Governance

ABET membership is comprised of 34 societies, professional and technical organizations that represent the various fields we accredit in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology.

These societies join us because they see the value of reviewing and accrediting programs in their respective disciplines. That is why they collaborate to improve our general criteria, create specialized program criteria and recruit our pool of experts.

The ABET Board of Directors is the governing body responsible for strategic planning, financial oversight and managing the external relationships of our organization. It is also the final review body for appeal of decisions regarding accreditation actions for a specific program.

• Our Board of Directors is comprised of 13 members: a President, President-Elect, Past-President, Secretary, Treasurer, four Area Directors, two At-Large Directors, one Public Director and the Executive Director/CEO (non-voting).
• The Board of Directors is advised by four board-level councils—Academic, Industry, Global and Inclusion, Diversity and Equity.

The ABET Board of Delegates is responsible for approving accreditation policies and procedures, general criteria and the organization of our accreditation commissions.

• Our Board of Delegates is comprised of 1-3 representatives from each of ABET’s 34 member societies. The number of seats on the Board of Delegates is determined by the number of accredited programs for which the society is responsible. The President-Elect serves as a non-voting Chair of the Board of Delegates.
• The Board of Delegates is advised by one board-level council—Accreditation.

The four Area Delegations, which are aligned with the curricular areas of our commissions, are responsible for approving program-specific accreditation criteria and selecting members of the accreditation commissions, as well as assigning programs to member societies within their areas.

• Seats on each Area Delegation are apportioned based on the number of accredited programs for which a society serves as “lead” within the relevant accreditation commission.
• Each Area Delegation is responsible for selecting an Area Director to serve on the ABET Board of Directors. The individuals selected also serve as non-voting chairs of their respective Delegations.

Our accreditation activities are led by four accreditation commissions. These commissions are responsible for reviewing educational programs and making the final accreditation decision for each program.

• Each commission is led by an executive committee that includes a chair, chair-elect, past-chair, vice chair of operations and members-at-large.
• Each member society is entitled to have at least one member on each commission that reviews programs in disciplines for which that member society has primary responsibility. In addition, some member societies do not have responsibilities for any programs but still have representatives on the commissions related to their interests. For example, the National Society of Professional Engineers nominates an individual to serve on the Engineering Accreditation Commission.
• Each commission has a public commissioner, an individual who is not affiliated with the fields that ABET accredits through either practice or training.
• Each of the four Area Delegation Directors serves as a liaison between their respective commission and the Board of Directors.
• The four commissions include:
  • Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission (ANSAC)
  • Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC)
  • Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC)
  • Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC)