Setting the Standards for Engineering Education: A History [Scanning Our Past]

Design as a Feature of Biomedical Engineering Education—Satisfying ABET and Preparing Students to Address Clinical Needs

“…The field grew slowly, in terms of undergraduate education, and by 1985 there were only 14 accredited BME programs [3]. During this initial period, accreditation required that programs include 1 year of math and basic science; one year of engineering science; half a year of engineering analysis, design, and engineering systems; and half a year of humanities and social sciences [4]. These standards had been developed post-World War II to both return the emphasis to the fundamental principals encompassed by the engineering science subjects and avoid the challenges that stemmed from narrow, accelerated programs that had been implemented during WWII to support the necessary national war mobilization [4].…”

An Overview of Teaching Physics for Undergraduates in Engineering Environments

“…Even an article on the history of teaching physics in the U.S. [11] did not mention any connection with engineering. Likewise, a paper on the history of engineering education [12] did not use the word "physics" even once. Notably, a committee report on the evaluation of engineering education, nicknamed the Grinter Report [13], mentions physics only as an educational component in a single paragraph (see Appendix A).…”

ABET & Engineering Accreditation - History, Theory, Practice: Initial Findings from a National Study on the Governance of Engineering Education

“…Because the U.S. approach to engineering accreditation emerged out of, and continues to be shaped by the organization's long history, this paper is organized around a historical narrative of the events that gave rise to this system. This section of the paper provides insights into that history, extending what is generally known about the history of ABET [21][22]. Specifically, interviews of current ABET staff and administrators as well as individuals who were central to some of the major changes ABET has undergone (such as the transition to EC 2000 and the more recent changes in criteria approved by the ABET Board of Delegates in 2017) were conducted to provide a more complete picture of how these changes occurred.…”

“…Early History ABET was founded in 1932 as the Engineers' Council for Professional Development (ECPD). Set up intentionally as a "conference-style" organization, it was the tension between the engineering professional societies that dictated that ECPD accreditation would occur by individual degree program, not institution [22].…”

“…To begin with an example outside of ABET-but of an organization that played a key role in coordinating ABET's stakeholders-the early responses of the National Science Foundation are indicative of this particular phenomenon. Faced with the purported successes of Japanese industrial policy and planning, NSF, along with other federal agencies, shifted towards more targeted funding strategies [22]. The educational component of the Engineering Research Centers was one manifestation of this turn, but in being built around a research-centric framing, their focus was primarily graduate education, undergraduate research, or K-12 outreach [34].…”