Overview of Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering

1. Introduction

Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (hereafter AASTU), is one of the new public universities of the country established to play as a forefront changing actor in the science and technology transformation of the country through creating strong linkage with industries. As it was stated in the Five-Year Growth and Transformation Plan (2010 – 2015 G.C), the establishment of well institutionalized and strong science and technology universities and institutes of technology will serve as a cornerstone to build an economically developed and industrialized state of Ethiopia in a sustainable manner. As a result, AASTU was founded in 2011 under the Directive of the Council of Ministers No. 216/2011 as well as amended by regulation numbers 314/2014 by admitting the first batch (2000 students) in November 2011 and become one of the two science and technology universities in the country.

In line with the given strategic direction of Ethiopian development, Addis Ababa Science and Technology University has a mission to be a problem solver of the industry through research, community service and delivering world-class education. To meet this mission, the university has given special attention to strengthen the academic sector by working towards accreditation of all undergraduate programs.

Since its establishment, Addis Ababa Science and Technology University has been following nationally harmonized undergraduate programs curriculum. Besides to the national harmonized curriculums, common courses which account a total of 40 credit hours as a national requirement, put in place by Ministry of Science and Higher Education, started implemented to the development of fundamental changes to the Ethiopian educational system to mainly influence students’ attitude. These curriculums and its graduates are recognized throughout the country, but lacks international recognitions due to lack of accreditation by renowned international accreditation bodies. Hence, to make its graduate competent and internationally accepted, AASTU is perusing to change its entire under graduate program curriculums by considering knowledge, skill and attitudinal changes of the students as the main building blocks of the curriculums and continuous quality improvements (CQI) as a means to sustain quality, which aims international accreditation of its programs and graduates.

As a result of the above reasons, the university planned to revise the entire undergraduate program curriculum from continuous quality improvement and international accreditation point of views as the goal of international accreditation is to ensure the education provided by higher education to an acceptable level of quality. Therefore, this curriculum, leading to Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering at AASTU is developed based on the requirements of the National and Washington accord.

1.1         Vision and Mission of the University

Vision:

• To be internationally recognized Ethiopian Hub of science and technology with a strong national commitment and significant continental impact by 2030.

Mission:

• Delivering world-class education and training in strategically priority science and technology disciplines based on national economic demand,
• Conducting problem-solving applied researches to support the productivity and competitiveness of industries,
• Serving as a center for knowledge and technological adaptation, innovation and transfer,
• Building the technical and managerial capabilities of industries,
• Building a national hub of science and technology

1.2          Background of the Program

Environmental Engineering education leading to B.Sc. degree at Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU) was launched in 2011/12 under the then ‘School of Energy Resource and Environmental Engineering’ which was one of the eleven schools launched by AASTU while it was established. Then after, environmental engineering department was grouped under college of biological and chemical engineering as part of the first organizational restructuring AASTU in 2016. AASTU was the first university in Ethiopia to develop and launch pure environmental engineering program at bachelor level to fulfill the growing demands of industries, public institutions and universities for graduates. Considering the importance of environmental issues of these days as a priority area, the department also launched M.Sc. and PhD programs in 2013 and 2017, respectively. Since, its establishment, a total of 204 students is graduated from the department from which 131 (95 male and 36 female) are BSc level and 73 (61 male and 12 female) are MSc level graduates.

Since the inception of the program, the department has strived to provide excellent environmental engineering education that produces competent and creative engineers to meet the challenges of environmental sustainability in this competitive age of globalization; researchers that advances the state of knowledge in the environmental engineering profession; and experts that serves the public and industries. For this reason, the program has been launched for developing well-trained and educated environmental engineers capable of designing, planning, operating, managing and maintaining public utilities, serving the demands of industries and promoting a benign ecological environment to safeguard its valuable resources of water, air and soil, and health.

This curriculum is equipped with most demanding and influential topics that can attract students in the environmental engineering discipline and able to enhance the knowledge, skill and attitude of the graduates. The curriculum is concerned not only about environmental pollution control and technological remediation methods, but also about impact of remediation processes on stakeholders of the environment. As such, it aims to combine scientific and technical knowledge with environmental resources management skills to design, plan, manage, maintain, analyze and operate system by involving manpower, money, material, equipment, energy, information and all other related resources.

The most distinct feature of the program is its diverse elective areas such as air and water pollutions, water and wastewater treatment, air, water and soil pollution control, solid and hazardous waste management, biological and chemical issues on environmental remediation process with water resources management and sustainable utilization of energy.  The department is also very much concerned about environmental pollution control and remediation technologies.  The Environmental Engineering program is, thus, structured to provide the necessary background in mathematics, basic sciences and engineering skills followed by environmental engineering specific courses with the intent of preparing graduates to tackle for the 21^st century environment and economic development challenges.

1.3         Rationale of the Program

The need to foster food production from the country’s arable lands and the inevitability of the use of agricultural inputs, such as fertilizers, pesticides and other agrochemicals is posing new problems to the environment.  Thus, increasing population, growing industrial sector with uncontrolled waste and unsustainable agricultural practices are considered as major threat to the environment of Ethiopia. To ensure good environmental quality and standard of living, improved scientific and technical understanding of environmental issues and well-thought-out environmental policies in designing, planning and implementing projects required at the national and regional levels for sustainable economic development. Professionals well-versed in the latest environmental technology and management concepts are thus in great demand, to address complex environmental challenges in air, water and soil quality, energy and resource utilization, waste management and impacts of development and industrialization.  It is believed that interdisciplinary knowledge and approach are essential to balance the environmental quality required for healthy living with the increasing population, industrial growth, booming construction and agricultural practices required for economic prosperity. Therefore, producing skilled man power that can design and plan the development without compromising the needs of the future generation is a burning issue in the world in general and our country in particular and hence, environmental engineers are keys for this mission.

2          STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAM

2.1         Mission of the University

Mission:

M-1     Delivering world-class education and training in strategically priority science and technology disciplines based on national economic demand,

M-2     Conducting problem-solving applied researches to support the productivity and competitiveness of industries,

M-3     Serving as a center for knowledge and technological adaptation, innovation and transfer,

M-4     Building technical and managerial capabilities of industries, and

M-5     Becoming a national hub of science and technology

2.2         Program Education Objective (PEO)

      The program educational objectives describe accomplishments of environmental engineering program graduates are expected to attain within five years after graduation. Graduates are expected to apply their expertise to contemporary environmental problem solving, be engaged professionally, have continued to learn and adapt, and contributed to their organizations through leadership and teamwork. More specifically, the objectives are expertise, engagement, learning, leadership and teamwork as listed in Table 2.1.

      Table 2.1: Program Education Objectives (PEO).

2.3         Mapping of PEO and University Mission

Table 2.2: Mapping of PEO with University Mission

2.4         Program Outcomes (PO)

Engineering programs are measured through their attainment of the Program Outcome (PO)/Program Learning Outcomes (PLO) of the program and its courses. These program outcomes are statements on what students shall know, understand, and perform upon completing their course and/or program of study. State the Program Outcomes of this environmental engineering Bachelor of Science degree program are stated below (Table 2.3).

Table 2.3: Program Outcome

2.5         Mapping of PO and PEO

Table 2.4: Mapping of PO with PEO

2.6         Admission Requirements

2.6.1        Admission requirements for undergraduate regular program

The minimum admission requirements for the undergraduate regular program are guided by the countries higher education admission regulation and AASTU’s guideline stated in the Senate legislation July 2017, Article 78. Hence, admission to the undergraduate programs of AASTU shall be based on the completion of the 12^th grade and obtaining the necessary pass marks in the Ethiopian Higher Education Entrance Examination (EHEE) or equivalent academic achievements from foreign countries. In addition, applicants should pass science and technology universities’ entrance examination to be set by the Ministry and/ or AASTU.

2.6.2        Admission requirements for undergraduate continuing education program

The minimum admission requirements for the undergraduate continuing education program are guided by the countries higher education admission regulation and AASTU’s guideline stated in the Senate legislation July 2017, Article 79. Hence, admission to the undergraduate programs of AASTU shall be based on the completion of the 12th grade and obtaining the necessary pass marks in the Ethiopian Higher Education Entrance Examination (EHEE), or level four in the TEVET program or equivalent academic achievements from foreign countries. In addition, applicants should pass science and technology universities’ entrance examination to be set by the Ministry and/ or AASTU. 

2.7         Duration of Study

The duration of study for completing this Bachelor of Science degree program in Environmental Engineering will be fiveyears for regular and six years for continuing education programs as stated in the university senate legislation July 2017, Article 90.

2.8         Teaching and Learning Approach

Teaching and learning approach refer to the broad approaches to the learning and teaching activities. To this end, the teaching and learning methods for this environmental engineering undergraduate program is mainly student centered learning which includes problem based learning, mini projects, group work, lectures, tutorial sessions, supervised study, student presentations, seminars, work-based learning, practical and development oriented design projects, readings and discussion, case study, laboratory based learning, computer based learning, independent studies, internship, field work, project work, practical, Industrial visits, interactive “blended: E-learning”, lectures by industry professionals, classes and demonstrations or a combination of these.

2.9         Program Types

This environmental engineering undergraduate program is delivered in regular and continuing education program modes. The appropriateness and effectiveness of the program to meet program objectives and award expectations; and maximum length of the programs, which is up to five (5) years for regular program and six (6) years for continuing education program, will be guided by the university’s senate legislation July 2017 (sub-articles 90.1.1 to 90.1.3 of Article 90).

2.10     Assessment and Evaluation Mechanisms

Assessment and evaluation mechanisms refer to the range and variety of assessment methods. Combinations of various assessment such asoral examination, written examination, oral presentation, test, paper/essay, portfolio, report about an internship, report on fieldwork, continuous assessment, group or individual projects, summative assessment such as final exams, project, problem solving assignments, senior essays, interactive computer and simulation assignments and group presentations will be used during the implementation of this curriculum.

2.11     Grading system

Examinations are graded on letter grading system as stated in the university senate legislation July 2017, Article 92.The status description is based on the raw mark interval given in Table 2.5.

Table 2.5: Grading System

2.12     Graduation Requirements

Graduation requirement for environmental engineering undergraduate programs should satisfy the following minimum requirements as stated in the university’s senate legislation July 2017, Article 109.

• All the required courses/Courses and the minimum credit hours set in the program curriculum by the respective academic unit should be satisfied, except to phase in and phase out program.
• A cumulative grade point average CGPA of 2.00 must be obtained;
• A cumulative grade point average CGPA of 2.00 in major area courses;
• No” F” grade in any course/ Course taken for undergraduate program;
• Score pass mark for all courses which have Pass/Fail grade.
• Score pass mark of 50% for national exit exam

2.13     Degree Nomenclature

The name of the degree for environmental engineering undergraduate program is stated as follow:

“Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Engineering”

“የሳይንስባችለርዲግሪበአካባቢምህንድስና”

2.14     Course Coding

Each course will have a prefix; each prefix contains four letters without any space will be followed by four digits.

For example, in the code “EnEg1001”;

• The first digit (1) represents the year (level) in which the course is given,
• The second digit (0) indicates the course category number to which the course belongs,
• The last two digits (01) indicate the semester in which the course is given.
  • All courses given in the first semester represent by odd number (01, 03, 05, 07
  • All courses given in the second semester represent by even number (02, 04, 06, 08)

2.15     List of Courses and Category

2.15.1    Course Category

There are four course categories:

Category 0 = Common (National) Courses,

Category 1 = Core/Compulsory/supportive Courses,

Category 2 = Core Elective Courses

Table 2.6: Distribution of credit hours for all course categories

2.15.2    List of Courses

Table 2.7: List of Courses

2.16     Course Breakdown

2.16.1    Course Breakdown for Regular program

This section includes the lists of course sequence and total student credit hour loads in each semester indicating the credit hour (Cr.hr), course lecture, and tutorial/Lab hours. Hence, the course breakdown and total semester credit hour loads for undergraduate regular programs in all semesters is presented as follow, shown in Table 2.8.

Table 2.8: Course Breakdown for Regular program

Year I, Semester I

Year I, Semester II

Year II, Semester I

Year II, Semester II

Year III, Semester I

Year III, Semester II

Year IV, Semester I

Year IV, Semester II

Year IV, Semester III (summer) Course

Year V, Semester I

Year V, Semester II

N.B:Conversion rate from Cr.hr to ECTS is given as 1Cr.hr. =1.67 ECTS

Electives: I

Electives: II

2.17     Course Plan

The course plans for each course in this curriculum are described in Table 2.10 according to the year semester of the courses.

Student Learning Time (SLT)

The credit value indicates the amount of time spent on teaching and learning activities for each course. The allocation of credit value and student learning time (SLT) is linked to the level of complexity, difficulty, and mastery required in the courses concerned.

Figure 2.1: Student Learning Time Model (Mohammed, 2006)

Environmental Engineering Staff profile

Table 1: Academic staffs’ profiles

Table 1: Environmental Engineering department laboratory lists