At the 25 October 2024 ABET governance meeting, the Computing Area Delegation (CAD) approved several…
There’s a lot of exciting and important news to share about program criteria proposals / approvals in two of CSAB’s lead discipline areas … CS and IS.
First, a note about Program Criteria: Program-specific criteria are applied based on the name and content of the program seeking evaluation. Accredited programs are required to meet both the applicable program criteria and the general criteria of the relevant ABET accreditation commission(s).
Program criteria begin their development within or among ABET member societies, which then submit them for approval to the relevant ABET commission. Following both professional society and commission approval, program criteria are considered for first reading, second reading, and then final approval by the appropriate ABET Area Delegations.
CSAB is the lead ABET member society for programs in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, and Software Engineering. All current general and program criteria can be found on ABET’s website at https://www.abet.org/accreditation/accreditation-criteria/.
Please take note of the extensive number of both approved and newly proposed CAC/ABET program criteria revisions described below. Links are embedded in the text below if you wish to learn more about any of the proposed changes.
Revised Computer Science (CS) Program Criteria Approved for Public Review and Comment
On July 19, 2024, the Computing Accreditation Commission approved for a year of public review and comment several proposed revisions to the program criteria for computer science and similarly named programs. The proposed revisions are extensive, and CSAB strongly encourages programs to review them and provide feedback. The revisions to the CS program criteria include new requirements for substantial coverage of “software engineering; and artificial intelligence,” and for exposure to “specialized platforms; graphics and interactive techniques; human computer interaction; and sustainable computing.” CSAB and the ABET Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC) will review all of the feedback, and make adjustments accordingly, prior to any final approvals. You can find all of the details regarding the proposed changes here (see page 4). And you can provide feedback on the proposed changes here.
Revised Information Systems (IS) Program Criteria Approved for Implementation Effective in 2025
After more than a year of public review and comment, revised CAC/ABET criteria for accrediting information systems programs are expected to get final approval from the ABET Computing Area Delegation for implementation beginning with the 2025-26 cycle of reviews. The revisions to the IS program criteria include new requirements for coverage of fundamentals and applied practice in “programming,” for “a major project that requires integration and application of knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work,” and for coverage of “appropriate mathematical and statistical models and techniques to solve a broad range of problems in Information Systems.” The full text of the new IS program criteria can be found here (see page 5).
If you are interested in seeking ABET accreditation for your degree program, visit https://www.abet.org/accreditation/what-is-accreditation/eligibility-requirements/ for eligibility requirements and links to relevant documents, contacts, and additional information.