ABET Accreditation: In the United States, accreditation is used to assure quality in educational institutions and programs. Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental process of peer review. It requires an educational institution or program to meet certain, defined standards or criteria. Accreditation is sometimes confused with certification. In general, institutions and programs are accredited, and individuals are certified.
Accreditation serves to notify: Parents and prospective students that a program has met minimum standards; Faculty, deans and administrators of a program's strengths and weaknesses and of ways to improve the program; Employers that graduates are prepared to begin professional practice; Taxpayers that their funds are spent well; and The public that graduates are aware of public health and safety considerations.
State licensing boards and certification programs may require graduation from an ABET-accredited program as the first step in the registration or certification process for professional practice. In some instances, ABET accreditation may permit students to receive federal funds in the form of scholarships, loans and grants.
- The above is a excerpt from http://www.abet.org/about_ac.html.
The Mechanical Engineering program at Southern University is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the ABET (EAC/ABET), 111 Market Place Suite, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012. More information can be obtained from the ABET website (www.abet.org).
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