This year’s ASCE election gives members the opportunity to voice their opinion about the proposed member grades simplification.
The constitutional amendment is on the ballot with voting opening May 1 and running through June 1. It will require support from two-thirds of voting members to be installed into the ASCE constitution as an updated amendment.
Here’s everything you need to know about the proposal:
A simplified member grade structure
The proposed constitutional amendment would simplify ASCE member grades, consolidating affiliate, associate, and member into a single “member” designation.
The single grade would retain most of the current member benefits. As it is, member, associate, and affiliate grades pay the same dues and have the same benefits and voting rights.
The board supports this
The ASCE Board of Direction voted twice in the last year to pass the proposed member grades on first and second readings.
The belief is that simplifying the member grade structure would reduce business complexity and expense, make it easier for prospective members to join, and make the organization more welcoming to members of the civil engineering team and those allied with the profession.
The profession needs workforce solutions
The simplified member grades may make ASCE more attractive to a broader range of infrastructure professionals, including civil engineering graduates in government, academia, or industry who are not P.E.s.
The civil engineering field faces a shortage of trained engineers, and, increasingly, the supporting engineering technicians and technologists are helping those engineers build, operate, and maintain critical civil infrastructure. Likewise, project teams are more frequently collaborating across professions – with more environmental scientists, geologists, and others assisting civil engineers on projects.
ASCE remains committed to protecting the P.E.
Though current full ASCE member status requires a P.E., Society members use their P.E. credential, not their member grade, to designate their licensure status. So the member grade consolidation would not diminish the value of the P.E.
Through its work with the Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing, ASCE actively defends licensure. ASCE also has a strong partnership with NCEES. And the Society will continue to operate under its nine policies that fully support the P.E.
Voting in the ASCE election runs May 1 through June 1. For more information about the 2025 election, including the complete ballot, visit the ASCE website or email [email protected].
