Mechanical Engineering

Accreditation

What Is Accreditation?

The Undergraduate Program in Mechanical Engineering is accredited by ABET. ABET accreditation is assurance that a college or university program meets the quality standards established by the profession for which it prepares its students. For example, an accredited engineering program must meet the quality standards set by the engineering profession. An accredited computer science program must meet the quality standards set by the computing profession. [Read more...]

Mission, Program Objectives and Program Outcomes

Mission Statement
The mission of the Department of Mechanical Engineering is to serve the students of Texas A&M University, the State of Texas, and the nation by:

  • providing quality education, well grounded in the fundamental principles of engineering, to prepare students for leadership positions and successful careers in industry, government, and academia;
  • extending the knowledge base of mechanical engineering to support the competitiveness of existing industry and to spawn new economic development in Texas and the nation through active involvement in basic and applied research; and
  • providing professional development opportunities for practicing engineers through continuing education, service, and outreach activities.

Program Objectives
The objectives of the Mechanical Engineering program are to produce graduates who will:
1. have successful careers, and become leaders, in industry and the public sector;
2. appropriately apply acquired knowledge, work well with other people, effectively communicate ideas and technical information, and continue to learn and improve; and
3. successfully pursue advanced studies, if they so choose, and subsequently contribute to the development of advanced concepts and leading edge technologies.

Program Outcomes
The educational outcomes for the Mechanical Engineering program are that students will attain:

  • An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering
  • An ability to design and construct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
  • An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
  • An ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams
  • An ability to identify, formulate and solve engineering problems
  • An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
  • An ability to communicate effectively
  • The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
  • A recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
  • A knowledge of contemporary issues
  • An ability to use the techniques, skills and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice.

ACCReditation Basics

Accreditation Assures Quality

In the United States, accreditation is a non-governmental, peer review process that ensures educational quality. Educational institutions or programs volunteer to periodically undergo this review in order to determine if certain criteria are being met. It is important to understand, however, that accreditation is not a ranking system. It is simply assurance that a program or institution meets established quality standards.

There are two types of accreditation: institutional and specialized.

  • Institutional accreditation evaluates overall institutional quality. One form of institutional accreditation is regional accreditation of colleges and universities.
  • Specialized accreditation examines specific programs of study, rather than an institution as a whole. This type of accreditation is granted to specific programs at specific levels. Architecture, nursing, law, medicine, and engineering programs are often evaluated through specialized accreditation.

In the United States, ABET, Inc., is responsible for the specialized accreditation of educational programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology.

More general information about accreditation is available at www.chea.org.

Who Sets the ABET Quality Standards?

The quality standards programs must meet to be ABET-accredited are set by the ABET professions themselves. This is made possible by the collaborative efforts of many different professional and technical societies. These societies and their members work together through ABET to develop the standards, and they provide the professionals who evaluate the programs to make sure they meet those standards.

Why Is ABET Accreditation Important?
  • Accreditation helps students and their parents choose quality college programs.
  • Accreditation enables employers to recruit graduates they know are well-prepared.
  • Accreditation is used by registration, licensure, and certification boards to screen applicants.
  • Accreditation gives colleges and universities a structured mechanism to assess, evaluate, and improve the quality of their programs.
The ABET Accreditation Process

Accreditation is a voluntary process on the part of an institution. The first step is that an institution requests an evaluation of its program(s). (Only programs that have produced at least one graduate are eligible for accreditation.) Each program then conducts an internal evaluation and completes a self-study questionnaire. The self-study documents whether students, curriculum, faculty, administration, facilities, and institutional support meet the established criteria.

While the program conducts its self-examination, the appropriate ABET commission (Applied Science, Computing, Engineering, or Technology Commission) forms an evaluation team to visit the campus. A team chair and one or more program evaluators make up the evaluation team. Team members are volunteers from academe, government, and industry, as well as private practice.

During the on-campus visit, the evaluation team reviews course materials, student projects, and sample assignments and interviews students, faculty, and administrators. The team investigates whether the criteria are met and tackles any questions raised by the self-study.

Following its campus visit, the team provides the school with a written report of the evaluation. This allows the program to correct any misrepresentations or errors of fact, as well as address any shortcomings in a timely manner.

At a large annual meeting of all ABET commission members, the final evaluation report is presented by the evaluation team, along with its recommended accreditation action. Based on the findings of the report, the commission members vote on the action, and the school is notified of the decision. The information the school receives identifies strengths, concerns, weaknesses, deficiencies, and recommendations for improvements. Accreditation is granted for a maximum of six years. To renew accreditation, the institution must request another evaluation.