FORUM ON PROPOSED REVISIONS TO ABET ENGINEERING ACCREDITATION
COMMISSION GENERAL CRITERIA ON STUDENT OUTCOMES AND CURRICULUM
(CRITERIA 3 AND 5): A WORKSHOP SUMMARY
Robert Pool, Rapporteur
Committee on Engaging the Engineering Community in a Constructive
Dialogue Regarding ABET Criteria Changes
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street NW Washington, DC 20001
This activity was supported by grant No. 1360962 from the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
Digital Object Identifier: 10.17226/23556
Copyright 2016 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
Suggested citation: National Academy of Engineering. 2016. Forum on Proposed Revisions to ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission General Criteria on Student Outcomes and Curriculum (Criteria 3 and 5): A Workshop Summary. Washington: National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23556.
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Committee on Engaging the Engineering Community in a Constructive Dialogue Regarding ABET Criteria Changes
Committee Members1
Alan Cramb (NAE), Chair
President
Illinois Institute of Technology
Wayne Bergstrom
2015‐2016 President‐Elect
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
Principal Engineer
Bechtel Infrastructure and Power Corporation
Mary Boyce (NAE)
Dean of Engineering
The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
Columbia University
Norman Fortenberry
Executive Director
American Society for Engineering Education
Karan Watson
Provost and Executive Vice President
Texas A&M University
National Academy of Engineering Staff
Proctor Reid
Director of the Program Office
Catherine Didion
Senior Program Officer (until January 2016)
Amelia Greer
Associate Program Officer (until April 2016)
Carl Anderson
Program Coordinator
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1 The planning committee was solely responsible for organizing the workshop, identifying topics, and choosing speakers. The responsibility for the published workshop summary rests with the rapporteur and the institution.
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Acknowledgment of Reviewers
The summary of this publication has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments to assist the NAE in making its published workshop summary as sound as possible and to ensure that the manuscript meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the project’s charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We thank the following individuals for their review of the workshop summary:
Nadine Aubry, Northeastern University
Kenneth Ball, George Mason University
Dianne Chong, The Boeing Company (ret.)
Norman Fortenberry, American Society for Engineering Education
Enrique Lavernia, University of California, Irvine
Dean Nieusma, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Karan Watson, Texas A&M University
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the views expressed in the summary, nor did they see the final draft of the summary before its release. The review of this publication was overseen by Al Romig, Executive Officer of the NAE. He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this manuscript was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this publication rests entirely with the rapporteur and the National Academy of Engineering.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
COMMUNICATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED CHANGES
ENGINEERING DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
PREPARING STUDENTS FOR A CAREER IN ENGINEERING
THE ABET CRITERIA AND INDUSTRY NEEDS
ENSURING STRONG TECHNICAL TRAINING
INDUSTRY NEEDS BEYOND THE CRITERIA
LIFELONG LEARNING VERSUS INFORMATION LITERACY
SPECIFIC CHANGES IN CRITERIA WORDING OR EMPHASIS
“GENERAL EDUCATION” VERSUS “BROAD EDUCATION”
OMISSION OF THE WORD “MULTIDISCIPLINARY”
ARE WE ASKING TOO MUCH OF ABET?
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