“We received a clean bill of health with no strings attached,” said Thomas Kim, dean of the College of Engineering.
Kim said that accreditation of engineering programs is critically important for recruitment of new students. “If we weren’t accredited, it would be much harder for our graduates to get jobs because large companies require their engineers to have degrees from accredited institutions.”
The accreditation process is an arduous one. Each academic program first prepared a lengthy self-study report. This was followed by a two-day visit by a committee of 11 reviewers, which evaluated each program in great detail, including funding, budgeting, personnel, enrollment, and classroom and laboratory facilities.
The final report issued by ABET in August highlighted three of the College’s initiatives as being especially noteworthy. URI’s award-winning International Engineering Program was cited as a particularly strong and innovative program in which students major both in engineering and a foreign language, live in a special residence hall on campus, and take a year abroad for both study and work experience.
The College was also recognized for its “very active and successful external fund-raising effort to supplement state support.” In addition, the accreditation review committee called the College’s exemplary exit interview process, conducted for all graduating students, “a significant assessment tool.”
For Information: Todd McLeish 874-7892