10 National News

The Cadre

¢ 9 March 1999

University takes engineers to court

By MICHAEL CONNORS

ST. JOHN’S (CUP) — Memo- rial University of Newfound- land and a professional engi- neering association will find themselves in court sooner than expected after the legal battle over software engineer- ing escalated last week. University lawyers ap- plied to the provincial Su- preme Court on March 3 for an order forcing the Associa-

tion of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New- foundland to stop blocking the accreditation of Memorial’s engineering faculty.

The move comes just one week after the association withdrew its consent allowing a national accrediting body to evaluate the university’s four engineering programs. If con- sent is not reinstated, Memo- rial’s faculty of engineering’s accreditation will expire June

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The association took the action to force the univer- sity’s hand in a legal dispute over the name of a computer science program called Hon- ours in Software Engineering. The association argues using the word engineering in the name of a de not offered by an accredited engineering faculty violates federal trade- mark regulations.

The objection culmi- nated in a lawsuit, filed jointly with the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers,

inst Memorial in July 1997.

e case is scheduled to be heard in federal court next September.

The university, how- ever, says it is unethical to threaten the accreditation of its engineering faculty for reasons that have a to do with the quality of the faculty itself.

“There’s two separate issues,” said university spokesperson Peter Morris. “[Those issues] should never be linked. To do it is to use the students as pawns, and dare I say it, it’s tantamount to extor- tion.”

A date has not yet been set for the hearing on the uni- versity’s counter-action, but Morris says it will likely move through the courts within the next two weeks.

Memorial University has maintained throughout the dispute that it alone has the right to determine the name and structure of ae grams, not an outside body.

The issue that could have national implications since other Canadian schools, such as the University of To- ronto, also offer software-en- gineering programs in their computer science depart- ments.

“We're willing to take our chances [in court},” Mor- ris said. “We're convinced by the way that we have a very good case.”

fessional Engineers and Geoscientists argues that it has

the right to regulate the terms “engineer” and “engineering” to protect public safety. It has even said that students gradu- ating from Memorial’s pro- gram calling themselves “soft- ware engineers” would be sued.

“The public must have confidence that when a person claims to be an engineer, they have in fact met rigorous qualifications to practice engi- neering,” said association ex- ecutive director Allen Steeves.

He adds that the issue of academic autonomy is a red herring.

“This is not a matter of denying academic freedom or freedom of speech,” he said. “ These rights carry with them

responsibilities, and the right to free speech doesn’t give you the right to break the law of the land. It doesn’t give you the right to violate somebody else’s rights, and that’s what is happening here.”

Even if accreditation of Memorial’s engineering pro- grams runs out, he added, graduates will still have other avenues to get certification as professional engineers.

Memorial’s faculty council of engineering has since passed a resolution de- manding the association rein- state consent for accreditation.

Student groups, for their part have been support- ive of the body’s actions. The engineering students’ associa- tion has asked Memorial’s senate to consider a motion at its next meeting that would drop the word “engineering” from the name of software en- eo. and would require

university to abandon its trademark rights to the term software engineering.

Memorial’s student un- ion also voted at its last meet- ing to support the proposed motion.