Program accreditation in computing, engineering, and technology has many international dimensions. Governments around the world have established agencies or commissions to monitor accreditation in these areas and in other fields of specialization. Worldwide, professional societies and agencies have undertaken the challenge of developing avenues for quality assurance in undergraduate and graduate education. This panel seeks to explore and to present first-hand information regarding the purpose, issues, and complexities surrounding international accreditation activities. The panelists will present a spectrum of diverse experiences they have encountered. Some of the highlights of the presentation include accreditation external to the United States, international agreements and arrangements, and contrasts between U.S. and non-U.S. accreditation efforts. Panel members, some of whom serve on ABET committees that address these matters, will comment on the status of such international activities. The presentation will focus on the philosophical as well as the practical aspects of accreditation activities outside the United States.
Distance Education in engineering, long a fixture at the graduate level, is now becoming feasible at the undergraduate level. The challenges are great, but challenges lead to opportunities, and this opportunity is that of contributing to an important national need. ABET is considering the ramifications of distance education, and has studied the question, especially as accreditation questions are considered. ABET, as this is written, has not taken any official action on the questions that arise. In this paper, the opinion will be expressed that outcomes assessment, as being implemented in the new criteria known as EC2000, will make it possible for institutions to show that their distance education programs are achieving the desired outcomes, provided of course that they are. The reasons for this opinion, which is solely that of the author, will be given.
In 1971, about 100 engineering educators from industry and academia gathered in Atlanta for the first Frontiers in Education (FIE) conference. Its leaders had a vision, and moved creatively to implement the vision. The journey through the conferences, which we call FIE, is worth documenting, as the conference has become a premier and often-imitated conference. Some educators have been involved right from the beginning and continue. Others have disembarked, but many new contributors have joined. This paper will document some data and will also be an attempt to study the impact of the conference on engineering and computing education over the last 35 years. What issues have been resolved? What new issues have emerged? What issues continue? What might emerge in the future? Of necessity it will contain personal observations. The paper is an update of a similarly named paper published at the 2000 FIE.
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