A Highly Integrated and Successful Approach to Program Development and Implementation of Accreditation Strategies for an Engineering Technology Program

Ashis Nandy

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: ETD - ET Curriculum and Programs I
Page Count: 14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--40640
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/40640
Download Count: 436

Paper Authors

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Ashis Nandy

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Dr. Ashis Nandy is an Associate Professor of Electromechanical Engineering Technology at the Northern New Mexico College, Espanola, New Mexico. He received his Ph. D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 2012. Prior to that, he earned a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India (2006), and a Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India (2001). Dr. Nandy had served as a Co-Principal Investigator of an NSF S-STEM Project, and as the Principal-Investigator of an NSF IUSE project. Dr. Nandy is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).

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Abstract

The accreditation strategies and efforts are often completely disregarded or overlooked during the conception, development or implementation of a new program. This leads to an overall lost opportunity of quality assurance, and increased burden of unplanned, stressful and ineffective accreditation work towards the end of the accreditation cycle. The Electromechanical Engineering Technology program at the XXXX College adopted an integrated approach to the program development and ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the apex accreditation agency for an Engineering Technology program) accreditation efforts, which proved to be very efficient and successful. This paper summarizes a number of initiatives that were implemented from the inception of the program, including: a) faculty development trainings in ABET accreditation, and other specific industry-standard programs, b) formation of assessment and accreditation committee and identifying faculty with specific responsibilities related to ABET criteria, c) identifying, formulating, and updating program educational objectives, student learning outcomes with the help of all stakeholders (students, alumni, faculty, external advisory committee), d) updating and/or redesigning course curricula to implement evidence-based strategies in increasing student success, e) preparing curriculum map for assessment of each student learning outcome against courses to assess, frequency of assessments, rubric development and other assessment guidelines, f) end-of semester meetings to share assessment data, finalization of assessment reports and discussions on continuous improvement plan, g) development and enhancement of laboratories, facilities, and other student support services through external grants, and institutional support. These initiatives were prioritized in terms of timelines, resource allocation, and personnel responsibilities as demanded by the program accreditation requirements, and were reviewed periodically. These strategies were found to be extremely useful in securing the initial full-accreditation by ABET (in August of 2020) within five years of program inception, with the optimized use of limited resources of our small rural institution serving underrepresented minority (URM; 77%, approximately 72% Hispanics) and academically underprepared students (approximately 83%).

Citation
Format

Nandy, A. (2022, August), A Highly Integrated and Successful Approach to Program Development and Implementation of Accreditation Strategies for an Engineering Technology Program Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40640

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - The accreditation strategies and efforts are often completely disregarded or overlooked during the conception, development or implementation of a new program. This leads to an overall lost opportunity of quality assurance, and increased burden of unplanned, stressful and ineffective accreditation work towards the end of the accreditation cycle. The Electromechanical Engineering Technology program at the XXXX College adopted an integrated approach to the program development and ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, the apex accreditation agency for an Engineering Technology program) accreditation efforts, which proved to be very efficient and successful. This paper summarizes a number of initiatives that were implemented from the inception of the program, including: a) faculty development trainings in ABET accreditation, and other specific industry-standard  programs, b) formation of assessment and accreditation committee and identifying faculty with specific responsibilities related to ABET criteria, c) identifying, formulating, and updating program educational objectives, student learning outcomes with the help of all stakeholders (students, alumni, faculty, external advisory committee), d) updating and/or redesigning course curricula to implement evidence-based strategies in increasing student success, e) preparing curriculum map for assessment of each student learning outcome against courses to assess, frequency of assessments, rubric development and other assessment guidelines, f) end-of semester meetings to share assessment data, finalization of assessment reports and discussions on continuous improvement plan, g) development and enhancement of laboratories, facilities, and other student support services through external grants, and institutional support. These initiatives were prioritized in terms of timelines, resource allocation, and personnel responsibilities as demanded by the program accreditation requirements, and were reviewed periodically. These strategies were found to be extremely useful in securing the initial full-accreditation by ABET (in August of 2020) within five years of program inception, with the optimized use of limited resources of our small rural institution serving underrepresented minority (URM; 77%, approximately 72% Hispanics) and academically underprepared students (approximately 83%).
AU  - Ashis Nandy
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - A Highly Integrated and Successful Approach to Program Development and Implementation of Accreditation Strategies for an Engineering Technology Program
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/40640
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--40640
ER  -