WEPAN Becomes ABET Associate Member Society
In 2011, Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) became an Associate Member Society of ABET. WEPAN reaches 42,890 female engineering students, or 60 percent of the female engineering students in the United States, through campus-based programs and initiatives. Its membership in ABET will help both organizations reach their shared goal of supporting women as they study and pursue careers in the technical fields.
ABET Revitalizes Public Website
While ABET's previous website featured valuable information, it did not meet contemporary standards for ease of navigation, graphic design, and interactive features. The organization embarked upon an extensive redesign to make the site more accessible for end users who know little about ABET, as well as for members of the ABET community.
The revitalized website features:
- Fresh design with universal appeal and more dynamic imagery
- Improved accredited program search engine
- Step-by-step explanation of the accreditation process
- Sections tailored to the specific needs of students and families, faculty and administrators, current and potential ABET volunteers, and industry and government leadership
- "Explore Technical Careers" section for students
- Listings of positions that require graduation from ABET-accredited programs
Launched in the fall of 2011, the new website serves a wide range of audiences and more clearly directs them to relevant resources.
Academic Advisory Council Provides New Perspectives
The ABET Board of Directors formed the Academic Advisory Council (AAC) to enhance its relationship with the academic community. The AAC's inaugural meeting brought together deans, associate deans, and other academic leaders from a cross-section of institutions to provide their views on ABET's criteria, policies, and procedures. Over its first year, the AAC identified the following as high-priority issues for ABET:
- Program evaluator consistency
- The direct and allocated costs incurred by institutions and programs preparing for an ABET review
- The impact that current ABET policies and procedures have on innovation in technical education
ASEE Conference Includes First-Ever "ABET Day"
ABET is expanding its efforts to interact more systematically with educators in technology fields. For example, ABET hosted a day-long series of presentations at the American Society for Engineering Education Conference and Expo in June. Volunteer and staff leaders made presentations on current issues and trends in accreditation and on common myths about ABET and accreditation. Also, they helped facilitate a showcase of innovative degree programs that schools have introduced within the framework of ABET accreditation.