CIVIL ENGINEERING PROGRAM EVALUATOR REFLECTIONS: THE MOST RECENT LESSONS LEARNED

For the 2011-2012 ABET accreditation cycle, a number of changes across the criteria have impacted the way in which programs must approach their accreditation efforts. 1 The most significant change is related to the reporting of assessment activities and their use for program improvement. For the first time this year, assessment results of program educational objectives and student outcomes are reported in Criterion 4, Continuous Improvement. Additionally, there have been changes to the former Criterion 9, Program Criteria. The Program Criteria is no longer numbered, but more importantly, contains some fairly significant changes impacting the assessment of student performance. The changes include no longer requiring programs to specifically incorporate the program criteria in their student outcomes and no longer requiring programs to assess the degree to which students are achieving the program criteria. The purpose of this paper is to capture the experiences of three Civil Engineering Program Evaluators who have visited programs with differing characteristics during this accreditation cycle. It takes the reader from initial contact with the program chair through review of the self study and student transcripts to the on-site visit and offers lessons learned on how to best meet the current ABET Criteria and prepare for an ABET visit.