Accredited Engineering Programs Research Articles

Accreditation of undergraduate engineering programs in Canada and what it means for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals

ABSTRACT Achievement of the targets set for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) requires commitment and leadership from governments, and input and feedback from numerous collaborators. Professional engineers are one group of such collaborators who must ensure that their designs, projects, and practices enable sustainable development. This article discusses how the accreditation process for undergraduate engineering programmes in Canada confirms that accredited programmes are preparing graduates for careers in which they will be prepared to meet the challenges of striving towards the targets set by the UN SDGs.

EUR-ACE accreditation for chemical engineering in Spain: Current situation, lessons learned and challenges

The accreditation of engineering programmes is a subject of great interest in the last decades. However, most studies in the literature are focused on case studies or deal with the different levels of acceptance of the groups involved in the accreditation. There are two main approaches for the accreditation of engineering programmes, i.e., at national or international level. Whereas most developed countries have established national standards for the quality assurance of the university studies, international accreditation systems for engineering studies are limited to 3 alternatives. The interaction between national and international accreditation systems is poorly understood despite of their significance in the design and management of the programme. We aim to fill in this gap and provide useful guidance for universities aiming to apply for the EUR-ACE® label in their chemical engineering programmes (bachelor or master). In general, there is a high level of complementarity between the Spanish and EUR-ACE accreditation systems. However, there are still challenges. For instance, the ad hoc procedure proposed by the national accreditation agency in Spain does not fully consider chemical engineering as a traditional branch of engineering. In addition, the changes in the Spanish accreditation system might negatively impact the current ad hoc procedure for EUR-ACE accreditation for some universities. The incorporation of IChemE in the accreditation process would be an option to deal with this issue.

Scrutinizing Outcome Assessment of Outcome-based Education using Q-OBE in Engineering Education

Educational institutions constantly strive to meet accreditation requirements which demand continuous improvement in the quality of education. As a consequence, there has been an active shift in strategizing pedagogical processes towards an outcome-based approach of learning. To effectively implement the Outcome Based Education (OBE) framework in Pakistan, universities need to ensure that the OBE system is fully understandable to the faculty members and students; confirm the implementation of the OBE system according to the guidelines set forth by the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC); and acquire the accreditation of engineering programs, formalized through the Washington Accord and governed by the PEC. A key challenge in implementing OBE is in its assessment process. Education programs have to compute students’ attainment of learning outcomes as measured by multiple courses offered within each program. Q-OBE was implemented to automate the process of assessment and to produce detailed reporting of each student’s aggregated outcomes in a visually effective format. Q-OBE takes the assessment marks as the input and accurately tracks how well the students attain the intended learning outcomes in terms of both Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) and Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs). This study reports on the implementation of Q-OBE in engineering education. The main aim is to show how Q-OBE, a GUI-based software, automates calculating students’ outcomes incorporating both CLOs and PLOs achievements. An attempt has also been made to make explicit the OBE implementation via well-documented and reliable procedures across the institutions.
 Keywords: Outcome Based Education (OBE), Assessment and Evaluation, Automation System, Course Learning Outcome (CLO), Program Learning Outcome (PLO)

Innovative Proposed Model between Formative Research and Accreditation of Engineering Programs

Peruvian universities by the university law 30220 are required to have their research center to obtain their licensing and optionally obtain accreditation for educational quality. The research study aims to propose an innovative model that relates the informative research of the students of the Systems Engineering and Computer and Electronics Engineering program with the accreditation. The soft systems methodology and the Maltese cross, based on the systemic approach, were used for the development of the study. The study is qualitative in approach; the interview technique was used with 15 stakeholders, using Atlas Ti22 for its analysis. The result obtained was based on the evaluation by experts, considering criteria such as clarity, coherence, relevance and consistency of the proposed model of the relationship between formative research and accreditation; obtaining an average value of 92.5%. In this way, it is considered approved since it must be higher than 75%. It was concluded that the proposed model is coherent since it articulates the investigative courses from the first semester to the last semester and relates in an articulated way with the elements of accreditation. The contribution of the research is to the university educational sector that can adapt the proposed innovative model according to the educational model of their university.

One Size Does Not Fit All: Common Practices for Standards Collections and Management

There are numerous studies in the engineering literature about standards, though practical information on standards collection management in libraries is somewhat limited. This study builds upon previous studies but with both a broader scope and more granularity. The purpose is to fill gaps and add to the existing literature on standards collections and use. The workflow for collection development and management practices for standards, like other special resources, are according to each institution's preferences, clientele, campus culture, budget, and needs. To deepen the understanding of standards management in libraries, this study uses a larger sample size than previous studies found in the literature, through a survey of 336 academic libraries in the United States at institutions offering four or more Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited engineering programs. The survey includes questions in areas that have not been studied before, such as institutional size, the highest degree offered, collecting intensity, and demand levels. Findings confirm some results of previous studies, but also show some new and unexpected findings.

Accreditation of Diploma Engineering Programmes

The accreditation of diploma engineering programmes is almost negligible in the country. It is a matter of great concern. The researchers conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study to design strategies to encourage polytechnic colleges to improve the quality of diploma engineering programmes and apply for obtaining accreditation in the next two years. A brief review of the literature revealed that studies are not available on polytechnic education and whatever is available can not be replicated in changing scenarios of polytechnic in the context of the national education policy 2020. Researchers designed instrument used to know the views of officials and faculty members on strategies at the state, polytechnic, and faculty members levels. The researchers received 525 responses to the research questions that were classified, analyzed, and interpreted to articulate the strategies at three levels. The responses indicate that there is a need to assuring the quality of education at the state, polytechnic, and faculty members levels, innovate it and sustain it in the context of developments taking place in the industry and technical education. Limitations of the study and areas for study are suggested.

Risk Assessment Methods for Autonomous Agricultural Machines: A Review of Current Practices and Future Needs

Highlights Risk assessment for highly automated and autonomous agricultural machines must consider risks beyond operator risk. Engineering standards are a starting point for autonomous equipment risk assessment but are not yet adequate. Engineers designing highly automated equipment now assess risk holistically but need more tools and support. Education in accredited engineering programs and professional development should include risk assessment. Abstract. Technology continues to advance in agricultural machines and includes the development of highly automated, robotic, autonomous, and other types of machines used in fields, farmsteads, buildings, and other farm production locations. New engineering design and safety-related standards have been developed in the past half-decade, but safety remains a concern of key stakeholders and is a barrier that could influence widespread adoption. A survey of practicing engineers and researchers involved with highly automated and autonomous agricultural machine design will be presented that shows the methods for risk assessment and control currently in use including different frameworks for hazard and failure identification, prediction, and quantification. The use of engineering design standards (ASABE, ISO, and others) among practitioners is discussed including some important needs that go beyond obstacle detection and injury prevention for operators. These include safety and risk issues connected to animals, property, civic infrastructure, downtime, cyber, and environmental risk. Commonly used risk assessment methods such as the related failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) or hazard analysis and risk assessment (HARA) are a useful starting point but are based on historical data and experience that can be used to estimate the probability and severity levels of undesirable failures or incidents such as injuries. These data do not yet exist as compared to risk assessment data that can be used to assess incident occurrence probability, failure, detectability, or controllability in more traditional machines. Suggestions are presented for further development of standards and practice recommendations including software needs and operational data that might be used by autonomous machines that is informed by what we do know about past farm incidents that could include accidents, injuries, and other unexpected failures. Keywords: Automation, Autonomous agricultural machinery, Engineering design standards, Farm equipment, Risk assessment, Robotics, Safety.

The Design of Academic Programs Using Rough Set Association Rule Mining

Program accreditation is important for determining whether or not a program or institution meets quality standards. It helps employers to evaluate the programs and qualifications of their graduates as well as to achieve its strategic goals and its continuous improvement plans. Preparing for accreditation requires extensive effort. One of the required documents is the program’s self-study report (SSR), which includes the PEO-SO map (which allocates the program’s educational objectives (PEOs) to student learning outcomes (SOs)). It influences program structure design, performance monitoring, assessment, and continuous improvement. Professionals in each academic engineering program have designed their PEO-SO maps in accordance with their experiences. The problem with the incorrect design of map design is that the SOs are either missing altogether or cannot be assigned to the correct PEOs. The objective of this work is to use a hybrid data mining approach to design the correct PEO-SO map. The proposed hybrid approach utilizes three different data mining techniques: classification to find the similarities between PEOs, crisp association rules to find the crisp rules for the PEO-SO map, and rough set association rules to find the coarse association rules for the PEO-SO map. The work collected 200 SSRs of accredited engineering programs by the ABET-EAC. The paper presents the different phases of the work, such as data collection and preprocessing, building of three data mining models (classification, crisp association rules, and rough set association rules), and analysis of the results and comparison with related work. The validation of the obtained results by different fifty specialists (from the academic engineering field) and their recommendations were also presented. The comparison with other related works proved the success of the proposed approach to discover the correct PEO-SO maps with higher performance.

Flipped Learning in Engineering Modules Is More Than Watching Videos: The Development of Personal and Professional Skills

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has highlighted two key outcomes for students of all accredited engineering programs: the ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences and the capacity to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies. Likewise, in recent years, written exams, assignments, and oral presentations show transmission-skill deficiencies among engineering students. Flipped teaching serves to boost students to meet these outcomes and other competencies: comprehension reading, communication skills, character building, collaborative work, critical thinking, or creativity. So, flipped learning is more than watching videos. This research proposes two evidence-based transferable learning strategies built on a flipped-teaching model and was applied by the authors in engineering courses during the second year of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19: problem-based learning and teamwork assignments. The study comprised two phases. First, a systematic review of reports, writings, and exams delivered by students. It included some video-watching analytics to detect misuse. In the second stage, the authors ascertained trends of these outcomes. Student perceptions and other achievement indicators illustrate the possibilities for encouraging learners to achieve transmission, communication, and literacy outcomes. Results indicate that these learner-centered approaches may help students learn better, comprehend, apply, and transmit knowledge. But they require an institutional commitment to implementing proactive instruction techniques that emphasize the importance of student communication skills.

Case study - lesson plan for noise control engineering concepts for use in ABET accredited engineering programs

ABET accreditation is an internationally recognized system ensuring consistency and quality in engineering education programs. As a part of ABET accreditation, there is no set requirement for any general engineering program to include noise control engineering concepts in their curricula. However, one of the seven student outcomes that each ABET accredited engineering program must document is their students' "ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare..." Controlling noise is a fundamental strategy for protecting workers from occupational noise and the public from the harmful effects of environmental noise. In this presentation, a case study is presented which focuses on the development and execution of a noise control lesson plan designed to meet ABET requirements. The lesson plan not only promotes the understanding and practice of noise control engineering techniques but also is designed to help engineering programs demonstrate ABET student outcomes related to consideration of safety and health.

Student Attainment Measurement System in Civil Engineering Undergraduate Programme:

Abstract : In ensuring the quality of the offered programs in Malaysia, it is crucial to comply with the long chain of Quality Management processes in obtaining and maintaining accreditation of undergraduate engineering programs. One of the processes is to continually and effectively measure the students’ attainment of program outcomes amid the implementation of Outcome-Based Education. This paper focuses on MyCOPO system, the evaluation of undergraduate bachelor degree engineering students’ attainment measurement system in the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam. A quantitative survey has been conducted to measure academic staff and students’ satisfaction level of MyCOPO implementation in the faculty. This survey has been conducted in line with the university strategy in promoting organisation operational excellence via MyCOPO system, where 47 and 227 respondents were recorded for academic staff and students, respectively. Two sets of questionnaires were designed to determine the impact of the system, the effectiveness on delivery and quality of the system and users’ happiness index. This system is found to be impactful in ease the work, increase the quality and provide satisfaction to related parties. The usage of MyCOPO system is effective and the average rating of happiness index for academic staff and students are 8.2 and 7.2 out of 10 for happiness index, respectively.
 
 Keywords: Attainment measurement system, Civil engineering, outcome-based education, satisfaction.

A proposal for a national frame of reference for the accreditation of engineering programs in Tunisia

PurposeThis study aims to propose a national frame of reference for the accreditation of engineering programs (EPs) in Tunisia. It uses as a benchmark the structure used by the world’s leading accreditation systems such as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and Commission des Titres d’Ingénieur. It provides a comprehensive framework for academic institutions to evaluate the performance of their programs. In addition, it suggests the procedures, steps and timeline for the application process and defines the required documents that should be submitted.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyzes the standards applied by well-established accreditation agencies such as ABET, Commission Titre Ingenieur and European Accredited Engineer, studies the perceptions of academicians who participated in six workshops and uses the results of surveys and interviews to characterize their opinions about accreditation. A sample population of 146 faculty members, experts and policymakers from 23 different higher education institutions in Tunisia, who had participated in the workshops mentioned above, was solicited to participate in the survey. The opinions of 51 respondents who responded to the survey were analyzed. This methodology led to the establishment of a proposed national frame of reference for accreditation of EPs.FindingsAnalysis reveals that the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR) provides authorization (“habilitation”) to institutions allowing them to offer their educational program. However, it is inaccurate to consider this procedure as accreditation because it is more of a licensure process. In addition, the MHESR grants the “habilitation” to those institutions that successfully apply. The National Authority for Assessment, quality assurance and accreditation Instance Nationale de l’Evaluation, de l’Assurance Qualité et de l’Accréditation (IEAQA) is not involved in this process, which makes the latter’s role trivial.Practical implicationsThis frame of reference will help the MHESR to evaluate the EPs based on a comprehensive analysis of well-established accreditation systems, to improve its “habilitation” process by splitting it into two parts as per international practice, namely, licensure and accreditation and to make the existence and role of the IEAQA much clearer.Originality/valueThis study is the foremost study to propose a comprehensive frame of reference for accrediting EPs in Tunisia.

INDIGENOUS INITIATIVES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN CANADA: COLLECTIVE CONTRIBUTIONS

The purpose of this Participatory Action Research (PAR) project is to share with the CEEA-ACEG membership the Indigenous initiatives being taken in CEAB accredited engineering programs across Canada. We received contributions from 24 institutions and 4 organizations, from which 11 categories of initiatives emerged. The intention is to create an ethical space where Indigenous and non-Indigenous engineering educators can learn from one another, and work together guided by Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing), to advance Indigenous ways of knowing and being in engineering in Canada. This project is ongoing. Contact us if you wish to contribute and/or engage in the projects arising from this work.

Examining the relationship between the accreditation of engineering programmes and institutional performance

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between engineering programme accreditation (EPA) and institutional performance (IP) using perceptual measures. Two IP dimensions have been explored to test this relationship, namely, graduate employability and student retention and attrition.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative research is based on the perceptions of 211 academic staff holding a range of positions within 15 higher education institutions located in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC). Linear regression was used to test the relationships in the data.FindingsThe empirical analyses proved that EPA has a statistically significant positive relationship with the IP dimensions, namely, graduate employability, student retention and attrition.Research limitations/implicationsA few limitations were encountered while conducting this study. Most of the accredited engineering programmes are located in the United Arab Emirates and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (nearly 73%). The online survey was the only option available for the researcher to reach some universities rather than using a face-method to collect data. Another limitation is the availability of only five accredited programmes in some countries such as Oman, where the researcher is based, meaning that the researcher had to devote extra time and effort to contact the other five countries by emails, telephone calls and travel to attain a reasonable survey sample size.Practical implicationsThere are many implications of these findings for the universities, employers and economies of the GCC. All GCC countries are concerned about high unemployment rates; for example, the rate of youth unemployment reached 41% in KSA. Adopting EPA for all academic programmes will eliminate the mismatch between the skills graduate students develop while they are studying and those skills required of them when they are practising their job in industry. Although the jobs market is determined by the wider economy, accredited programmes may help graduates to obtain employment because employers are more able to recruit students who graduate from accredited programmes. Universities aim to retain students until graduation and improving student retention and lowering attrition rate brings many direct and indirect benefits to universities, including saving governments’ financial resources.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine the relationship between EPA and IP within the six GCC region as a whole.

ABET Accreditation During and After COVID19 - Navigating the Digital Age.

Engineering accreditation agencies and governmental educational bodies worldwide require programs to evaluate specific learning outcomes information for attainment of student learning and establish accountability. Ranking and accreditation have resulted in programs adopting shortcut approaches to collate cohort information with minimally acceptable rigor for Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). With tens of thousands of engineering programs seeking accreditation, qualifying program evaluations that are based on reliable and accurate cohort outcomes is becoming increasingly complex and is high stakes. Manual data collection processes and vague performance criteria assimilate inaccurate or insufficient learning outcomes information that cannot be used for effective CQI. Additionally, due to the COVID19 global pandemic, many accreditation bodies have cancelled onsite visits and either deferred or announced virtual audit visits for upcoming accreditation cycles. In this study, we examine a novel meta-framework to qualify state of the art digital Integrated Quality Management Systems for three engineering programs seeking accreditation. The digital quality systems utilize authentic OBE frameworks and assessment methodology to automate collection, evaluation and reporting of precision CQI data. A novel Remote Evaluator Module that enables successful virtual ABET accreditation audits is presented. A theory based mixed methods approach is applied for evaluations. Detailed results and discussions show how various phases of the meta-framework help to qualify the context, construct, causal links, processes, technology, data collection and outcomes of comprehensive CQI efforts. Key stakeholders such as accreditation agencies and universities can adopt this multi-dimensional approach for employing a holistic meta-framework to achieve accurate and credible remote accreditation of engineering programs.

Theoretical Perspectives and Current Challenges of Outcome-Based Education Framework

AbstractOutcome-Based education is a performance-based approach for the curriculum development, a future-oriented learner-centered ‘Empowerment Paradigm’ that empowers and endorses all learners with future success. It is an influential and tempting way of restructuring and reorganizing engineering education. Washington Accord, an International accreditation convention, an independent agreement between signatory organizations to provide an external accreditation to undergraduate engineering programs. The accredited engineering programs that qualify an engineer to enter into the practice of professional engineers are equally recognized and acknowledged by other signatory countries and responsible organizations Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) is a full signatory to the Washington Accord and a regulatory organization for the accreditation of engineering programs in Pakistan. To keep up the permanent membership status, it is the requirement of PEC to implement Outcome-Based in engineering degree awarding institutes in Pakistan. The main aim of Outcome-Based education in engineering education is to empower engineering students with the essential characteristics required to switch themselves into the engineering profession as a global and professional engineer. The focus of current research is to explore the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of Outcome-Based education. Moreover, to unveil the current challenges in the implementation of OBE framework in engineering education.

The Development of Technology-supported Approaches to the LO Process for Accredited Engineering Programs

Tracking graduate outcomes is a new requirement for engineering education in Canada. Working closely with curriculum developers and educational technologists, the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph has shown it is possible to put in place an effective process. The process requires engaged participants, an open-mindedness and integrated technologies to collect and report the data. Combining people, process and technology provides a way for data analysis to satisfy accreditation requirements and internal quality education metrics. This paper describes the approach taken and identifies strengths, challenges, and opportunities to be successful, and support the ultimate goal of curriculum improvement.

INCORPORATING TIMBER EDUCATION INTO EXISTING ACCREDITED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS

The demand for large and tall timber buildings is increasing across Canada. The recently constructed Brock Commons building in Vancouver and the upcoming Arbour building in Toronto are two such examples. These buildings are challenging for practitioners to design, and presently only a limited number of engineering institutions across Canada offer a course in timber design. There is a growing demand for engineering graduates who can contribute to the creation of these structures; however, the number of graduates who meet this criterion is lagging. Separate courses in timber could be introduced to more universities, however the addition of a new course may overload students, whose course schedules are already tightly regulated by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board. Moreover, the creation of a new course can take several years and will therefore not meet the current industry demand quick enough. The research herein presents a method of incorporating timber education within the existing civil engineering curriculum in Canada, without the introduction of an additional course. The purpose of the proposed method is to offer an efficient solution that will provide engineering students with knowledge of the timber industry quickly to meet industry demand. Two timber learning modules were integrated within the existing Structural Steel Design course at an accredited university. The timber learning modules paralleled the topics covered within an undergraduate timber design course. Students were surveyed before and after the learning modules were presented to assess level of interest and motivations, knowledge of the industry, and level of understanding. After the learning modules were presented, 76% of students indicated they had some level of confidence in contributing to the design of a timber building. These results show that the timber learning modules were successful at introducing and generating an interest in timber design, and that students gained basic knowledge they could apply in practice.

INCORPORATING TIMBER EDUCATION INTO EXISTING ACCREDITED ENGINEERING PROGRAMS

The demand for large and tall timber buildings is increasing across Canada. The recently constructed Brock Commons building in Vancouver and the upcoming Arbour building in Toronto are two such examples. These buildings are challenging for practitioners to design, and presently only a limited number of engineering institutions across Canada offer a course in timber design. There is a growing demand for engineering graduates who can contribute to the creation of these structures; however, the number of graduates who meet this criterion is lagging. Separate courses in timber could be introduced to more universities, however the addition of a new course may overload students, whose course schedules are already tightly regulated by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board. Moreover, the creation of a new course can take several years and will therefore not meet the current industry demand quick enough.
 The research herein presents a method of incorporating timber education within the existing civil engineering curriculum in Canada, without the introduction of an additional course. The purpose of the proposed method is to offer an efficient solution that will provide engineering students with knowledge of the timber industry quickly to meet industry demand. Two timber learning modules were integrated within the existing Structural Steel Design course at an accredited university. The timber learning modules paralleled the topics covered within an undergraduate timber design course. Students were surveyed before and after the learning modules were presented to assess level of interest and motivations, knowledge of the industry, and level of understanding. After the learning modules were presented, 76% of students indicated they had some level of confidence in contributing to the design of a timber building. These results show that the timber learning modules were successful at introducing and generating an interest in timber design, and that students gained basic knowledge they could apply in practice.

Difference between Engineering Program Accreditations at Baccalaureate and Master’s Level: Case Study Based on ABET

As the education level of engineering and scientific talentscontinuouslyrise worldwide, the demand for master engineering program accreditation has gradually increased. International engineering programaccreditation organizationsmostly focus on baccalaureate level, less on the master's level and above. In order to construct accreditation system of engineering program at master's level, this study selected ABET, one of the pioneers inaccreditation at the master’s level, as a case study that emphasizes on revealing differences of engineering program accreditations in master's and baccalaureate level. The study found that, compared to the baccalaureate level,the general criteria of master’s level is emphatically featured in curriculum accreditation master’s level general criteria feature curriculum accreditation criteria that lay more emphasison previous course accumulation, professionalism and practicality, assessment review, higher level faculty, and along with facilities focusing more on student-centered concept and requirement for information society.