On July 16, the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) Criteria Committee met in Baltimore to continue reviewing the EAC Criteria 3 and 5 Proposal. Formed by 24 individuals representing 21 technical societies, the committee includes members from both industry and academia. After spending months categorizing, summarizing and evaluating each one of the hundreds of comments, the committee has taken that feedback into consideration and made a number of modifications to the content of the proposal – shown in this side-by-side comparison – which was then approved by the full EAC.
As a result, the EAC will be sending the proposal to the Engineering Area Delegation in October. The Engineering Area Delegation is the final approval authority for these proposed changes to the engineering criteria. Because of the significance of these modifications, the EAC is recommending that the delegation consider another year of public review and comment to ensure all constituents have ample opportunity to consider these latest modifications, and provide any additional comments.
What is the next step? The Engineering Area Delegation has three options:
- Approve the proposed criteria as written and implement.
- Delay final approval for one year and seek additional public comment.
- Reject the proposal.
The full process is captured in the graphic below:
General Criteria for Master’s Level Programs
The EAC Criteria Committee also proposed – and the EAC approved – an editorial, clarifying addition to the General Criteria for Master’s Level Programs. The change is shown in bold:
General Criteria for Master’s Level and Integrated Baccalaureate-Master’s Level Engineering Programs
Programs seeking accreditation at the master’s level from the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET must demonstrate that they satisfy the following criteria, including all of the aspects relevant to integrated baccalaureate-master’s programs or stand-alone master’s programs, as appropriate. Programs must have published program educational objectives and student outcomes.
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About ABET
ABET is a forward-thinking, purpose-driven organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. All over the world, ABET accredits college and university technical programs committed to the quality of the education they provide their students.
Based in Baltimore, we are a global company, with more than 3,500 programs in 29 countries in the areas of applied science, computing, engineering and engineering technology at the associate, bachelor and master degree levels.