ABET Accreditation

Critically important to our accreditation were several areas in which our program is unusually strong: the outstanding quality and commitment of our faculty members, the "hands on" experiences with state-of-the-art hardware and software offered in our classes and labs, collaborations between departments and centers throughout the University of Arizona campus, and support from our professional staff. 

In the United States, accreditation is used to assure quality in educational institutions and programs. Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental process of peer review. It requires an educational institution or program to meet certain, defined standards or criteria.

Terminology:

• Certification refers to individuals.
• Accreditation refers to institutions and programs.

There are two types of accreditors:

• Institutional accreditors, such as those referred to as regional accreditors, examine the college or university as a whole educational institution.
• Specialized accreditors evaluate specific educational programs.  Professional accreditors, such as those for medicine, law, architecture and engineering, fall into this category.

ABET is a professional accrediting organization that accredits programs, not institutions. 

Accreditation serves to notify:

• Parents and prospective students that a program has met minimum standards
• Faculty, deans and administrators of a program’s strengths and weaknesses and of ways to improve the program
• Employers that graduates are prepared to begin professional practice
• Taxpayers that their funds are spent well
• The public that graduates are aware of public health and safety considerations.

State licensing boards and certification programs may require graduation from an ABET-accredited program as the first step in the registration or certification process for professional practice. In some instances, ABET accreditation may permit students to receive federal funds in the form of scholarships, loans and grants.

Baccalaureate degree programs may be accredited.  There is no accreditation process for graduate programs.  Optics is a relatively new educational discipline, so accreditation standards -- such as those for older engineering disciplines such as civil, mechanical, computer, electrical, nuclear, or astronautical -- have only recently been developed.

No program can be accredited at inception.  In order for a program to be evaluated for accreditation, the program must have produced graduates.

If the accreditation is to have value, the accreditation process must be exacting and impartial.  In October 2001 and again in October 2004, our BS degree program was the subject of a rigorous three-day accreditation evaluation by a team of evaluators from ABET.

The ABET team evaluated our Optical Sciences and Engineering Program on seven criteria.  It was our responsibility to prove clearly that our BS degree program meets the criteria for ABET accreditation:

Criterion 1.  Students

The quality and performance of the students and graduates are important considerations in the evaluation of an engineering program.  The institution must evaluate, advise, and monitor students to determine its success in meeting program objectives.

The institution must have and enforce policies for the acceptance of transfer students and for the validation of courses taken for credit elsewhere.  The institution must also have and enforce procedures to assure that all students meet all program requirements.

Criterion 2.  Program Educational Objectives

Each engineering program for which an institution seeks accreditation or re-accreditation must have in place:

• detailed published educational objectives that are consistent with the mission of the institution and these criteria

• a process based on the needs of the program's various constituencies in which the objectives are determined and periodically evaluated

• a curriculum and processes that ensure the achievement of these objectives

• a system of ongoing evaluation that demonstrates achievement of these objectives and uses the results to improve the effectiveness of the program.

Criterion 3.  Program Outcomes and Assessment

Engineering programs must demonstrate that their graduates have:

• an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering

• an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data

• an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs

• an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams

• an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems

• an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility

• an ability to communicate effectively

• the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context

• a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning

• a knowledge of contemporary issues

• an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice

Each program must have an assessment process with documented results.  Evidence must be given that the results are applied to the further development and improvement of the program.  The assessment process must demonstrate that the outcomes important to the mission of the institution and the objectives of the program, including those listed above, are being measured.  Evidence that may be used includes, but is not limited to the following:  student portfolios, including design projects; nationally-normed subject content examinations; alumni surveys that document professional accomplishments and career development activities; employer surveys; and placement data of graduates.

Criterion 4.  Professional Component

The professional component requirements specify subject areas appropriate to engineering but do not prescribe specific courses.  The engineering faculty must assure that the program curriculum devotes adequate attention and time to each component, consistent with the objectives of the program and institution.  Students must be prepared for engineering practice through the curriculum culminating in a major design experience based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work and incorporating engineering standards and realistic constraints that include most of the following considerations: economic; environmental; sustainability; manufacturability; ethical; health and safety; social; and political.  The professional component must include:

• one year of a combination of college level mathematics and basic sciences (some with experimental experience) appropriate to the discipline

• one and one-half years of engineering topics, consisting of engineering sciences and engineering design appropriate to the student's field of study

• a general education component that complements the technical content of the curriculum and is consistent with the program and institution objectives.

Criterion 5.  Faculty

The faculty is the heart of any educational program.  The faculty must be of sufficient number; and must have the competencies to cover all of the curricular areas of the program.  There must be sufficient faculty to accommodate adequate levels of student-faculty interaction, student advising and counseling, university service activities, professional development, and interactions with industrial and professional practitioners, as well as employers of students.

The faculty must have sufficient qualifications and must ensure the proper guidance of the program and its evaluation and development.  The overall competence of the faculty may be judged by such factors as education, diversity of backgrounds, engineering experience, teaching experience, ability to communication, enthusiasm for developing more effective programs, level of scholarship, participation in professional societies, and registration as Professional Engineers.

Criterion 6.  Facilities

Classrooms, laboratories, and associated equipment must be adequate to accomplish the program objectives and provide an atmosphere conducive to learning.  Appropriate facilities must be available to foster faculty-student interaction and to create a climate that encourages professional development and professional activities.  Programs must provide opportunities for students to learn the use of modern engineering tools.  Computing and information infrastructures must be in place to support the scholarly activities of the students and faculty and the educational objectives of the institution.

Criterion 7.  Institutional Support and Financial Resources

Institutional support, financial resources, and constructive leadership must be adequate to assure the quality and continuity of the engineering program.  Resources must be sufficient to attract, retain, and provide for the continued professional development of a well-qualified faculty.  Resources also must be sufficient to acquire, maintain, and operate facilities and equipment appropriate for the engineering program.  In addition, support personnel and institutional services must be adequate to meet program needs.

Further information showing how the program's objectives, curriculum, and outcomes satisfy ABET criteria can be found at http://academic.engr.arizona.edu/engradmin/programassessment/ose/bsose/

More information on ABET and accreditation can be found on the ABET website at http://www.abet.org. 

Or contact Professor Richard L. Shoemaker, Optical Sciences Associate Dean for Academic Programs by telephone at 520-621-2825 or by e-mail at shoemaker@optics.arizona.edu.

Or visit us the next time you are on the University of Arizona campus.  We are at 1630 East University Boulevard, on the southeast corner of Cherry and University.