ABET representatives Dr. Kevin Huggins, Dr. James Warnock and Lorena Garcia facilitated two seminars in Colombia recently to share best practices for higher education program assessment.
From July 29-31, Huggins, an ABET professional program facilitator and senior IDEAL scholar, led a series of in-depth sessions at the Universidad de Quindío. These sessions focused on the essential role of continuous improvement in education and the cultural changes necessary to achieve and maintain high standards.
Huggins provided a comprehensive introduction to ABET accreditation, detailing its global value and foundational principles to an audience that included deans, program directors and other faculty and staff members from various Colombian universities in the sciences, engineering and technology space. His presentations were designed to foster a deeper understanding of the value of ABET, who we are and the basics of ABET accreditation.
Warnock, ABET professional program adjunct director, and Garcia, ABET special advisor, hosted sessions at the VI Simposio Buenas Prácticas de Assessment en Ingeniería from Aug. 16-17. This event, held in hybrid at Universidad del Norte (UniNorte) in Barranquilla, Colombia, gathered educators and professionals focused on advancing assessment practices in engineering education.
Warnock delivered a detailed presentation titled “Establishing the Foundations for Successful Program Assessment” for the Assessment Symposium, where he outlined key strategies for effective program assessment and demonstrated the innovative use of ChatGPT to develop performance indicators. Garcia played a critical role, engaging with attendees in discussions and answering their questions about ABET’s accreditation process.
ABET’s participation in these events highlights its ongoing commitment to supporting global institutions, like those in Colombia, as they strive to improve their engineering programs and meet global quality assurance standards through program assessment.