ABET
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ABET

ABET (pronounced A-bet), formerly known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., is a non-governmental accreditation organization for post-secondary programs in engineering, engineering technology, computing, and applied and natural sciences.

As of October 2023, ABET had accredited 4,674 programs across 920 organizations in 42 countries. ABET also accredits online educational programs.

In 1932, ABET was established as the American Engineers' Council for Professional Development (ECPD). The organization evaluated its first engineering program in 1936, and by 1947, 580 programs had been accredited across 133 institutions.

In 1980, the ECPD changed its name to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. In 1985, the organization helped establish the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB), one of ABET's largest member societies with over 300 programs. ABET began operating and doing business solely under their acronym in 2005, using “Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.” as their corporate name only when required by law.

The request for ABET accreditation is initiated by the institution seeking accreditation. Accreditation is given to individual programs rather than to the institution as a whole. Re-evaluation is required every six years. Programs with no previous accreditation can request accreditation if they have produced at least one program graduate.

Each program is assigned to one of four accreditation commissions within ABET based on the title. Each commission has different accreditation criteria:

Programs conduct an internal evaluation and complete a self-study report documenting how well the program is meeting established accreditation criteria.

The appropriate ABET commission appoints a team chair to lead the on-campus evaluation visit. The team chair and program evaluators (typically one per program requesting accreditation) are made up of volunteers from academia, government, industry, and private practice. During the visit to the institution, the evaluation team reviews program course materials and interacts with students and faculty, culminating in an exit interview with the dean. Following the team's visit, the institution is given 7 days to address any topics communicated during the exit interview. ABET provides an evaluation statement to the institution, who is given 30 more days to respond to any additional issues.

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