Reaccreditation of the Engineering Degree Programs

Richard J. Puerzer, PhD (Industrial Engineering) Department of Engineering Chairperson and Associate Professor Richard.J.Puerzer@hofstra.edu

I am very pleased to report that we learned last week that all of our Bachelor of Science degree programs in Engineering have been reaccredited. This reaccreditation was done by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, the global accreditor of college and university programs in engineering, computing, applied and natural science, and engineering technology. ABET’s voluntary peerreview process is well respected because it confirms the value of academic programs in the technical disciplines. ABET accreditation assures that our programs meet the requisite standards necessary to produce graduates ready to enter the engineering fields. It also confirms that those programs are moving forward in preparing students to innovate and utilize emerging technologies all while anticipating the future needs of society. Across the world, ABET currently accredits 4,564 programs at 895 colleges and universities.

The ABET evaluation criteria are developed by engineering leaders from the 35 ABET member societies, including the American Society for Engineering Education, the American Society of Mechanical Engineering and the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers These criteria focus on what students experience and learn in the engineering curricula as well as in their experiential learning activities. The accreditation reviews evaluate the faculty, laboratories and facilities, program curricula, and support from the institution. The reviews are carried out by teams of discipline-specific skilled and experienced professionals from academia and industry. One of our engineering faculty members, Dr. Sleiman Ghorayeb serves as a Program Evaluator for ABET.

A great deal of effort goes into writing the Self-Study Report for each of the engineering programs and preparing for the three-day visit by the ABET evaluation team. These efforts are rewarded by the opportunity for the ABET evaluation and ultimately for the reaccreditation of our programs. These accreditations demonstrate the quality of our bioengineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and mechanical engineering programs and the commitment that Hofstra University has to industry-recognized, high-quality education in engineering. As we begin the Fall 2024 semester here at Hofstra, the engineering faculty should take pride in the demonstrated quality of their programs, and the opportunities available for our engineering students.

[DeMatteis School Fall 2024 Newsletter]