ABET Accreditation: Basic Information

By
Salih Duffuaa: Professor of Industrial & Systems
Engineering
February 28th, 2011.

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 Outline
 ABET History
 Process and Criteria
 Abet criteria
 Program educational objectives: guidelines &
examples
 Program learning outcomes: guidelines & examples
 Performance Indicators
 Assessment Tools / Methods
 Difference Between PEO and Outcomes Assessment
 Available Resources
 Preparation for Accreditation.
 Closing Remarks

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 ABET History
 ABET was established in 1932 as the
Engineers' Council for Professional Development
(ECPD) by seven engineering societies.
 ECPD was originally founded to provide a "joint
program for upbuilding engineering as a
profession". However, it almost immediately began
developing as an accreditation agency, evaluating its
first engineering program in 1936 and its first
engineering technology program in 1946.
 ECPD changed its name to Accreditation Board for
Engineering and Technology (ABET) in 1980, and
changed it again to ABET, Inc. in 2005.
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 ABET Composition
 ABET is a federation of 30 professional and
technical societies (ABET member societies)
representing the fields of applied science,
computing, engineering, and technology.

 These societies own and operate the

organization.

 ABET Federations members include IEEE,

ASCE, … and many societies.

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 What is and Why Accreditation

 There are several type of accreditation. Institution ,

program.

 Meets the criteria set by accrediting body.

 Quality assurance

 Yard stick for improvement.

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Accreditation Assures Quality
 Accreditation is a non-governmental, peer-
review process that assures the quality of the
postsecondary education students receive.

 Types of accreditation:
 Institutional accreditation evaluates overall institutional
quality. One form of institutional accreditation is regional
accreditation of colleges and universities.

 Specialized accreditation examines specific programs of

study, rather than an institution as a whole. Specific
programs (e.g. Engineering) are often evaluated through
specialized accreditation such as ABET.

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Why ABET Accreditation Important?
 Accreditation gives colleges and universities a structured
mechanism to assess, evaluate, and improve the quality
of their programs.

 Accreditation helps students and their parents choose

quality college programs.

 Accreditation enables employers to recruit graduates

they know are well-prepared.

 Accreditation is used by registration, licensure, and

certification boards to screen applicants.

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 ABET Accreditation Process
 Accreditation of engineering programs is
voluntary.
 Programs without previous accreditation can

apply for accreditation as long as they have

produced at least one program graduate.

 The request for accreditation is initiated by the

institution seeking accreditation.

 Accreditation is given to individual programs

within an institution rather than to the institution
as a whole.

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 ABET Accreditation Process
 Accredited programs must request re-evaluation every
six years to retain accreditation;.

 If the accreditation criteria are not satisfied, additional

evaluations may be required within the six-year
interval.

 The first step in securing or retaining ABET

accreditation is for an institution to request an
evaluation of its program(s) by January 31 of the year
in which accreditation is being sought.

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 ABET Commissions

 Applied Science Accreditation Commission

(ASAC) .

 Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC) .

 Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) .

 Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC)

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 The ABET Guiding Principle
“The ABET Criteria for Accrediting Engineering
Programs is based upon what students learn in
the course of their program of studies as
opposed to what they are presented in a
curriculum. Consequently, institutions are
required to have educational objectives and to
make use of outcomes assessment techniques
to determine the degree to which program
objectives and outcomes are being attained.
The assessment, in turn, is used in an ongoing
process of improving student learning through
enhancements to the program.”

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The Teaching-Improvement Loop
2. Learning

1. Teaching 3. Assessing

4. Improvement

“The ultimate goal of outcomes assessment is the

improvement of teaching and learning”

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 ABET GENERAL CRITERIA

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

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 Students Criterion 1 –

 The institution must evaluate, advise, and

monitor students.
 The institution must have and enforce policies

for
 transfer students
 validation of courses taken for credit elsewhere
 The institution must have and enforce

procedures to assure that all students meet

program requirements

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Program Educational Objectives - Criterion 2

 statements that describe the expected

accomplishments of graduates during the
first few years following graduation
 Unique to the program and institution
 Consistent in all publications

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Criteria 2: Program Educational
Objectives

 Each program must have

 Detailed published educational objectives
 Process based on needs of constituencies in which

objectives are determined and periodically evaluated

 A curriculum and processes that prepare students for

achievement of the objectives

 A system of on-going evaluation that demonstrates

achievement and uses results to improve the

effectiveness of the program

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 Examples of PEO
 Prepare graduates who will have successful careers,
and become leaders, in industry and the public sector

 Prepare graduates who will appropriately apply

acquired knowledge, work well in team, effectively
communicate ideas and technical information, and
continue to gain knowledge

 Prepare graduates who will continue professional

development and will pursue continuing education
opportunities relevant to their careers


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 Examples of PEO
 Graduates will be prepared to take the lead in
recognizing engineering problems in their
organizations and designing solutions.

 Graduates will be capable of operating

effectively in today's dynamic, heterogeneous
organizations .

 Graduates will be prepared to contribute as

ethical and responsible members of society.

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 Program Outcomes &
Assessment - Criterion 3

 Program outcomes:
 Statements that describe what students are

expected to know and be able to do by the

time of graduation
 The achievement of outcomes indicates that

the student is equipped to achieve the

program educational objectives
 ABET designated (a-k) included in some

way
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 Program Outcomes

 Programs must demonstrate their graduates

have outcomes “a to k”
 Programs must have an assessment process

with documented results

 Evidence that the results of the assessment

process are applied to the further

development and improvement of the
program.

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 Outcomes
a. The graduates of the program should be able to:
b. apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering;
c. design and conduct experiments, as well as analyze and interpret data;
d. design and improve integrated systems of people, materials,
information, facilities, and technology;
e. function as a member of a multi-disciplinary team;
f. identify, formulate, and solve industrial and Systems engineering
problems;
g. understand and respect professional and ethical responsibilities;
h. communicate effectively both orally and in writing;
i. understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal
contexts;
j. recognize the need for life-long learning, and an ability to engage in it;
k. have a knowledge of contemporary issues;
l. use up to dated techniques, skills and tools of Industrial and Systems
Engineering throughout their professional careers
Continuous Improvement: Criteria 4
 Each program must show evidence of action
to improve the program.

 The action should based on information such

as results of criteria 1 and 2.

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 Curriculum : Criteria 5

 Faculty must assure that the curriculum devotes

adequate attention and time to each component,
consistent with objectives of the program and
institution
 One year of math and sciences.
 One and half year of engineering topics.
 Preparation for engineering practice
 Major design experience
 Subject areas appropriate to engineering

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 Faculty: Criteria 6
 Demonstrate that the faculty:
 Have the competencies to cover all of the

curricular areas of the program

 Is of sufficient number to accommodate

student-faculty interaction, advising and

counseling, service activities, professional
development, and interaction with
practitioners and employers, as required by
Criterion 5

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 Facilities: Criteria 7

 Classrooms, laboratories, and associated equipment

must be adequate to accomplish program objectives
and provide an atmosphere conducive to learning
 Opportunities to learn the use of modern

engineering tools
 Computing/information infrastructure to support

scholarly activities of the students and faculty and

the educational objectives of the institution

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 Institutional Support and
Financial Resources - Criterion 8

 Institutional support, financial resources, and

constructive leadership must be adequate to assure
quality and continuity of the program
 Attract, retain, and provide for professional

development of a well-qualified faculty

 Resources to acquire, maintain, and operate

equipment and facilities

 Adequate support personnel
 Support of quality-improvement efforts

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Program Criteria –Criterion 9

 Each program must satisfy applicable

Program Criteria
 Curricular topics
 Faculty qualifications
 Current Program Criteria are on the ABET

server (www.abet.org)
 Must satisfy all Program Criteria implied

by title of program

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 Terminology
 Deficiency: assigned to any criterion that is
totally or largely unmet
 Weakness: criterion is met to some

meaningful extent, but compliance is

insufficient to fully satisfy requirements
 Concern: criterion is fully met, but there is

potential for non-compliance in the near

future
 Observation: general commentary possibly

related to criteria.
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Preparation for Accredidation
 Create the right organization for ABET
 Develop program Objectives and outcomes.
 Develop process for outcome assessment.
 Prepare Self-Study Report (SER).
 Prepare demonstration material.
 Internal checks
 Call for a mock visit.
 Prepare for ABET team visit.
 Develop the infrastructure to support the

accreditation through out.

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 Guidelines for developing PEO
1. All constituents should be involved in identifying
PEO
2. Numbers of PEO should be manageable (4-5)
3. PEO should be aligned with mission of university
4. PEO should be measurable
5. PEO should be assessed periodically using
constituents
6. PEO should be evaluated periodically to
continuously improve the program

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 Program Educational Objectives:
Examples
 Prepare graduates who will be successful in
electrical engineering-related careers and other
diverse career paths
 Prepare graduates to be leaders
 Prepare graduates to be good citizens of the
society
 Prepare graduates to pursue advanced degree, if
so desired
 Prepare graduates to be life long learners
 Prepare graduates to be entrepreneurs

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PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Program Learning Outcomes – The following
questions should be answered when developing
outcomes:
Are outcomes clearly defined?
Does each learning outcome have few performance
indicators?
Did we develop rubrics using performance indicators?
Are outcomes aligned with objectives?
Are outcomes numbers manageable?
Are ABET outcomes a through k included?

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Engineering programs must demonstrate that their students attain the following
outcomes:

(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering

(b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret
data
(c) an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs
within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political,
ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
(d) an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
(e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
(f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
(g) an ability to communicate effectively
(h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions
in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
(i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
(j) a knowledge of contemporary issues
(k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary
for engineering practice
 (l-n) Outcome based on Program Criteria

Program outcomes are outcomes (a) through (k) plus any additional outcomes that
may be articulated by the program. Program outcomes must foster attainment of
program educational objectives.

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 Important Tasks to be done
Task 1: Review Program Educational Objectives (PEO)
Task 2: Review Program Learning Outcomes
Task 3: Align Learning outcomes with PEO
Task 4: Present to Constituents
Task 5: Get Approval & Publish
Task 6: Mapping Course Outcomes to Program Outcomes
Task 7: Develop Performance Indicators
Task 8: Identify Assessment Tools/Methods
Task 9: Develop Assessment Plan
Task 10: Data Collection and Evaluation
Task 11: Closing the Loop

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 TASK 3: Align Learning outcomes with
Program Objectives.
 Program outcomes must foster attainment of program
educational objectives
 Link outcomes with PEO
 All Learning Outcomes may or may not link to all/any PEO

Program Learning Outcomes

PEO (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j) (k)
1 X X X
2 X X X
3 X X X
4 X X X
5 X X X
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 TASK 4:
Present to Constituents
Main Stakeholders/Constituents
 Faculty through Department Council
 Employers through Industrial Advisory Committee
 Students through various Professional Groups or
Student Societies etc.
Others:
 Administration
 Alumni
 Other Graduate Schools
 Recruiters
 Employers

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 TASK 5:
Get Approval & Publish
Get Approval
 Final form of the Program Educational
Objectives and Learning Outcomes should be
approved by the Department Council
 Keep record in “ABET File”

Keep minutes of meeting

Publish at: of constituent’s
 Department Websiteinvolvement and Council
 General Catalog approval as evidence in
 Bulletin Boards etc record.

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 Mapping: Core Courses & Program
Outcomes
Course Program Outcome
Number Course Title a b c d e f g h i j k l m
EE 200 Digital Logic Circuit Design P P P   P
EE 201 Electrical Circuits I P P P P P
EE 203 Electronics I P   P P
EE 205 Electrical Circuits II P P P P
EE 207 Signals & Systems P P P
EE 303 Electronics II     P P 
Probabilistic Methods in
EE 315 Electrical Eng.     
EE 340 Electromagnetics      P 
EE 360 Electric Energy Engineering   P P P P 
EE 370 Communication Engineering I     P P P P
EE 380 Control Engineerng1  P   P  
EE 390 Digital System Engineering  P  P P  P 
EE 399 Summer Training Program       P P
EE 411 Senior Design Project P P P     P    P

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 Examples of Performance
Indicators
 Outcome (a): Ability to apply knowledge of
mathematics………

1. Applies mathematics principles to obtain solutions.

2. Uses principles of sciences and engineering in solving
engineering problems.
3. Combines scientific and engineering principles to
formulate models of processes and systems.
4. Combines mathematics principles to formulate models
of processes and systems.

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Example of Rubric on Teamwork
Performance Unsatisfactory Developing Satisfactory Exemplary Score
Criteria 1 2 3 4
Contribute
Research & Does not collect any Collects very little Collects some basic Collects a great deal
gather information information – information – of information
informati that relates to some relates to most relates to – all relates to
on. the topic. the topic. the topic the topic
Take Responsibility
Does not perform
Fulfill team Perform all duties of
any duties of Perform very little Perform nearly all
role’s assigned team
assigned team duties. duties.
duties. role.
role.
Always does the
Rarely does the Usually does the
Always relies on assigned work
assigned work assigned work
Shear equally others to do the – without
– often needs – rarely needs
work. having to be
reminding. reminding.
reminded.
Value Other’s Viewpoints
Is always talking – Usually doing most
Listen to other Listens, but
never allows of the talking – Listen and speaks a
teammate sometimes talk
anyone else to rarely allows fair amount
s. too much.
speak. others to speak.
Average

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Task 8: Identify Assessment Tools (cont.)
Examples of Indirect measures
 Questionnaires and written surveys (Alumni
and employer surveys)
 Senior exit surveys and interviews
 Student course evaluations
 Grades **
 Focus groups conducted by trained

moderator
 Students internship evaluations (if based on

opinion)

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 TASK 9:
Development Assessment Plan
 Selection of Courses
 Data Collection Cycle
 Identify Data To be Collected

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Mapping: Core Courses &
Program Outcomes
Course Program Outcome
Number Course Title a b c d e f g h i j k l m
EE 200 Digital Logic Circuit Design P P P   P
EE 201 Electrical Circuits I P P P P P
EE 203 Electronics I P   P P
EE 205 Electrical Circuits II P P P P
EE 207 Signals & Systems P P P
EE 303 Electronics II     P P 
Probabilistic Methods in
EE 315 Electrical Eng.     
EE 340 Electromagnetics      P 
EE 360 Electric Energy Engineering   P P P P 
EE 370 Communication Engineering I     P P P P
EE 380 Control Engineerng1  P   P  
EE 390 Digital System Engineering  P  P P  P 
EE 399 Summer Training Program       P P
EE 411 Senior Design Project P P P     P    P

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Selection of Courses for
Outcome Assessment
Course Program Outcome
Number Course Title a b c d e f g h i j k l m
EE 200 Digital Logic Circuit Design P P P   P
EE 201 Electrical Circuits I P P P P P
EE 203 Electronics I P   P P
EE 205 Electrical Circuits II P P P P
EE 207 Signals & Systems P P P
EE 303 Electronics II     P P 
Probabilistic Methods in
EE 315 Electrical Eng.     
EE 340 Electromagnetics      P 
EE 360 Electric Energy Engineering   P P P P 
EE 370 Communication Engineering I     P P P P
EE 380 Control Engineerng1  P   P  
EE 390 Digital System Engineering  P  P P  P 
EE 399 Summer Training Program       P P
EE 411 Senior Design Project P P P     P    P

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Data to be collected
For Program Learning Outcomes
 Students Course Evaluation using rubric
 Student Course Portfolios
 Grades
 Performance Appraisal
 Senior exit surveys and interviews
 Locally developed exams

For Program Educational Objectives

 Alumni Survey
 Employers Survey
 Industrial Advisory Board’s Feedback
 Placement Data

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 TASK 10:
Collection of Data & Evaluation

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Activities During
ABET Visit

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 Context for Evaluation
 Evaluation centers on the evidence provided that
supports achievement of each of the criterion
◦ Self-Study
◦ Transcripts
◦ Display materials
◦ Facility tour
◦ Interviews
◦ Additional materials provided by program

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 Activities During ABET Visit
 Examine course materials
 Examine assessment materials
 Interview program head, faculty members, staff,
and students
 Tour facilities
 Visit supporting areas
 Verify/clarify/remove strengths and shortcomings
from initial evaluation
 Identify additional strengths and shortcomings
 Work with Team to finalize evaluation and
recommend preliminary accreditation action

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 Strengths and Shortcomings
 Strength – stands above the norm
 Concern – program currently satisfies criterion,

policy, or procedure, however potential exists

for the situation to change such that the
criterion, policy, procedure may not be satisfied
 Weakness – program lacks strength

of compliance with criterion, policy, or

procedure
 Deficiency – program does not satisfy criterion,

policy, or procedure

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 THANK YOU
Any Questions

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