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Accreditation: A Blessing in Disguise Linda Vanasupa There are few statements more effective at eliciting groans from engineering faculty than the dreaded, “We're going up for accreditation.” To many, this process of self-assessment and external evaluation is viewed as an unwelcome intrusion and an unnecessary requirement to demonstrate that their program has intrinsic merit. But for those who embrace the spirit of the Accreditation Board on Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation criteria, the process can be transforming, providing new life and focus. Those who are unfamiliar with the “new” ABET criteria (EC2000 and later) can go directly to their website [1]. However, newcomers beware: A true understanding of the process and its value comes from the experience of completing what is called the “Self-study.” In it, the program applying for accreditation documents things like its processes, metrics and results of its journey of continuous improvement. Unlike the past criteria that were focused on what was taught, the new criteria emphasize the outcome of the teaching (i.e., what was learned, and more specifically, the demonstrating student abilities that result from the learning). As a primer for the accreditation process, I would recommend reading the Baldrige 2004 Education Criteria for Performance Excellence [2]. This document is very well written and captures the spirit of the ABET accreditation process. It provides a framework for managing an organization for continuous improvement, as intended by EC2000. The difference is that the Baldrige criteria are geared to generic educational institutions that are specifically interested in performance excellence, whereas the ABET criteria are specifically for engineering programs whose goal may not necessary be “performance excellence”; each program defines their own goal. Our program went up for accreditation in Fall 2002 for the first time under EC2000. The conversion from the “old” way to the EC2000 was indeed painful, especially for the five years in which we fought the process. However, once we accepted the inevitable and embraced EC2000, a experienced a renewed vitality--individually and as a team. We found that the notoriously dreaded process of writing the Self-study was actually FUN, and uncovered an unexpected well of creativity. We are happy to report that we were accredited. Our reviewer actually complemented us on the creativity that we used in writing the self-study, saying that it was unusually interesting and enjoyable to read[3]. There is no doubt that the process of designing and implementing a sustaining mechanism for continuous improvement demanded a great deal of energy from each of our faculty. However, the synergistic rewards of the investment of time and energy have been bountiful: more inspired faculty, more creative problem solving for organizational challenges, greater interest and involvement by students in their own education, genuine teamwork of faculty and staff, greater interest by industry stakeholders…and a program whose quality continually improves. Our positive experience with accreditation has not ended with the 2002 visit. We continue to try new things. This year we are redesigning the curriculum in response to stakeholder input…strangely, we are exciting about the process! Many multifaceted treasures await those who dare to see the accreditation process as beneficial… [1] www.abet.org |
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