Sitework knowledge for entry-level construction professionals: Academic and industry perceptions

Sitework is an essential scope of many building construction projects. The level of cognition related to sitework that a construction management undergraduate should achieve prior to entering the construction industry has not been researched. This paper describes a study analyzing both academics’ and industry practitioners’ perceptions of what construction management students should know about sitework by the time they graduate, both in terms of the topics explored and the level of knowledge they have attained. Surveys measured the level at which specific sitework topics should be incorporated into construction management programs. Responses collected from 60 industry practitioners and 35 faculty from construction management programs were analyzed. Results show that practitioner respondents generally expect graduates to exit their programs at lower levels of cognition, while academics expect graduates should achieve higher levels of cognition. A statistically significant difference exists between academics and practitioners regarding several estimating topics, as well as safety, site logistics, existing technologies, and unforeseen site conditions. Recommendations from the study regarding the level of cognition for each topic area are provided to offer the opportunity for programs to evaluate and adjust their content coverage and to suggest that further studies may be warranted based on industry perceptions.