ABET

Washington, D.C. – Signatories of the Washington Accord met last week in Washington, D.C., and elected as Chair of the accord Dr. Winfred M. Phillips, past ABET President and current Vice President for Research at the University of Florida. This is the second time an ABET representative has been elected Chair of the accord; the first was in 1997. Prof. Hu Hanrahan of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) was elected as Deputy Chair.

In addition to selecting a new Chair, accord members conferred full signatory status upon two accrediting bodies—Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) and the Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea (ABEEK)—and provisional membership status to three accrediting bodies—the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL); the National Board of Accreditation of the All India Council for Technical Education (NBA-AICTE); and the Russian Association for Engineering Education (RAEE). A provisional member of the accord must demonstrate that the accreditation system for which it has responsibility appears to be conceptually similar to those of the other signatories of the Washington Accord. By conferring provisional status, the signatories have indicated that they consider the provisional signatory to have the potential capability to reach full signatory status; however, the awarding of provisional status does not in any way imply a guarantee of the granting of full signatory status.

Established in 1989, the Washington Accord is a multinational, mutual recognition agreement of the substantial equivalency of the engineering accreditation systems of member signatories. The agreement recognizes the substantial equivalency of programs accredited by member signatories and recommends that the graduates of those accredited programs in any of the signatory jurisdictions be recognized by the other jurisdictions as having met the academic requirements for entry into the practice of engineering.

“For 75 years, ABET has been committed to ensuring quality in engineering education locally and for nearly as long to sharing best practices globally,” explained ABET Executive Director Dr. George D. Peterson.

“I am honored to have been chosen as Chair of the Washington Accord,” commented Dr. Phillips. “ABET’s leadership in the international arena continues to further its commitment to quality assurance.”

The Chair and Deputy Chair of the Washington Accord each serve a two-year term and may be elected to serve up to two consecutive terms.

The Washington Accord, signed in 1989, is an international agreement among bodies responsible for accrediting engineering degree programs. It recognizes the substantial equivalency of programs accredited by those bodies and recommends that graduates of programs accredited by any of the signatory bodies be recognized by the other bodies as having met the academic requirements for entry to the practice of engineering. The signatories of the Washington Accord are ABET; Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea (ABEEK); Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board of Engineers Canada (CEAB-EC); Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA); Engineering Council UK (ECUK); Engineers Australia; Engineers Ireland; Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE); IEET (Chinese Taipei); Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES); Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ); and Japan Accreditation Board for Engineering Education (JABEE). More information on the Washington Accord may be obtained by visiting www.washingtonaccord.org.

ABET, Inc., the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, is a federation of 28 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 75 years. ABET currently accredits some 2,700 programs at over 550 colleges and universities nationwide. Over 1,500 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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2007

Washington, D.C. – At their biennial meetings this week in Washington, D.C., signatories of the Sydney and Dublin Accords granted ABET, Inc., with provisional signatory status in both agreements. ABET applied for membership to the accords at the recommendation of its Technology Accreditation Commission earlier this year.

The Sydney and Dublin Accords, modeled on the Washington Accord for engineering, are mutual recognition agreements among accreditors of engineering technology programs. The agreements recognize the substantial equivalency of programs accredited by member signatories and recommends that the graduates of those accredited programs in any of the signatory jurisdictions be recognized by the other jurisdictions as having met the academic requirements for entry into the practice of engineering technology at either the technologist (Sydney Accord) or technician (Dublin Accord) level. The Sydney Accord was signed in 2001; the Dublin Accord in 2002.

ABET is a founding member of the Washington Accord, which was established in 1989 and now has 12 full and four provisional signatories. Members of the Washington Accord also met this week in Washington, D.C., as part of the 2007 International Engineering Meetings. ABET was the host of these meetings.

“ABET’s new status as a member of the Sydney and Dublin Accords is not only a significant achievement for the organization but an important advantage for the technologists and technicians graduating from ABET-accredited programs,” said Dr. David E. Hornbeck, ABET’s Adjunct Accreditation Director for Technology and Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering Technology at Southern Polytechnic State University. “These agreements should allow ABET graduates to participate more easily in the global economy, which is becoming increasingly necessary in our professions.”

The current members of the Sydney Accord are as follows:

The current members of the Dublin Accord are as follows:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2007

Washington, D.C. – ABET hosted the eighth biennial meeting of the Washington Accord, as well as the fourth session of the International Engineering Meetings (IEM), at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., from June 18 to 22. Among the major outcomes of the IEM was a multi-party agreement establishing a single professional Secretariat for all international engineering agreements. These include the Washington, Dublin, and Sydney Accords, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Engineers Mobility Forum (EMF), and the Engineering Technologists Mobility Forum (ETMF).

In the past, each agreement had its own individual Secretariat, and the position was not funded. From June 2001 to June 2007, ABET was the Washington Accord’s Secretariat.

The new Secretariat for all agreements will be the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ). The appointment is for a four-year term and includes an optional two-year renewal if duties are performed satisfactorily. Duties include record-keeping, website management, meeting coordination (in conjunction with meeting host), organization of activities between meetings, and response to and referral of inquiries.

ABET will be working closely with IPENZ over next several weeks to ensure a smooth transition of the roles and responsibilities related to the Washington Accord.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2007

ABET Executive Director George D. Peterson, Ph.D., P.E., will participate in U.S. Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings' summit in Washington, D.C., this week. The much anticipated summit, titled "A Test of Leadership: Committing to Advance Post-Secondary Education for all Americans," is billed by the Department of Education as a "key component" of Spellings' plan for revamping the U.S. higher education system.

Peterson is among 300 attendees said to be "key players" in the higher education community. The complete attendee list, as well as more information on the agenda and goals of the summit, was reported today by Inside Higher Ed: http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/03/20/summit.

ABET withdrew its recognition from the U.S. Department of Education in 2001. The organization, however, continues to be engaged by the Department because of its distinguished leadership in technical education and outcomes-based accreditation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2006

ABET is watching and listening closely to the discussions following the release of the National Academy of Engineering Engineer of 2020 reports, particularly those regarding accreditation at both the bachelor’s and master’s levels. This practice is currently prohibited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET.

Specifically, the reports recommend that the bachelor’s degree “be considered as a pre-engineering or ‘engineer in training’ degree,” rather than the first professional degree, as the bachelor’s is widely considered now.

Many in the engineering community favor the master’s degree as the first professional degree, citing the need to both enhance the status of the engineering profession and to enable new engineers to enter the profession with the breadth and depth of knowledge many feel is required in today’s increasingly global economy.

Others argue for the bachelor’s to remain as the first professional degree out of concern for creating yet another roadblock in the U.S. engineering pipeline.

Ultimately, ABET must respond to its core constituencies — the 28 professional societies that comprise it and the academic institutions that invite it to assess their programs. ABET will not be a “driver” in this regard, but it must be responsive to the needs of its constituents. That may mean being a facilitator for those programs who seek to change and for the profession as a whole, should it decide to move in the direction of the 2020 recommendations.

ABET needs to hear from you on this issue. Should the EAC prohibition on dual-level accreditation be removed? Please send your comments to ABET President Richard Seagrave, Ph.D., via the Contact Us feature of this website. Comments would be appreciated in time for the EAC’s Executive Committee meeting in January 2007.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2006

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) invites CHEA institutional members to submit applications for its second annual Award for Institutional Progress in Student Learning Outcomes. This award recognizes outstanding institutional progress in developing and applying evidence of student learning outcomes as a part of the ongoing evaluation and improvement of college and university programs of study.

Selection will be based on four criteria: articulation and evidence of outcomes, success with regard to outcomes, informing the public about outcomes and using outcomes for institutional improvements. Institutions may submit applications on behalf of an institution, a specific program or a specific major.

For more information about the CHEA award and to download a copy of the application, please visit www.chea.org/award/default.htm or contact Jan Riggs, Director of Membership Services and Special Projects at 202-955-6126. All applications must be submitted to CHEA by October 20, 2006.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2006

Baltimore, MD – ABET Executive Director George D. Peterson, Ph.D., P.E., has been selected as the 2006 recipient of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) Education Society Achievement Award. This honor recognizes Peterson’s “sustained positive contributions to engineering education” through his many years of work as an educator and academic administrator and for his long service in leading the continuing development of ABET. The award will be bestowed during a ceremony at the 36th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference in October.