ABET Accreditation

Workshop on Innovations in ICT Education

Beijing, ChinaOct. 22, 2012

Michael Lightner, Prof. and Chair ECEEUniversity of Colorado, Boulder

2012 VP EAB IEEE2006 IEEE President

Member of the ABET Board of Directors

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Disclaimer

I am not speaking as a representative of ABET, although I can relate my experiences as a Board member as well as a chair of a program that is ABET accreditedI can relate IEEE practices in support of ABET

accreditation as well as other regional accrediting bodies

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Purpose of Any Accreditation Process

Accreditation of a program, degree, or university is a process carried out by a third party that provides a statement to the general public that the program, degree or university meets the requirements set by the accrediting body These requirements are best viewed as a lower bound and do

not, in general, differentiate a truly excellent program from an average program

Understanding the requirements of an accrediting body enables other organizations, such as universities, companies and government organizations, to compare graduates of one program to another – to mutually recognize each other

Accrediting bodies have developed multinational agreements or accords that provide for mutual recognition, e.g. Washington Accords, Sydney Accords, etc.

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Accreditation

Accreditation is NOT mandatory– In the US, most (all?) states require that

public universities are accredited– This is not professional accreditation– University accreditation is useful because it

opens certain types of federal aid to the students who attend that university

– University accreditation is done by regional accrediting agencies Non-profit, non-governmental All members (recognized) by CHEA – Council

on Higher Education Accreditation

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Accreditation

Professional accreditation is NOT mandatory– The primary benefit is that students who

graduate from an ABET program are able to start the professional licensure program immediately Licensure not required and many EEs are never

licensed

– There are probably other benefits in other professions Law, business, music, journalism, all have

professional accreditation

– In most cases professional accreditation requires that the university is already accredited

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Accreditation

Professional accreditation is NOT mandatory– Historically CS programs were not

accredited– CSAB was formed for this purpose and later

became part of ABET– Still many CS programs are not accredited– Some accredited CS programs are dropping

accreditation due to the effort it takes and no perceived benefit for the students Northeastern Univ. just dropped its CS

accreditation

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Accreditation

Professional accreditation is NOT mandatory– However, most engineering programs are

accredited– Used as a quality measure– Used to show some level of equivalence

between programs– Useful in mutual recognition

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Objectives of ABET

Identify to the public at large, specific programs that meeting minimum criteria for accreditationProvide guidance for the improvement of the existing and development of future educational programsStimulate the improvements of applied science, computing, engineering and technology programs in the United States

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Types of Accreditation

Peer recognition– Accreditation began this way – groups of universities visiting each

other and offering critiques and recommendations

Organizational requirements– Professional and licensing organizations prescribe either specific

curriculum content, or require skills– Could be government bodies setting a variety of requirements

Outcome based– Outcomes can be judged in a number of ways

Tests that every graduate of the program takes A review of the performance of the students A survey of graduate several years after graduation to determine

success A survey of employers of graduates to determine their level of

performance

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ABETProgram Education Objectives – board statements that describe the career and professional accomplishments that the program is preparing graduates to achieveProgram Outcomes – narrower statements that describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation. Related to skills, knowledge, and behaviors that students acquire in their matriculation through the programAssessment – one or more processes that identify, collect, and prepare data to evaluate the achievement of program outcomes and program educational objectivesEvaluation – one of more processes for interpreting the data and evidence gathered through assessment. Determine the extent to which outcomes are being achieved and results in decisions and actions to improve the program

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ABET

Strictly non-governmentalComposed of 31 Member Societies– Non-governmental profession organizations

meeting certain criteria including the ability to speak for the profession

Member societies in charge of different programs– Set program criteria, identify program

evaluators

ABET sets the general criteria, conducts reviews, evaluates and determines the results of accreditation visits, evolves processes and procedures

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Sample Program CriteriaTwo components– General Criteria and Program Criteria– General Criteria

Students must be evaluated Program Educational Objectives published Student Outcomes

– Ability to apply knowledge of math, science, engineering– Design and conduct experiments, analyze and interpret

data– Design system, component or process to meet desired goal

within reasonable constraints– Function on multidisciplinary teams– Identify, formulate and solve engineering problems– Understand professional and ethical responsibility– Communicate effectively– Broad education to understand societal impacts– Recognition need for life-long learning– Knowledge of contemporary issues– Use techniques, skills and modern engineering tools

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General CriteriaContinuous ImprovementCurriculum– 1.5 years of engineering topics– Culminating major design experience – often called the

capstone design courseFaculty– Sufficient number and with range of competencies to cover all

the curricular areas of the program– Must have appropriate qualifications

Facilities– Classrooms, offices, laboratories and associated equipment

must be adequate to support attainment of the student outcomes

– Modern tools, equipment, computing resources, and laboratories must be available

– Library services and computing and information infrastructure must be adequate

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Program Criteria

Electrical, Computer and Similarly Named Engineering Programs– The structure of the curriculum must provide both

breadth and depth across the range of engineering topics implied by the title of the program

– The curriculum must include probability and statistics, including applications appropriate to the program name; mathematics through differential and integral calculus; sciences; and engineering topics (including computer science) necessary to analyze and design complex electrical and electronic devices, software, and systems containing hardware and software

– Electrical programs must include advanced math such as differential equations, linear algebra, complex variables and discrete math

– Computer programs must include discrete math

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Program Criteria – Computer Science1.3 years include

– Fundamentals of algorithms, data structures, software design, concepts of programming languages, computer organization and architecture

– Exposure to a variety of programming languages and systems

– Proficiency in at least one higher-level language– Advanced course work to provide depth

1 year of science and math– .5 yr discrete math, calculus, linear algebra,

numerical analysis, probability, statistics, number theory, geometry or symbolic logic

– Science, provide understanding of scientific method and include a laboratory component

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Program Criteria – Information Systems

One year– Coverage of fundamentals of a modern

programming language, data management, networking and data communications, systems analysis and design and the role of Information Systems in organizations

– Advanced course work that builds on the fundamentals

– .5 yr course work that must include varied topics in an environment in which information systems are applied professionally

– Quantitative analysis or methods including statistics

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Program Criteria – Information Technology

Fundamentals of– Core information technologies of human computer

interaction, information management, programming, networking, web systems and technologies

– Information assurance and security– System administration and maintenance– System integration and architecture

Advanced course work that builds on the fundamentals

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Why Accreditation?

Can be gateway to professional licensureStudying in an accredited school can open the door to financial aidCertain employers will only hire graduates from accredited programsIf the accrediting body is a member of a global accord then the degree is recognized in multiple countriesKnowledge that the program you are in meets national, regional or international standards

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Accreditation – Easy or Hard?

Yes!– It is extra work

Setting various outcomes Assessing the outcomes Evaluating the outcomes Implementing continuous improvement

– Can conflict with other goals/realities Research Limited resources – time, money, people

– However Processes such as ABET’s mimic how we might want to

design, build, maintain and improve an engineered system

It seems only appropriate that an engineering educational system be treated as any other engineered system

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Many Other Aspects of Accreditation

I can provide reflections in the Q&A from a program that has just gone through an accreditation visit

Thank you!