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Session 3666

Managing Engineering Curriculum For ABET 2000

Alan Parkinson and Jordan Cox Department of Mechanical Engineering Brigham Young University

Abstract Many engineering programs are trying to determine how to meet the new ABET 2000 accreditation criteria, which include an emphasis on assessment and documentation of the processes used to achieve desired attributes. This means programs must carefully consider and identify where in the curriculum attributes are addressed and taught. This can be facilitated if educators have a means for understanding and managing the curriculum as a whole.

In the mechanical engineering department of Brigham Young University, we have been experimenting with ways to capture and manage the curriculum to insure that all desired attributes are addressed. We discuss what we have learned to date and the strengths and weaknesses of the methods we have tried. We discuss a web-based software tool for curriculum management that is currently under development. The software will enable us to manage curriculum to insure that all attributes are being developed and to maximize integration across courses. It will help provide consistency in instruction, will be a complete repository of the curriculum that can be accessed at any time, be a catalyst for interaction with outside “suppliers” such as math and physics, and be a means for communicating program objectives to students.

Introduction In November 1996 the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) approved Engineering Criteria 2000, Criteria for Accrediting Programs in Engineering in the United States (ABET, 1996). The new criteria represent a paradigm shift in accreditation from a highly prescriptive set of criteria to a relatively simplified, flexible set of outcomes-based criteria which focus on the attributes engineering graduates are to have. These attributes are,

•an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering; •an ability to design and conduct experiments as well as to analyze and interpret data; •an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs; •an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams; •an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems; •an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility; •an ability to communicate effectively •the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global/societal context; •a recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in lifelong learning;

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Cox, J., & Parkinson, A. (1998, June), Managing Engineering Curriculum For Abet 2000 Paper presented at 1998 Annual Conference, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/1-2--7270