From Classroom to Boardroom: Evaluating Experiential Learning Strategies as Predictors of Engineering Licensure Outcomes and Institutional Decision-Making

Engineering graduates in the Philippines are required to pass a licensure examination conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission before they can practice their profession. It is common that a number of examinees fail the board examinations. The passing percentage is often tied up with the scores in admission tests and grades achieved in lecture courses. However, the role of laboratory experiments in affecting the outcome of the board examinations is not given enough attention. This article aims to synthesize the literature on five types of experiential learning in engineering programs, identify their potential role in licensure attainment, and propose a conceptual model for further testing. The five types of experience are: internship and on the job training, project-based learning, capstone design, simulation and laboratory work, and structured mentoring with reflection. Findings from the literature on engineering and related licensure programs show that internship is one of the significant predictors of board exam results, while the other forms of experiential learning contribute to the development of self-led learning and professional competencies that are indirectly assessed by the written exam. In view of this evidence, this article suggests developing a conceptual model that incorporates the role of the level of experience in combination with individual factors such as prior academic achievement and exam preparation in influencing licensure attainment. The article also provides five propositions for further empirical research and recommendations for measurement and study design. As a narrative review, this article synthesizes existing literature and is not an experimentally validated predictive study; the framework and its propositions are conceptual and have not yet been tested with institutional data. If validated, the framework could support evidence-based academic decisions by showing which student records, such as internship appraisals and project grades, are worth monitoring, and it could guide curriculum improvement by aligning project and capstone work with examination content. It could also strengthen internship evaluation through outcome-based rubrics and inform licensure preparation by helping programs identify graduates who may need earlier review support. This article, being a narrative review, aims to summarize the literature, not present an experimentally validated predictive study. The framework and its propositions are conceptual and have yet to be validated with institutional data. If validated, the concepts could guide informed decision-making in institutions and program evaluation. This could entail identifying student records, such as internship appraisal or project grades, for monitoring and improvement, specifying internship evaluation rubrics focused on outcomes, enhancing the curriculum through projects and capstone in line with examination content, allocating academic resources, and targeting support for candidates for licensure with earlier intervention.