NCEES NEWS RELEASE

Release: 11-3-2008
Contact: J. Lehmon Dekle, P.E.
ldekle@ncees.org

NCEES announces change to organization of FE exam specifications

The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is introducing a change to the organization of its specifications for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam.

Currently, statics and dynamics topics are listed together under the heading Engineering Mechanics. Beginning with the April 2009 exam, topics related to statics and dynamics will be divided into two distinct groups under that heading. Topics have been reordered in the new groups, and friction is listed as a topic in both groups.

NCEES Director of Exam Services Tim Miller, P.E., explained that this reorganization is intended to improve the usefulness of reports on candidate performance. Following each exam administration, diagnostic reports are sent to unsuccessful examinees to help them identify which areas of knowledge they may want to improve before retaking the exam. Universities also receive reports on their students’ performance, which can be used as an assessment tool for their engineering programs.

“With this change, someone using these reports will be able to see, at a glance, details of performance on statics and performance on dynamics, which should make it easier to assess strengths and weaknesses in those areas,” Miller said.

Miller emphasized that the FE exam content is unaffected by this change. “The number and type of questions on the exam aren’t changing, and the exam topics aren’t changing,” he explained. “We are simply reorganizing this section of the specifications to make the diagnostic reports clearer and more informative for users.”

Excerpt from Previous Specification
VII. Engineering Mechanics (Statics and Dynamics)
   A. Resultants of force systems
   B. Centroid of area
   C. Concurrent force systems
   D. Equilibrium of rigid bodies
   E. Frames and trusses
   F. Area moments of inertia
   G. Linear motion (e.g., force, mass, acceleration, momentum)
   H. Angular motion (e.g., torque, inertia, acceleration, momentum)
   I. Friction
   J. Mass moments of inertia
   K. Impulse and momentum applied to
       1. Particles
       2. Rigid bodies
   L. Work, energy, and power as applied to
       1. Particles
       2. Rigid bodies

Revision (effective April 2009)
VII. Engineering Mechanics (Statics and Dynamics)
    A. Statics
       1. Resultants of force systems
       2. Concurrent force systems
       3. Equilibrium of rigid bodies
       4. Frames and trusses
       5. Centroid of area
       6. Area moments of inertia
       7. Friction
    B. Dynamics
       1. Linear motion (e.g., force, mass, acceleration, momentum)
       2. Angular motion (e.g., torque, inertia, acceleration, momentum)
       3. Mass moments of inertia
       4. Impulse and momentum applied to
           a. Particles
           b. Rigid bodies
       5. Work, energy, and power as applied to
           a. Particles
           b. Rigid bodies
       6. Friction

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