Dave Holger, ABET President-Elect ASEE Global Colloquium on Engineering Education

1. ABET - History, Evolution and Current Status of the Accreditation of Professional Technical Education in the United States Dave Holger, ABET President-Elect ASEE Global Colloquium on Engineering Education October 14, 2009 Budapest, Hungary

2. Overview • ABET Background • Transition to Outcomes • Current Situation and ABET CQI • Globalization and International Engagement • Current Initiatives

3. Accreditation in the United States • Non-governmental • Voluntary/Quasi-Voluntary • Public Recognition that an Institution or Program has met Standards/Criteria • Results of Evaluation, but not Specific Details are Published • Institutional/Regional • Specialized/Professional

4. Typical Elements of U.S. Accreditation • Quality Assurance • Constituency Based Criteria Development and Implementation Processes • Self-Assessment • Peer Review (Academic and Employer) • Continuous Improvement Expectation • Periodic Re-evaluation

5. ABET • Est. 1932 as ECPD • Primary organization responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and certifying the quality of engineering, engineering technology, computing and applied science education in the United States • Federation of 30 technical and professional societies representing over 1.8 million practicing professionals

6. ABET Organizational Structure • Small professional staff • Volunteer Board and Commissions • Mix of academics and practitioners • Represent Stakeholder Member Societies • Non-governmental, voluntary • Self assessment by programs • Peer review by trained program evaluators

7. Computing Accreditation Commission Engineering Accreditation Commission Technology Accreditation Commission Applied Science Accreditation Commission 653 accredited programs at 225 institutions 324 accredited programs at 264 institutions 1,934 accredited programs at 397 institutions 66 accredited programs at 52 institutions 2009-10 Accreditation Status ABET Board Committees

8. Objectives of Accreditation • Assure that graduates of an accredited program are adequately prepared to enter and continue the practice of the profession • Stimulate improvement of professional technical education • Encourage new and innovative approaches to professional technical education and its assessment • Identify accredited programs to the public

9. Transition from Requirements to Outcomes • 1991 ABET President John Prados Report to ABET Board of Directors • 1992 Establishment of the ABET Accreditation Process Review Committee • Vision for Change (1995 Report of the APRC) • 1996 Engineering Criteria 2000 • 1996-2000 Pilot and Transitional Visits • TAC, ASAC, and CAC Transition Followed

10. Criteria Creation and Modification • Primary constituencies – Industry, Program Faculty, Academic Administration, Professional Societies • Proposed change is recommended by a commission • Approved by ABET BOD for comment • Comment from any interested party • Modification/final approval by ABET BOD

11. Philosophy • Institutions and Programs define mission and objectives to meet the needs of their constituents -- enable program differentiation • Emphasis on outcomes -- preparation for professional practice • Programs demonstrate how criteria and educational objectives are being met • Programmatic diversity is a strength of U.S. technical education • ABET accredits programs – Does not certify individuals

12. Overarching Expectations • Adequate preparation for entry into a professional career • Holistic program outcomes focus rather than requirements focus • Adequate processes leading to continuous program improvement

13. Current EAC Criteria 1. Students 2. Program Educational Objectives 3. Program Outcomes 4. Continuous Improvement 5. Curriculum 6. Faculty 7. Facilities 8. Support 9. Program Criteria

14. Engineering Outcomes • Apply math, science, engineering • Design and conduct experiments • Design with realistic constraints • Function on multi-disc. teams • Identify, formulate, solve engr. probs. • Professional and ethical responsibility • Communicate effectively

15. Outcomes Continued • Global, economic, environmental and societal context • Life-long learning • Contemporary issues • Techniques, skills, modern engineering tools

16. Expectations are Being Met • Significant effort by programs • Continuing agreement on outcomes approach • ABET CQI evolving • Sustainability is an issue • ABET is implementing improved approaches to volunteer selection, evaluation, and training

17. Engineering Change:A Study of the Impact of EC2000 • Study by the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Penn State Univ. • Funded by ABET to assess implementation impact of EC2000 • Survey of all primary constituencies • Programs, Faculty, Engineering Deans • 1994 Graduates; 2004 Graduates • Employers • Study available at www.abet.org

18. Key Findings • Greater emphasis on professional skills and active learning • High levels of faculty support for CQI • 2004 graduates better prepared than 1994 • Professional skills gained; technical skills maintained • National employers see more improvement than local employers • EC2000 outcomes continue to be important

19. International Activities Overview • International Activities Council (INTAC) • Washington Accord / Sydney Accord / Dublin Accord / Seoul Accord • Western Hemisphere Initiative / Engineering for the Americas • Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA) • Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) • Technical Assistance to Institutions • Technical Assistance to Quality Assurance Organizations • International Faculty Workshops

20. The Washington Accord “... Recognizes the ‘substantial equivalency’of accreditation systems to assess that the graduates of accredited programsare prepared to practice engineering at the entry level of the profession.”

21. Washington Accord Signatory Countries(2009) *Provisional status – Germany, India, Russia, Sri Lanka – programs not recognized by signatories

22. Western Hemisphere Initiative • Ultimate goal is Mutual Recognition Agreements among quality assurance organizations in the Western Hemisphere (North & South America). • Members include ABET (United States), CHEA, CCPE (Canada), CACEI (Mexico), and ICACIT (Peru).

23. Ukraine Letter of Intent (1991) UNESCO – Latin America (1995) Argentina – CONEAU (l997) France – CTI (1998) Japan – JABEE (l999) China-NBCEA (Civil Eng.) (2000) Germany – ASII (2001) Portugal – OE (2001) Mexico & Canada – Western Hemisphere Initiative (2002) Peru – ICACIT (2003) Chinese Taipei – IEET (2004) Korea-ABEEK (2005) Chile – ACREDITA CI (2007) China (CAST) Letter of Intent (2006) Israel – CHE (2007) Egypt – NAQAAE (2008) Spain – ACAP (2009) Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs)

24. Current Initiatives • Continuing Internal ABET CQI Processes • Internal assessment, criteria, policies, processes • Volunteers and Leadership • Recruitment, training, performance evaluation, development • Harmonization Across Commissions • Criteria, policies, processes • International Engagement

25. More Information ABET Annual Meeting – Oct 29-30, 2009 San Antonio, Texas www.abet.org