ABET, Inc., is the recognized U.S. accreditor of college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. ABET was established in 1932 and is now a federation of 28 professional and technical societies representing the fields of applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. ABET also provides leadership internationally through activities and agreements such as the Washington Accord, Mutual Recognition Agreements, and international faculty workshops.

Currently, ABET accredits some 2,700 programs at more than 550 colleges and universities nationwide. Each year, over 1,500 volunteers from its member societies actively contribute to ABET's goals of leadership and quality assurance in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology education, serving as program evaluators, committee members, commissioners, and Board representatives.

In 1997, following nearly a decade of development, ABET adopted Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC2000), considered at the time a revolutionary approach to accreditation criteria. The revolution of EC2000 was its focus on what is learned rather than what is taught. At its core was the call for a continuous improvement process informed by the specific mission and goals of individual institutions and programs. Lacking the inflexibility of earlier accreditation criteria, EC2000 meant that ABET could enable program innovation rather than stifling it, as well as encourage new assessment processes and subsequent program improvement.

Today, the spirit of EC2000 can be found in the evaluation criteria of all ABET disciplines, and studies are underway to measure the success of that spirit. Internationally, ABET is extremely active in sharing that spirit with other accreditation boards and degree programs. It readily participates in global education and worker mobility through agreements like the Washington Accord and activities such as substantial equivalency evaluations. ABET has also added to its activity list faculty workshops, assessment leadership institutes, outreach programs, special events for institutional representatives, an active industry advisory council, and several important initiatives spurred by the visionary strategic planning of its Board.

The accreditation process, which is the core service of ABET, is a non-governmental, peer review process that ensures educational quality. Educational institutions or programs volunteer to periodically undergo this review in order to determine if the accreditation criteria are being met. It is important to understand, however, that accreditation is not a ranking system. It is simply assurance that a program or institution meets established quality standards. ABET accreditation is assurance that a college or university ABET-related program meets the quality standards established by the profession for which it prepares its students. For example, an accredited engineering program must meet the quality standards set by the engineering profession. An accredited computer science program must meet the quality standards set by the computing profession.

Each program must conduct an internal evaluation and completes a self-study questionnaire. The self-study documents whether students, curriculum, faculty, administration, facilities, and institutional support meet the established criteria.

While the program conducts its self-examination, the appropriate ABET commission (Applied Science, Computing, Engineering, or Technology Commission) forms an evaluation team to visit the campus. A team chair and one or more program evaluators make up the evaluation team. Team members are volunteers from academe, government, and industry, as well as private practice.

During the on-campus visit, the evaluation team reviews course materials, student projects, and sample assignments and interviews students, faculty, and administrators. The team investigates whether the criteria are met and tackles any questions raised by the self-study.

Following its campus visit, the team provides the school with a written report of the evaluation. This allows the program to correct any misrepresentations or errors of fact, as well as address any shortcomings in a timely manner.

At a large annual meeting of all ABET commission members, the final evaluation report is presented by the evaluation team, along with its recommended accreditation action. Based on the findings of the report, the commission members vote on the action, and the school is notified of the decision. The information the school receives identifies strengths, concerns, weaknesses, deficiencies, and recommendations for improvements. Accreditation is granted for a maximum of six years. To renew accreditation, the institution must request another evaluation. ABET Criteria for Accreditation may be viewed on the ABET Web site at http://www.abet.org.