All engineering programs at NIU have been examined, evaluated and approved as meeting the requirements of the Illinois Professional Engineering Act.

“This means students can now take the engineering training state exams,” said Romualdas Kasuba, dean of the College of Engineering. Mechanical, electrical and industrial engineering students will be able to take the state’s Fundamental’s of Engineering Exams starting May 1989. The program will be reviewed again in the fall of 1991.

“The approval is a recognition of the professional stature of our programs,” Kasuba said. “Our fine quality faculty and the quality of our programs and the quality of our students are recognized by this act.”

A college either must be approved or accredited in order for students to take the state exams. Many jobs require that a student pass the exam.

Kasuba said NIU’s engineering programs have been designed to pass accreditation requirements. In order to become accredited, the college must graduate the freshman class in all departments. NIU’s engineering program will accomplish this by May 1989.

More than 700 students are enrolled in the engineering program, which was started three years ago, Kasuba said. The program has already graduated students with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees, all of whom were immediately hired by employers in northern Illinois. About 400 more students are enrolled in the technology program.

Diane Strand, assistant director of public information, said it has not been easy to get faculty to come and work for an unestablished program, but the college has been successful in its recruiting efforts. There are presently 45 faculty members, all with doctoral degrees. Two more faculty members will be hired in January, which will complete the program’s instructional staff.