The ABET Annual Impact Report 2025 highlights the organization’s achievements, partnerships and vision for the future of accreditation in higher education. Centered on the theme Navigating the Path of Lifelong Learning, the 2025 report reinforces a critical idea: education is not a destination, but an ongoing journey.
For ABET’s Member Societies, volunteer expert program evaluators, institutional partners and the hundreds of thousands of students who graduate annually from programs accredited though ABET, this report tells the story of the people that make quality assurance in higher education possible and why it matters.
Why the ABET Annual Impact Report 2025 Matters
ABET’s 2025 Annual Impact Report is more than a summary of accomplishments – it shows how accreditation in higher education ensures programs stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.
For institutions and educators, it offers insight into strengthening curriculum, accountability and quality assurance in higher education. For students, it reinforces the value of graduating from an ABET-accredited program, signaling readiness for evolving careers. For employers, it demonstrates how accreditation helps align education with workforce needs.
A Year Defined by Partnership and Purpose
The Impact Report opens with a clear statement of purpose: ABET’s approach, the standards it sets and the quality it guarantees inspires confidence in those who aim to build a better, more sustainable world.
The purpose is sustained through building long-standing and evolving partnerships. The Partnering for Good section in the report highlights ABET’s collaboration with global accrediting bodies, academic institutions and industry interest holders who bring expertise into the accreditation and quality assurance process.
Lifelong Learning in Higher Education Is a Design Principle
A central theme of the ABET Annual Impact Report 2025 is the growing importance of lifelong learning in higher education.
At the ABET Symposium 2025, educators, researchers, industry leaders and policymakers explored what lifelong learning demands of higher education. The substantive conversations are captured in section three of the Annual Impact Report through a series of thought leadership articles addressing challenges faced by faculty, administrators, employers and students.
Honoring Excellence in Accreditation and STEM Education
Accreditation is more than a process — it is a global community driven by dedicated professionals who contribute their expertise as program evaluators, team chairs, commissioners and board members. Without them, the confidence ABET provides would not be possible.
Section four of the ABET Annual Impact Report 2025 recognizes individuals and programs that have made significant contributions to quality assurance in higher education and STEM innovation through the ABET Awards.
Financial Transparency and Strategic Growth
ABET operates as a nonprofit, ISO 9001 certified quality assurance organization — a designation that reflects its own commitment to the standards it asks of the programs it accredits. The organization’s three strategic goals — broadening global engagement, growing and enhancing membership and continuing to expand its professional programs — remain the compass for all decisions reflected in this year’s financial narrative.
Section five of the 2025 Annual Impact Report presents ABET’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2025, offering full transparency into ABET’s financial position, activities and functional expenses.
Ultimately, the report underscores a critical shift: lifelong learning in higher education is essential, not optional. It reflects the shared effort required to prepare graduates for long-term success and global impact.
Explore the full 2025 ABET Annual Impact Report to learn how accreditation and lifelong learning are shaping the future of higher education.