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6
Accreditation, Certification,
and Licensing
Academic training and work experience are considered key elements
in estimating an individual's ability to perform in the workplace. Two
indications that minimum standards of quality have been met in edu-
cational programs and personal experience are accreditation for the
institution and certification/licensing for the individual.
Accreditation and Recognition of Quality
The recognition bestowed by graduation from an associate or bacca-
laureate degree engineering technology program represents in part an
evaluation of the quality of those entering the profession as engineering
technicians or technologists. The value of academic training increases
when accreditation from the Technology Accreditation Commission of
the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology tABET) estab-
lishes that such training meets the minimum criteria for rigor and
appropriateness .
Unfortunately, ABET accreditation is not a national requirement.
Although most baccalaureate engineering technology programs have
received accreditation, the majority of associate degree programs have
not sought accreditation because of its cost and their inability to meet
curricular content and faculty accreditation criteria.
Licensing and Certification
A separate issue involves recognition of the qualifications of the
technician or technologist to perform as an employee. Such recognition
28
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ACCREDITATION, CER TIFICATION, AND LICENSING
29
is available through certification and registration. Licensing and regis-
tration are carried out by the individual state governments and are
sometimes restricted to those who qualify as engineers. There is no
similar process for technicians and technologists, although in some
states technicians, and particularly technologists, can be registered as
professional engineers. However, the requirements for registration
limit the number who can become registered. Certification is a creden-
tial that is available to many technicians and technologists, although it
normally does not carry the legal status that is associated with registra-
tion.
Certification is offered by a number of organizations and is available
on a voluntary basis to those who feel they meet the criteria that have
been established. The certifications available are usually in a specialty
of concern to a professional society or association. They certify that
certain members have acquired a specific level of expertise through
education and experience. The only nationally applicable certifications
that are not tied directly to the needs of individual organizations are the
technician and technologist certifications available from the National
Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies [NICET~.5
NICET limits itself to serving as an examining body to evaluate the
qualifications of those who voluntarily apply for certification in one
of its many programs in a large number of recognized engineering
disciplines.
Recently, there has been increased interest in using certification to
establish that an individual has the necessary education and work expe-
rience to perform specific job tasks. This increased interest is changing
the importance of certification from that of a credential desired by an
individual for purely personal reasons to that of a credential needed
by an individual to obtain employment or to retain a particular job
. .
posltlon.
Recommendations
1. "Hallmark" programs in engineering technology should be iden-
tified, publicized, and supported nationally.
2. Appropriate accrediting agencies should play a greater role in
efforts to increase the quality of engineering technology programs.
3. Students should be prepared for and encouraged to seek techni-
. ... .
clan certl~lcatlon.
4. Professional registration of engineering technology faculty
should be encouraged.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
academic training
