Track: Engineering Education

Abstract

In general, the accreditation is a process intended to ensure that degree programs in engineering fields are consistent with regards to quality standards and requirements set by their respective professional organizations.  Initialed in 1932, as the Engineers’ Council for Professional Development (ECPD) and then in 1980 renamed as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), Inc. is a coalition of over thirty five professional societies and organizations with over two thousands volunteers conducting program reviews.  Over the past two decades, many academic institutions outside the United States had prepared and have gone through the accreditation process and more are joining annually.  

This paper presents the process and its challenges as well as the experience gained by an American university branch campus in in the Middle East.  The paper also presents the benefits of accreditation in attracting more academic well trained students to engineering programs.