3 - Accreditation of Engineering Programs and Their Relationship to Lifelong Learning

Abstract

This chapter explores the relationship between accreditation of engineering programs and lifelong learning. In the United States, professional certification for the engineering field—mostly through university accreditation—falls under the aegis of Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) Inc. ABET is part of an engineering leadership internationally. ABET accredits some 2900 programs at more than 600 colleges and universities in USA. ABET has 30 member societies that volunteer their services as evaluators and provide leadership and quality assurance in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology education. The ABET's Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs 3i is all about lifelong learning and strategies for its implementation. Due to its very nature, lifelong learning (ABET Criteria 3i) occurs during the entire professional life of a scientist or engineer—a period that is anywhere up to 40 years long—while the formal degree-based education of the professional can range from 4 to 10 years, a fraction of the professional period. Given that the half-life of engineering knowledge is anywhere from 2.5 to 7.5 years, depending on the discipline, students need to be provided with the relevant tools and techniques to keep abreast of developments in their respective engineering discipline, in addition to related areas such as business. ABET Criteria 3i on lifelong learning is designed to address this issue, and is one of the most challenging of the outcomes to assess.