SECTION 133.33. Proof of Educational Qualifications--Non-Accredited/Non-Approved Programs

(a) An applicant for licensure who has graduated from a program other than one in which the undergraduate or graduate degree in the same discipline has been accredited or approved by any of the organizations identified in §133.31(a)(1)(A) or (a)(2)(A) of this chapter (relating to Educational Requirements for Applicants) shall furnish both an official transcript and an evaluation for each degree to be relied upon to meet the educational requirements of licensure as a professional engineer or certification as an engineer-in-training. Official transcripts shall include either grades or mark sheets and proof that the degree was conferred. In addition to providing a transcript reflecting the degree(s) earned by an applicant, the applicant shall also provide an official transcript from each school from which more than 15 semester hours were earned towards the degree.

(1) The applicant shall ensure that the required transcript(s) are forwarded from the officially recognized and approved institutional authority of records (e.g., registrar or other authority) of the institution from which the applicant graduated directly to a commercial degree evaluation service approved by the board. The applicant is responsible for ordering and paying for all such transcripts and evaluations. Additional academic information, including but not limited to grades and transfer credit, shall be submitted to the board at the request of the executive director.

(2) The degree evaluation must:

(A) validate the authenticity of the transcript, diploma, and any other supporting documentation;

(B) include a detailed, course-by-course evaluation of courses, including semester hours and grades;

(C) a comparison of the applicant's degree program to criteria of ABET applicable to the applicant's year of graduation; and a determination whether the curriculum of the degree program being evaluated meets the applicable criteria;

(D) establish that the applicant has received a conferred degree which is equivalent to a degree from a United States educational institution; and

(E) be sent by the commercial evaluation service directly to the board, accompanied by the applicant's official transcript or a copy of the transcript verified by the commercial evaluation service.

(b) Upon written request by an applicant provided at the time of application, a commercial degree evaluation of a program other than one accredited or approved by the EAC/ABET or the ETAC/ABET may be waived by the executive director if:

(1) sufficient resources are available for the board to evaluate it; or

(2) the degree program contains curricula that are deemed by the executive director to not be an integral part of the applicant's engineering education.

(c) Upon receipt or waiver of a commercial degree evaluation, the executive director shall evaluate, under the standards of §133.31(a)(1)(C) or (a)(2)(B) of this chapter (relating to Educational Requirements for Applicants), the curricula of a degree program that has not been accredited or approved by any of the organizations identified in §133.31(a)(1)(A) or (a)(2)(A) of this chapter.

(d) If a transcript cannot be transmitted directly to the evaluation service from the issuing institution, the executive director may, at his or her discretion, approve an alternative method of evaluating the applicant's educational qualifications, upon written request from the applicant explaining why the transcript cannot be directly transmitted from the issuing institution. An alternative method approved by the executive director may include validation of transcript(s) in the applicant's possession through a commercial evaluation service approved by the board. In the event the executive director approves an alternative method such as validation of a transcript in the applicant's possession by an evaluation service, the evaluation service shall forward to the board the evaluation and all documentation provided by the applicant.

(e) The board will not accept a commercial evaluation of a degree in lieu of an official transcript or a validated transcript that was in the applicant's possession. An official transcript or validated transcript must be submitted to complete the application.

(f) An applicant seeking an educational credential evaluation under this section but wishing to qualify for licensure only under §133.31(a)(2)(B) of this section is exempt from the evaluation requirement in subsection (a)(2)(C) of this section.

Source Note: The provisions of this §133.33 adopted to be effective May 20, 2004, 29 TexReg 4873; amended to be effective January 1, 2006, 30 TexReg 8685; amended to be effective July 16, 2009, 34 TexReg 4638; amended to be effective September 9, 2012, 37 TexReg 6913