West Virginia University’s Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources has received renewed accreditation for its undergraduate and graduate programs from ABET, the global accreditor of engineering programs.
“I appreciate the ABET process as it helps us keep in touch with our constituencies to be sure we are preparing future graduates to solve tomorrow’s problems,” said David Wyrick, associate dean for academic affairs in the Statler College. “The cycles of assessment, self-study and on-campus visits provides us with excellent opportunities to improve and identify new opportunities.”
WVU Provost Joyce McConnell shares Wyrick’s belief in the process. “It’s an essential means of evaluating diverse programs at diverse institutions to ensure consistent quality,” McConnell said.
She also praised the Statler leadership, faculty, staff, students and alumni for the key role they played in securing renewed accreditation. “Our programs are accredited because they are excellent,” McConnell added. “We offer an exceptional engineering education to students from around the world.”
Undergraduate programs that received renewed accreditation include aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, mining engineering and petroleum and natural gas engineering. Accreditation was also renewed for the College’s graduate programs in industrial hygiene and safety management.
The Statler College’s newest undergraduate major in biomedical engineering has yet to undergo the accreditation process. The process will begin for the program after the first class of students in the major graduates.
The ABET team of external experts met with faculty, administrators, students and alumni and inspected classroom and laboratory facilities during a site visit in October 2015. Reviewers examined each program’s processes for continuous improvement of the curriculum based on assessment of student learning outcomes.
“I would like to offer my congratulations to our entire team for the work they put forward to ensure re-accreditation of all our engineering bachelor’s degree programs and two of our master’s degree programs,” said Gene Cilento, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the Statler College.
ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental accrediting agency for programs in applied science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. ABET accreditation provides assurance that a college or university program meets the quality standards of the profession for which that program prepares graduates. The ABET accreditation process is carried out by four accreditation commissions; each commission sets accreditation standards for specific program areas and degree levels.
-WVU-
mcd/09/08/16
CONTACT: Mary C. Dillon, Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
304.293.4086, Mary.Dillon@mail.wvu.edu
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.