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Session 3421

Assessment of Engineering Attributes for ABET Accreditation

Enno “Ed” Koehn Lamar University

Abstract

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has revised the accreditation criteria that is designed to assure that graduates of accredited programs are prepared to enter the practice of engineering. The general criteria also specifies that engineering programs must demonstrate that their graduates possess 11 educational attributes.

This investigation suggests that practitioners consider two of the 11 attributes to be particularly important. In addition, graduating seniors in Civil (Construction) engineering believe their coursework has given them a strong background in the identical two areas. These include: (1) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering; and (2) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems. In contrast, two attributes received lower ratings from both groups. They include: (1) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global/societal context; and (2) a knowledge of contemporary issues. This suggests that not all ABET educational attributes are considered by Civil (Construction) students and practitioners to have the same level of significance and perhaps should not be stressed to the same degree in an engineering program. For comparative purposes, the findings of the investigation could be utilized by other institutions and departments that may wish to study their curriculum and satisfy ABET criteria.

I. Introduction

Over the years there have been recommendations from employers and various technical/professional societies to revise the engineering curriculum to ensure that students are prepared for the increasing complexity and international aspects of engineering work 1, 4,9,11. Engineering educators have also been involved with these efforts 5, 6,7,8 . Nevertheless, there appears to be a general belief that the engineering profession must change so that in the future it will be highly recognized and respected at national and international levels2, 3,10.

This paper presents the results of an investigation of the perceptions of two groups: engineering undergraduates and practitioners. The data for the study was obtained, part, from a survey instrument that was distributed to graduating seniors at Lamar University. In addition, a similar questionnaire was completed by practicing engineers who attended an alumni meeting sponsored by the civil engineering department. Practitioners were requested to indicate the optimal level at which the various attributes should be incorporated into the curriculum. Graduating seniors

Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2002, American Society for Engineering Education

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Koehn, E. (2002, June), Assessment Of Engineering Attributes For Abet Accreditation Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10751