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What is the College’s accreditation process about?
Doesn’t the University have its own accreditation process?
Who sets the criteria to determine if the College’s programs should be accredited?
What is the basis for accreditation?
What are Objectives and Outcomes?
Why is accreditation important?
Do students have a role in the accreditation process?
Academic Planning
What is the College’s accreditation process about?
Each of the undergraduate degree
programs in the College, with the exception of Earth System Science, is
currently preparing for its regular accreditation renewal. An accredited program is one what satisfies
certain criteria for program content and quality to assure that graduates from
the program have a high likelihood of successfully practicing their chosen
professions. The engineering programs will
submit their self-study reports to the accreditation agency in the Summer 2009.
Representatives of the agency will visit the College in Fall 2009 to learn more about each of the programs. Computer Science will submit its report in Summer 2010 and have its site visit in Fall 2010. A program-specific accreditation process does
not yet exist for Earth System Science.
Doesn’t the University have its own accreditation process?
Yes, the University is currently
preparing for its accreditation visit in 2010 by the Higher
Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
That agency determines if the University is meeting its educational
objectives and has a process for assessment and continuous improvement of its
programs. Nevertheless, accreditation of
programs in the College is more focused on the
particular characteristics of the degree program and the needs of the
profession. Other professional programs
at the University, including Business, Education, Nursing, Law, also have their
own accreditation agencies and processes.
Who sets the criteria to determine if the College’s programs
should be accredited?
Our accreditation is provided by ABET.
ABET consists of volunteers from academia and the professions who are
dedicated to assuring that our degree programs meet the standards of content
and quality required by the professions today.
The various professional societies have a major stake in the
accreditation process. For instance, the
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) writes program-specific criteria for
the Civil Engineering and the Architectural Engineering degree programs.
What is the basis for accreditation?
In the year 2000, ABET introduced a new
concept known as “outcomes-based” assessment into its accreditation
process. Outcomes-based assessment means
simply that a program is evaluated by its achievements (its objective and
outcomes). In the past, the assessment
process involved mainly an accounting of program inputs (such as the size of the
program’s budget, the number of laboratory courses, and the number of credit
hours in math, science, and engineering design). The outcomes-based process shifts the
emphasis from inputs to objectives and outcomes.
The assessment process consists of a
cycle of continuous improvement. With
input from our constituents, we establish objectives and outcomes, design the
curriculum, establish course learning objectives, collect evidence related to
outcomes, determine if we have achieved our outcomes via the course objectives,
and then make modifications as needed.
The cycle is illustrated in the accompanying figure.
What are Objectives and Outcomes?
Objectives and outcomes are measurable
characteristics of the graduates of a program. ABET defines program
educational objectives as broad
statements that describe the career and professional accomplishments that the
program is preparing graduates to achieve.
The programs in the College establish their objectives based on the
skills, capabilities, and accomplishments of its graduates three to six years
after graduation. We assess achievement
of program educational objectives through indirect means, such as surveys of
our graduates and interviews with our constituents (employers, graduates,
advisory board members).
ABET defines program outcomes as narrower statements that describe what
students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation. These relate to the skills, knowledge, and
behaviors that students acquire in their matriculation through the program. The College’s programs assess their outcomes
by both direct and indirect means.
Direct assessment consists of examination of student work; indirect
assessment includes surveys and interviews as performed for objectives.
Objectives and outcomes are action-oriented statements of
knowledge or ability that can then be measured through the assessment
process. The objectives and outcomes for each program are posted on their
respective websites:
Why is accreditation important?
Accreditation demonstrates that an
institution or a program values quality and is willing to subject itself to
external examination and judgement. Accreditation
provides assurance that the program contains the elements deemed essential for
success in the profession and that the program is dedicated to continuous
improvement to remain relevant to society’s needs. Graduation from an accredited program is
essential for those who wish to
· Become licensed as a professional
engineer
· Join certain professional societies
· Enter graduate programs in engineering
or computer science
Do students have a role in the accreditation process?
Absolutely! Students play a vital role in accreditation,
principally because they are the primary beneficiaries of accreditation. Students provide their work product
(homework, exams, reports, projects, etc.) for assessment by faculty. They also provide input for course
evaluations each semester and respond to a detailed survey when they are ready
to graduate. Our ABET visitors will want
to visit with students to learn more about the program from the student
perspective.
Students can learn more about
accreditation and the upcoming ABET visit from their advisors and any of the
faculty in the College. |
