Can Principles of Professionalism and Ethics be Measured?

Abstract

Ethics and professional principles can be measured as part of the licensing process. Although they seem vague in comparison with technical principles, ethics and professional principles can be examined with means common to the humanities. In order to institute this type of examination in the PE licensing procedure, it is necessary that professional societies formulate clear statements of principle, that the statements be publicized, that programs be developed to integrate the statements into educational curricula, and that an essay format exam for the PE license examination be devised to test for candidates' knowledge of these principles. It is feasible to test engineering candidates for a PE on their grasp of ethical and professional principles if clear expectations are set and if candidates are given the intellectual means to meet them.