March 2, 2009
Baltimore, MD - The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) is the latest organization to become a member of ABET, the accreditation organization dedicated to assuring quality in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology education. This development is a vital step in SFPE's commitment to making certain that fire protection programs meet the educational standards set by the profession and that constituents have a standard by which to assess each program's quality.
The Society of Fire Protection Engineers, the professional society representing those practicing the field of fire protection engineering, was established in 1950 and incorporated as an independent organization in 1971. SFPE has approximately 4,500 members in the United States and abroad, as well as 57 regional chapters. The organization's stated purpose is to advance the science and practice of fire protection engineering and its allied fields, to maintain a high ethical standard among its members, and to foster fire protection engineering education.
"It is our pleasure to welcome into the ABET family yet another organization that values the quality of technical education to the extent that SFPE does," ABET President Joseph L. Sussman said. "We look forward to working with the SFPE representative on our Board of Directors and getting the society's volunteers involved with the engineering and technology accreditation commissions."
Effective immediately, SFPE is a full-fledged ABET Member Society. ABET Member Societies hold seats on the ABET accreditation commissions and have at least one voting representative on the ABET Board of Directors. In addition, member societies take lead responsibilities in program accreditation. For example, degree programs in fire protection will have to meet the general criteria set by the engineering or technology commission as well as any program-specific criteria that SFPE develops and ABET approves for its discipline. SFPE is responsible for recruiting and selecting program evaluators to review fire protection engineering programs.
The ABET Board approved the SFPE's admission as a member society during its last meeting, in November 2008. Two-thirds of the organization's member societies had to ratify SFPE's admission for the new society to be admitted officially into ABET. ABET headquarters received notification about the last of the necessary votes on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
About ABET
ABET, the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, is a federation of 31 professional and technical societies representing these fields. Among the most respected accreditation organizations in the U.S., ABET has provided leadership and quality assurance in higher education for more than 75 years.
ABET currently accredits over 3,000 programs at more than 600 colleges and universities worldwide. More than 2,000 dedicated volunteers participate annually in ABET activities. ABET also provides leadership internationally through workshops, consultancies, memoranda of understanding, and mutual recognition agreements, such as the Washington Accord. ABET is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.