(282e) ABET Impressions: Experiences During the First International Accreditation Process

In this presentation we aim to share our experiences and lessons learned during the first ABET accreditation process for the educational program in Chemical Engineering of our institution in Mexico.

In our country, one of the main goals to achieve in undergraduate programs is to formalize an international evaluation culture. The ABET accreditation process has become the milestone of a long-term process that can involve all educational actors in the dynamics of continuous review and self-analysis in order to improve educational processes in chemical engineering programs. Therefore, the international accreditation goes beyond meeting a number of requirements in order that the educational program is accepted.

The international accrediting agency ABET  has clear, precise and open criteria, which allow us to pose the reality of the institution in terms of what has been achieved so far and what is to be achieved in the medium and long term. Therefore, the referents to accreditation, not only are the external criteria of accrediting agency, but the historical, academic and cultural referents of our institution pursuing the international accreditation. From this, the necessary adjustments to improve the program arise.

In this sense, the impact of international accreditation institution can be evidenced in two dimensions, one internal, which is more immediate to identify and the other external, which can be identified and assessed in the medium and long term. Both dimensions are not mutually exclusive, but rather, are nurtured in a continuous process, through ongoing evaluation mechanisms that have arisen during the process of international accreditation.

During this presentation, we will expose first the reasons that led us to participate in the international accreditation process, then, we will explain our identification process of the so-called "outcomes", to continue with the presentation of our assessment process, as well as our experience with ABET evaluators, to conclude with the results of the assessment and action plans for continuous improvement in the short, medium and long term.