INNOVATION January-February 2013

as soc ia t ion notes

Providing References for

Innovation Gets a Fresh Start in 2013

Registration Applicants Professional members providing references for applicants to APEGBC have always played an important role in the application process. With the implementation of a new assessment process, your words carry more weight than they ever have before. Registration Process Re-engineering recommendations approved by Council in 2011 and 2012 have resulted in even greater emphasis on references to assist APEGBC’s registration staff to channel applications into review process streams aimed at reducing application review time and making the best use of volunteer resources. References are critical to completing an application for professional registration. What is said on the reference is now even more important as it can reduce or increase the time it takes to review an applicant’s experience. Completing the checkboxes on the form is helpful, but adding comments helps the reviewer to tell if an applicant’s skills and competencies for professional registration are good, excellent or in need of improvement, and is crucial to the process followed

If you’ve noticed that Innovation is looking a little different this issue, you’re not mistaken. This year we’ve made a number of subtle updates intended to freshen up the magazine, now in its 17 th year. The most notable of these changes is perhaps the re-introduction of punctuation of the P.Eng. and P.Geo. designations, as well as titles and other abbreviations. First introduced in the BC Professional Engineer journal (the forerunner to Innovation ) in 1979, dropping the periods from the designations was intended as a measure to simplify and save editorial space. Now, with the goal of greater consistency with the official mark held by Engineers Canada, the dots have been re-instituted. “PEng” is now “P.Eng.” once again within the pages of Innovation . Other changes introduced to Innovation this year include larger type and more consistent font use for ease of reading, as well as editorial style more reflective of contemporary usage. Innovation is distributed to an audience of more than 28,000 APEGBC member and non-member readers. Members receive a print copy of the magazine via post, or can opt to receive their copy via e-mail by logging into the member portal at www.apeg.bc.ca and updating their delivery preferences. Have You Declared Your CPD? Don’t forget to declare your continuing professional development (CPD) hours for the 2012 calendar year. APEGBC’s online public member directory includes a “Declared CPD Compliant” note recognizing members who are complying with the CPD Guideline. If you did not indicate compliance with the CPD Guideline during your membership renewal and would like to update your member record, you can do so online through the APEGBC website by signing into the Member Log-in area. Just look for “CPD Reporting” and you will be asked to indicate your compliance and report your professional development hours.

and the ultimate registration decision. Without comments to back up the checkboxes on the reference form, it’s difficult for reviewers to determine if an applicant is ready to be registered or if they need more experience in one or more areas. Comments on reference forms are taken very seriously and should reflect the referee’s opinions on the applicant’s experience and readiness for registration or licence be they negative, constructively critical or positive. Below is a “Good, Better, Best” guide to completing reference forms or the equivalent fields in the online competency-based assessment system. If you have any questions, feel free to contact our Registration Support Desk at 604.412.4856 or register@apeg.bc.ca. Good 3. In your opinion, does the applicant apply engineering/geoscience principles in a knowledgeable and accurate manner? Yes X No Better 3. In your opinion, does the applicant apply engineering/geoscience principles in a knowledgeable and accurate manner? Yes X No Alex is a competent engineer. Best 3. In your opinion, does the applicant apply engineering/geoscience principles in a knowledgeable and accurate manner? Yes X No During his rotation, Alex applied complex electrical engineering concepts and was able to undertake detailed analysis of problems posed and complete the project with a robust design solution.

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