In December, two experts, Dr David Beasley and Dr John A. Orr, who have long served in various capacities in ABET (formerly the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology), joined UIUC’s ABET experts, Prof. Michael Hirschi and Prof. Jenny Amos for an initial evaluation process of the ZJUI degree programs. UIUC leaders, including Executive Associate Dean Prof. Philippe Geubelle, Associate Dean Prof. Jonathan Makela, and Director of Academic Affairs for the UIUC-ZJU Partnership Prof. Umberto Ravaioli joined the team and carried out parallel discussions. The team carried out a comprehensive “mock” ABET visit, simulating most aspects of an accreditation visit likely to take place in 2021. The experts commended ZJUI’s international style of engineering education and expressed confidence in ZJUI’s future. The two experts reported that the ZJUI inspection was among their best visit experiences, and they anticipate ZJUI to become a top engineering college.
The experts attended lectures, reviewed program data, inspected ZJUI facilities and infrastructure, communicated with students, met with Heads of Department on the ZJU International Campus, and met with ZJUI faculty and staff. ZJUI’s learning environment, innovative labs, and teamwork emphasis received high marks from the team.
The experts held workshops with ZJUI faculty and staff to discuss ABET’s work and goals, train ZJUI on ABET’s assessment criteria, and enhance preparations for the actual inspection visit. ABET emphasizes a results-oriented perspective, aiming at long-term outcomes that demonstrate high-impact engineering professionals The ABET experts encouraged ZJUI to pay attention to students’ development as individuals as well as to the acquisition of professional skills. The process is about continuous improvement of engineering education.
ABET is a globally recognized accreditation body, and its professional accreditation system has been a major pathway for improvement of engineering education. For a university to pass ABET’s assessment means that it has demonstrated its ability to educate globally competent engineers. The ABET accreditation process continues to support innovation in engineering education ABET is a highly regarded organization in the US and internationally, and is a primary external method used by UIUC and all recognized engineering programs to assess program quality. As a collaborative partner of UIUC, ZJUI incorporates ABET’s accreditation into our system.
Article | Zhou Yifu, Stephanie Photo | ZJUI
Translator | Chang Long
