Accreditation Assures Quality

In the United States, accreditation is a non-governmental, peer-review process that assures the quality of the postsecondary education students receive. Educational institutions or programs volunteer to undergo this review periodically to determine if certain criteria are being met.

(NOTE: Outside the United States, accreditation is not necessarily voluntary nor non-governmental. Please visit the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (www.unesco.org) for more information on the world's postsecondary education systems and their quality assurance mechanisms.)

 It is important to understand, however, that accreditation is not a ranking system. It is simply assurance that a program or institution meets established quality standards.

There are two types of accreditation: institutional and specialized.

• 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. This type of accreditation is granted to specific programs at specific levels. Architecture, nursing, law, medicine, and engineering programs are often evaluated through specialized accreditation.

ABET, Inc., is responsible for the specialized accreditation of educational programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology.

More general information about accreditation is available at www.chea.org.

What Is ABET Accreditation?

ABET accreditation is assurance that a college or university program meets the quality standards established by the profession for which it prepares its students. For example, an accredited engineering program must meet the quality standards set by the engineering profession. An accredited computer science program must meet the quality standards set by the computing profession.

ABET accredits postsecondary degree-granting programs housed within regionally accredited institutions.  ABET accredits programs only, not degrees, departments, colleges, or institutions.

Who Sets the ABET Quality Standards?

The quality standards programs must meet to be ABET-accredited are set by the ABET professions themselves. This is made possible by the collaborative efforts of many different professional and technical societies. These societies and their members work together through ABET to develop the standards, and they provide the professionals who evaluate the programs to make sure they meet those standards.

Why Is ABET Accreditation Important?

• 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.

• Accreditation gives colleges and universities a structured mechanism to assess, evaluate, and improve the quality of their programs.

The ABET Accreditation Process

Accreditation is a voluntary process on the part of an institution. The first step is that an institution requests an evaluation of its program(s). (Only programs that have produced at least one graduate are eligible for accreditation.)  Each program then conducts an internal evaluation and completes a self-study questionnaire. The self-study documents whether students, curriculum, faculty, administration, facilities, and institutional support meet the established criteria.

While the program conducts its self-examination, the appropriate ABET commission (Applied Science, Computing, Engineering, or Technology Commission) forms an evaluation team to visit the campus. A team chair and one or more program evaluators make up the evaluation team. Team members are volunteers from academe, government, and industry, as well as private practice.

During the on-campus visit, the evaluation team reviews course materials, student projects, and sample assignments and interviews students, faculty, and administrators. The team investigates whether the criteria are met and tackles any questions raised by the self-study.

Following its campus visit, the team provides the school with a written report of the evaluation. This allows the program to correct any misrepresentations or errors of fact, as well as address any shortcomings in a timely manner.

At a large annual meeting of all ABET commission members, the final evaluation report is presented by the evaluation team, along with its recommended accreditation action. Based on the findings of the report, the commission members vote on the action, and the school is notified of the decision. The information the school receives identifies strengths, concerns, weaknesses, deficiencies, and recommendations for improvements. Accreditation is granted for a maximum of six years. To renew accreditation, the institution must request another evaluation.

Students: Why choose an accredited program?

Programs: Why seek accreditation?