ABET

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For other uses, see Abet (disambiguation).
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.
EstablishedMay 10, 1932; 91 years ago (1932-05-10)
HeadquartersBaltimore, Maryland, US
Websitewww.abet.org

ABET, also known as The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., is a non-governmental accreditation organization for post-secondary programs in engineering, engineering technology, computing, and applied and natural sciences.[1][2][3][4]

As of October 2020, ABET has accredited 4,307 programs across 846 organizations in 41 countries.[1] ABET also accredits online educational programs.[5]

History[edit]

In 1932, ABET was established as the American Engineers' Council for Professional Development (ECPD). The organization evaluated its first engineering program in 1936, and by 1947, 580 programs had been accredited across 133 institutions.[6]

In 1980, the ECPD changed its name to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. In 1985, the organization helped establish the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB), one of ABET's largest member societies with over 300 programs.[2][6]

Accreditation process[edit]

The request for ABET accreditation is initiated by the institution seeking accreditation. Accreditation is given to individual programs rather than to the institution as a whole. Re-evaluation is required every six years. Programs with no previous accreditation can request accreditation if they have produced at least one program graduate.[7]

Each program is assigned to one of four accreditation commissions within ABET based on the title. Each commission has different accreditation criteria:[8]

  • Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission (ANSAC)
  • Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC)
  • Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC)
  • Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC)

Programs conduct an internal evaluation and complete a self-study report documenting how well the program is meeting established accreditation criteria.[7][8]

The appropriate ABET commission appoints a team chair to lead the on-campus evaluation visit. The team chair and program evaluators (typically one per program requesting accreditation) are made up of volunteers from academia, government, industry, and private practice. During the visit to the institution, the evaluation team reviews program course materials and interacts with students and faculty, culminating in an exit interview with the dean. Following the team's visit, the institution is given 7 days to address any topics communicated during the exit interview. ABET provides an evaluation statement to the institution, who is given 30 more days to respond to any additional issues[7][8]

Criteria[edit]

ABET specifies the minimum curriculum requirements for various engineering programs, including a capstone project and a design class. Because of the organization's involvement, engineering curricula are somewhat standardized across the bachelor's level.[9]

Members[edit]

ABET is a federation of the following professional and technical member societies representing the fields of applied science, computing, engineering and engineering technology:[10][11]

Accredited programs[edit]

Countries
Country Institutions with
Accredited Programs
 United States 637
 Mexico 19
 Saudi Arabia 19
 United Arab Emirates 15
 Peru 8
 Vietnam 8
 India 7
 Philippines 7
 Colombia 6
 Lebanon 6
 Turkey 6
 Indonesia 6
 Jordan 4
 Kuwait 4
 China 3
 Egypt 3
 Spain 3
 Bahrain 2
 Chile 2
 Palestine 2
 Qatar 2
 Tunisia 1
 Ecuador 1
 Kazakhstan 1
 Morocco 1
 Oman 1
 Poland 1
 Portugal 1
 Russia 1
 South Africa 1
 Jamaica 1
Total 772

EC 2000[edit]

For most of its history, ABET's accreditation criteria specifically outlined the major elements that accredited engineering programs must have, including the program curricula, the faculty type and the facilities. However, in the mid-1990s, the engineering community began to question the appropriateness of such rigid accreditation requirements.[12]

After intense discussion, in 1997, ABET adopted Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC2000).[12] The EC2000 criteria shifted the focus away from the inputs (what material is taught) and to the outputs (what students learned). EC2000 stresses continuous improvement and accounts for specific missions and goals of the individual institutions and programs.[12] The intention of this approach was to enable innovation in engineering programs rather than forcing all programs to conform to a standard, as well as to encourage new assessment processes and program improvements.

ISO 9000:2015[edit]

ABET- Accreditation is certified by the International Organization for Standardization. ISO 9000 family of quality management systems standards is designed to help organizations ensure that they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders while meeting statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service.[13]

International recognition[edit]

ABET's accreditation process is recognized by these international entities:

Comisión Nacional de Evaluación y Acreditación Universitaria
Australian Computer Society (ACS)
Engineers Australia (EA)
Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists (CCTT)
Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS)
Engineers Canada (EC)
Greater Caribbean Regional Engineering Accreditation System
Agencia Centroamericana de Acreditación de Programas de Arquitectura y de Ingenieria
Acredita CI
China Association for Science and Technology (CAST)
National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Education
Commission des Titres D'Ingenieur
ASIIN e.V.
European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI)
Global Engineering Deans' Council (GEDC)
International Association of Universities (IAU)
International Federation of Engineering Education Society (IFEES)
International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE)
World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO)
Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE)
National Board of Accreditation (NBA)
Engineers Ireland (EI)
International Council for Higher Education (ICHE)
Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (JABEE)
UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Technology for Latin America and Caribbean
Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM)
Consejo de Acreditación de la Enseñanza de la Ingeniería
Engineering New Zealand (EngNZ)
Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC)
Instituto de Calidad Y Acreditacion de Programas de Computacion, Ingeneria Y Technologia (ICACIT)
SINEACE
Ordem dos Engenheiros
Association for Engineering Education Russia (AEER)
National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Assessment
Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES)
Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA)
Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea (ABEEK)
Agencia de Calidad, Acreditación y Prospectiva de las Universidades de Madrid
Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL)
Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (IEET)
Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Engineering Programs (MÜDEK)
British Computer Society
Engineering Council (EC)

Miscellaneous[edit]

To become a licensed professional engineer, one common prerequisite is graduation from an Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET-accredited program. Requirements for professional engineer testing for EAC accredited programs vary from state to state.

The Engineering Credential Evaluation International (ECEI) was established in 1997 as the credential evaluation service of ABET. ECEI specialized in the evaluation of degrees in engineering, engineering technology, computer science and surveying from outside the U.S. As of October 30, 2006, ECEI stopped accepting applications for credentials evaluation; a business decision made by the ABET board of directors.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "About ABET". ABET. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "ABET Constitution". ABET. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  3. ^ Art Slotkin (2010). "A Centennial of Auburn Engineering: From Red Clay to Red Satellite". Auburn Engineering. 19 (2). Auburn University: 20–27. Retrieved January 8, 2012. (p.24) ...what we know today as ABET, the accrediting body for college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and technology.
  4. ^ Bucciarelli, Louis L.; Coyle, Eugene; McGrath, Denis (2009). "Chapter 5: Engineering Education in the US and the EU". In Christensen, Steen Hyldgaard; Delahousse, Bernard; Meganck, Martin (eds.). Engineering in context. Academica. p. 123. ISBN 978-87-7675-700-7. Retrieved January 8, 2012. See section "Accreditation – ABET".
  5. ^ "ABET Online Accreditation." [1] Archived April 24, 2016, at the Wayback Machine accessdate=2016-04-30
  6. ^ a b [2] from ABET's website
  7. ^ a b c The Basics of Accreditation Archived February 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine from the ABET website
  8. ^ a b c Information for Programs Seeking Initial Accreditation: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Archived April 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Accreditation criteria Archived February 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine from ABET's website
  10. ^ About Member Societies
  11. ^ "List of Member Societies". Archived from the original on September 22, 2016. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  12. ^ a b c Engineering Change: Archived March 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine A study of the impact of EC2000 (executive summary)
  13. ^ Poksinska, Bozena; Jörn Dahlgaard, Jens; Antoni, Marc (October 2002). "The state of ISO 9000 certification: a study of Swedish organizations". The TQM Magazine. 14 (5): 297–306. doi:10.1108/09544780210439734. ISSN 0954-478X.
  14. ^ ECEI FAQ

External links[edit]

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