Addressing New ABET General Criteria Focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Gary Lichtenstein; Rocio C. Chavela Guerra; Stephanie Cutler; Ivan E. Esparragoza; Sarah E. Zappe

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Faculty Development Division (FDD) Technical Session 3
Tagged Division: Faculty Development Division (FDD)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 15
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42576
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/42576
Download Count: 147

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Paper Authors

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Gary Lichtenstein Arizona State University

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Gary Lichtenstein, Ed.D., is founder and principal of Quality Evaluation Designs, a firm specializing in education research and program evaluation. He is also Affiliate Associate faculty member in Rowan University's Experiential Engineering Education department.

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Rocio C. Chavela Guerra Rowan University

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Stephanie Cutler Pennsylvania State University

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Dr. Stephanie Cutler has degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, and a PhD in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech. She is an Associate Research Professor and the Director of Assessment and Instructional Support in the Leonhard Center at Penn State.

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Ivan E. Esparragoza Pennsylvania State University

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Ivan E. Esparragoza is a Professor of Engineering at Penn State. His interests are in engineering design education, innovative design, global design, and global engineering education, professional skills in engineering, curricular innovation, and program assessment.

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Sarah E. Zappe Pennsylvania State University

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Dr. Sarah Zappe is Director of the Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education and Assistant Dean of Teaching and Learning at Penn State. She holds a doctoral degree in educational psychology emphasizing applied measurement.

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Abstract

This evidence-based practice paper describes anticipated challenges and strategies to implement proposed changes to the ABET General Criteria. In fall 2021, ABET released proposed changes to the General Criteria for accrediting engineering programs, including (a) definitions for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and (b) changes incorporating a basic grasp of these concepts to the curriculum (Criterion 5) and faculty (Criterion 6). Anticipating the approval of the proposed changes in early 2023, a group of 20 institutions gathered in October 2022 to brainstorm the strategies and challenges of integrating DEI into undergraduate engineering programs. The event drew 71 participants organized into 19 teams (primarily grouped by institutional affiliation).

Before the three-day convening, teams submitted a draft version of their plans to address the changes proposed by ABET. Throughout the workshop, teams further developed their plans, and gave feedback to and received feedback from at least two other teams. In this paper, we identify common issues across institutions related to the implementation and assessment of DEI that might be navigated collaboratively, based on document analysis and participants’ survey responses. Specifically, we discuss the challenges and supports commonly expressed by event participants, and we present a set of recommendations that might help institutions strategize and implement action plans addressing the incorporation of DEI in ABET Criteria 5 and 6, if or when approved.

Collectively, those aiming to institutionalize DEI competencies among their faculty and student bodies (perhaps setting the proposed ABET changes as a ‘minimum bar’, as some of the event participants noted) would be well served by (a) developing and sharing strategic plan templates, (b) forming a cross-institutional committee to create a model DEI Framework that could be adapted and adopted by a diverse set of institutions, (c) sharing examples of DEI assessments, and (d) providing research-based strategies for institutionalization based on organizational change/transformation literature. A round table discussion is the preferred presentation method for this paper.

Citation
Format

Lichtenstein, G., & Chavela Guerra, R. C., & Cutler, S., & Esparragoza, I. E., & Zappe, S. E. (2023, June), Addressing New ABET General Criteria Focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42576

TY - CPAPER
AB - This evidence-based practice paper describes anticipated challenges and strategies to implement proposed changes to the ABET General Criteria. In fall 2021, ABET released proposed changes to the General Criteria for accrediting engineering programs, including (a) definitions for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and (b) changes incorporating a basic grasp of these concepts to the curriculum (Criterion 5) and faculty (Criterion 6). Anticipating the approval of the proposed changes in early 2023, a group of 20 institutions gathered in October 2022 to brainstorm the strategies and challenges of integrating DEI into undergraduate engineering programs. The event drew 71 participants organized into 19 teams (primarily grouped by institutional affiliation).

Before the three-day convening, teams submitted a draft version of their plans to address the changes proposed by ABET. Throughout the workshop, teams further developed their plans, and gave feedback to and received feedback from at least two other teams. In this paper, we identify common issues across institutions related to the implementation and assessment of DEI that might be navigated collaboratively, based on document analysis and participants’ survey responses. Specifically, we discuss the challenges and supports commonly expressed by event participants, and we present a set of recommendations that might help institutions strategize and implement action plans addressing the incorporation of DEI in ABET Criteria 5 and 6, if or when approved.

Collectively, those aiming to institutionalize DEI competencies among their faculty and student bodies (perhaps setting the proposed ABET changes as a ‘minimum bar’, as some of the event participants noted) would be well served by (a) developing and sharing strategic plan templates, (b) forming a cross-institutional committee to create a model DEI Framework that could be adapted and adopted by a diverse set of institutions, (c) sharing examples of DEI assessments, and (d) providing research-based strategies for institutionalization based on organizational change/transformation literature. A round table discussion is the preferred presentation method for this paper.

AU - Gary Lichtenstein
AU - Rocio C. Chavela Guerra
AU - Stephanie Cutler
AU - Ivan E. Esparragoza
AU - Sarah E. Zappe
CY - Baltimore , Maryland
DA - 2023/06/25
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Addressing New ABET General Criteria Focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
UR - https://peer.asee.org/42576
DO - 10.18260/1-2--42576
ER -