BACKGROUND
Amanda Reid, Esq.
ABET
Adjunct Accreditation Director for Applied
Science
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.
Understanding
ABET
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Who Recognizes ABET?
• CHEA (Council for Higher Ed Accred)
 Association of 3,000 degree-granting colleges
and universities
 National advocacy for self-regulation of
academic quality through accreditation
 60 recognized institutional and programmatic
accrediting organizations
• State Licensure & Certifying Boards
• Federal & State Governments
 Scholarships, Grants, Employment
• Accrediting bodies outside the US
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What is ABET?
• A global program accreditor
• A federation of 33 member
societies
• A 501 (c) 3 nonprofit
• A peer-review process with 2,200
volunteers
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ABET’S ACCREDITATION DONE BY
FOUR COMMISSIONS
• Applied Science Accreditation
Commission
• Computing Accreditation Commission
• Engineering Accreditation Commission
• Engineering Technology Accreditation
Commission
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Applied Science Accreditation
Commission Curricular Areas
•
•
•
•
•
•
Construction Management
Environmental, Health and Safety
Health Physics
Industrial Hygiene
Safety
Surveying, Geomatic
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ACCREDITATION UNDER ASAC’S
GENERAL CRITERIA
ASAC can accredit programs that meet the general
criteria but there is no program specific criteria. ASAC
has accredited the following:
• General Engineering Option in Applied Science,
AAS
• Integrated Science and Technology, BS
• Organizational Leadership and Supervision, B.S.
• Petroleum Geosciences, B.S.
• Transportation Systems
• Applied Physics BS
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ABET’s MISSION
• Accredit educational programs.
• Promote quality and innovation in
education.
• Consult and assist in the development and
advancement of education worldwide in a
financially self-sustaining manner.
• Anticipate and prepare for the changing
environment and the future needs of
constituencies.
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The Value of
ABET
Accreditation
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ABET Value: Students &
Parents
• Quality assurance
• Helps prepare to enter “the
profession”
• Entry into profession via
licensure, certification
• Enhances employment
opportunities
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ABET Value: Institutions
• “Third party” confirmation of
quality of programs
• Prestige, recognition by
“the profession”
• Acceptability of transfer
credits
• Some external funding
depends on accreditation
status
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ABET Value: Faculty
• Encourages “best practices”
in education
• Structured mechanisms for
self-improvement
• Institution is serious about
improving quality
 Facilities, financial resources,
training, etc.
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ABET Value: “The Profession”
• Ensures educational
requirements to enter “the
profession” are met
• Aids industry in recruiting:
ensures some “baseline” of
educational experience
• Enhances mobility
• Opportunity to help guide
educational process
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ABET Value:
Greater Society
• Assuring Confidence in the educational
process
• Engages multiple constituents: academe,
industry, public
• Identifies programs for investment of
public and private funds
• Some assurance to taxpayers: funds for
higher education are appropriately spent
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What’s New
in next
accreditation
cycle
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READINESS REVIEWS
ABET requires a preliminary Self-Study
Report from programs seeking initial
accreditation that are housed in institutions
which currently have no ABET-accredited
programs in that same commission.
A review of this preliminary Self-Study Report
- which is called the Readiness Review - will
help ABET determine whether an institution is
ready to submit a formal Request for
Evaluation (RFE) for that program.
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READINESS REVIEWS cont’d
A program may receive one of three nonbinding recommendations as the outcome of
a Readiness Review;
• A recommendation to submit the Request for
Evaluation in the immediate upcoming
accreditation review cycle;
• A recommendation to postpone the submission
unless substantive changes in the Self-Study
preparation and documentation are made; or
• A recommendation not to submit the program in
the immediate upcoming accreditation review
cycle because it is likely to be rejected.
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READINESS REVIEWS cont’d
• Programs that complete a
Readiness Review and continue
in the review process must
update their Self-Study Reports
for the final Self-Study Report
submission which is due July 1
annually.
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Questions?
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