centres, such as tax rebate, tax moratorium for a few years of establishment and operation.

Performance Evaluation Criteria

The accreditation of the Engineering and Technology degree programme means a system of recognising educational institutions (universities and programmes offered by them) for a level of performance, integrity and quality which entitles them to the confidence of the educational and professional community, the public they serve, and employers of labour and services.

The objectives of the accreditation exercise are to:

1. ensure that at least the provisions of the minimum academic benchmark statements are attained, maintained and enhanced;
2. assure employers and other members of the community that graduates of these institutions have attained an acceptable level of competence in their areas of specialisation; and
3. certify to the international community that the programmes offered in these universities are of high standards and that their graduates are adequate for employment and for further studies.