ABET Accreditation Process

• Faculty liaison David Kraemer – 410-516-3368 or david.kraemer@jhu.edu
• Staff liaisons
  • 2024-26 – Mike Bernard – 410-516-7154 or me-academic@jhu.edu
  • 2026 and later – John Soos – 410-516-0067 or me-academic@jhu.edu

The department subscribes to ABET’s requirement to demonstrate assessment, review, and implementation of continuous improvement. 

DIRECT EVALUATION OF STUDENT OUTCOMES

• Direct Evaluation of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) of Student Outcomes are compiled after each semester for selected courses. Academic Year data for each program, the BS Mechanical Engineering and BS Engineering Mechanics are separated.
• The Undergraduate Curriculum committee evaluates Academic Year data for each program every summer and sends recommendations for action to the entire faculty before the annual Faculty Retreat.
• Faculty discusses the committee recommendations at the annual Faculty Retreat and decides what actions to take for continuous improvement.
• Decided actions are executed and results are monitored at the next KPI evaluation.

SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT SPONSOR EVALUATIONS

• The Undergraduate Curriculum committee evaluates Senior Design Project Sponsor evaluations of student work each summer.
• Data for each major, the BS Mechanical Engineering and BS Engineering Mechanics are separated and compiled.
• The Undergraduate Curriculum committee sends recommendations for action to the entire faculty before the annual Faculty Retreat.
• Faculty discusses the committee recommendations at the annual Faculty Retreat and decides what actions to take for continuous improvement.
• Decided actions are executed and results are monitored by the Undergraduate Curriculum committee.

SENIOR EXIT SURVEYS

• Seniors self-evaluate their attainment of Student Outcomes 1-7 while completing their Senior Exit Surveys near the end of the Spring semester.
• Data for each major, the BS Mechanical Engineering and BS Engineering Mechanics are separated and compiled.
• Faculty discusses the survey results at the annual Faculty Retreat and decides what actions to take for continuous improvement.
• Decided actions are executed and results are monitored by the faculty.

The current ABET Student Outcomes criteria, which have been in effect since 2019:

1. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
2. An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
3. An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
4. An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
5. An ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives
6. An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions
7. An ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

These items and actions will occur or will be due:

• Identify courses taught every other year to be taught in 2027-28 that will miss the 2028-29 academic year. Arrange for course syllabi and course sample collection.
• Spring 2028 Course Samples that will not be taught in 2029 – throughout the semester, due May 31, 2028
• Assessment Findings – the results of any course assessments done previously – June 30, 2029
• Assessment Plan for 2028-29 courses – July 15, 2028
• Work with Instructors to confirm criterion and assignments being measured for courses – July 1-August 25, 2028
• Fall 2028 Course Syllabi collection – August-October 2028
• Work with Instructors and TAs to explain course sample collection process – September 2028
• Faculty and Instructor CVs collection – August-November 2028
•  Fall 2028 Course Samples – throughout the semester, due January 6, 2029
• Spring 2029 Course Syllabi collection
• Spring 2029 Course Samples – throughout the semester, due May 27, 2029

These items will occur or will be due:

• Self-Study Writing – begins January 2029
• Fall 2028 Course Samples – throughout the semester, due January 6, 2029
• Fall 2028 Assessments and Skill Definitions – February 2, 2029
• Meetings with Instructors and TAs to explain course sample collection process – January 2029
• Contact with Instructors to confirm criterion and assignments being measured for Spring 2029 courses – early-January 2029
• Spring 2029 Course Syllabi – February 12, 2029
• Self-Study Complete Draft – February 15, 2029
• Self-Study Final Drafts – May 15, 2029
• Spring 2029 Course Samples – throughout the semester, due June 2, 2029
• Spring 2029 Assessments and Skill Definitions –June 2, 2029
• Interactive Self-Study Creation – begins late-June 2029
• Self-Studies due to ABET – July 1, 2029

These items will occur or are due:

• Transcript Analysis– early-August 2029. We will be asked to provide a transcript analysis for a number of students to prove they have completed the degree requirements and earned the appropriate ABET-mandated number of credits in a number of categories.  Official transcripts – and not the unofficial transcripts available in SIS – must be used.
  • Order copies of the final Degree Audit from Betty Zee, Sr. Academic Program Coordinator in the Whiting School Office of Engineering at bzee1 at jhu dot edu.
  • Order official transcripts from the Registrar at ASENRegInternal at jhu dot edu.
  • Follow the instructions provided by the Whiting School regarding transcript analysis.
• Textbook Collection, if done – September 1, 2029 (note, no collection was required in 2023)
• ABET Mock Visit, if done – September 2029
  • Eileen Webb, a consultant hired by the Whiting School, conducted a mock visit in September 2017 to prepare the department for the final review and visit in November. This is a “dress rehearsal” where we will present everything we plan to present at the Final Visit in November.
  • We will know in 2028 if the Whiting School will hold a Mock Visit for 2029.
• ABET Final Review and Visit – late-Fall 2029. Included are:
  • Evaluator Review
  • Faculty, Instructor, and Staff Meetings
  • Class and Lab Tours
  • Student / Evaluator Meetings

We need Curriculum Vitae from every tenure-track faculty member and adjunct instructor who teach our courses.

Faculty Curriculum Vitae must be formatted according to ABET requirements: two pages maximum in Times New Roman font, 12 point.  This Microsoft Word template should be used.  Mike Bernard has Word templates from the 2017 and 2023 ABET Accreditations for a few faculty, which are in this One Drive file. You can use that template if we have yours.

• Name
• Education – degree, discipline, institution, year
• Academic experience – institution, rank, title (chair, coordinator, etc. if appropriate), when (ex. 1990-1995), full time or part time
• Non-academic experience – company or entity, title, brief description of position, when (ex. 1993-1999), full time or part time
• Certifications or professional registrations
• Current membership in professional organizations
• Honors and awards
• Service activities (within and outside of the institution)
• Briefly list the most important publications and presentations from the past five years – title, co-authors if any, where published and/or presented, date of publication or presentation
• Briefly list the most recent professional development activities

WHEN COMPLETE:  Please upload your Microsoft Word CV to this One Drive file. Do not send a .pdf file or any other document that cannot be edited.  If you need access to the file, please contact Mike at me-academic@jhu.edu.

Outcomes assessments affect ALL courses on which outcomes assessments are measured. Needed are:

• Skill Definitions: concise “definitions” of skills being assessed. This is included within the Continuous Improvement submissions. Note that this is a separate requirement than in the Course Samples requirement.
• Course Displays:  the department will collect display materials, including course syllabi, textbooks, and course samples.
• Course Samples:  the previous definition was three sets of three samples of all work in a course – excellent, average, and below average work, plus the assignment itself. Now, it is a department-determined sampling of assignments that demonstrate that departmental and ABET criteria are met. Prof. David Kraemer can guide instructors on what is appropriate.

• Fall 2028 – due October 1, 2028
• Spring 2029 – due February 12, 2029
  

Use this Whiting School Course Syllabus Microsoft Word template to create your ABET-compatible syllabus.

WHY
First, there is certain key information that students ought to be provided at the start of the semester. This template will ensure that they have that information. Further, a clear statement on ethics will help to avoid problems. Different faculty members have different expectations on how students collaborate; laying out those expectations clearly is important.

Second, nationally – and at Johns Hopkins – there is a growing emphasis on student learning outcomes. Students should be given (and regulators expect us to provide) information about the objectives of your course and the expectations of what they will learn.

Third, a consistent format across the school not only is helpful to students, but will be valuable during accreditation (for ABET and for Middle States). We’ve set up this template to be sure that the information accreditors want to see is present and easy to find.

DO I HAVE TO FOLLOW THIS FORMAT EXACTLY?
No. Indeed some departments will prepare a variation on the template because their ABET Outcomes are different (as in Computer Science) or arranged differently.  There may be parts of this that simply do not apply to your course. For example, an advanced graduate research course might require rather different information and various pieces of this document might not apply.

I ALREADY HAVE MY OWN TEMPLATE. CAN I USE THAT?
No.  Please use the template above for consistency.

OK. WHAT DO I DO?
Download the template file and edit these:

Course syllabus heading and number– department, course number, course title, semester/year, number of credits, and distribution codes.

1. Course – Course number and name
2. Credits and contact hours – number of credits
3. Instructor – instructor’s name
4. Textbook – title, author, and year and add info on any supplemental materials.
5. Course Information
   • Description – copy the description from the Mechanical Engineering section of the course catalog.
   • Prerequisite or Co-requisite – add, if any.
   • Indicate whether a required, elective, or selected elective (per Table 5-1) course in the program – either “This is a required course” or “This is an elective course.”
6. Goals
   • Instructional Outcomes: specific outcomes, e.g., “Students will be able to…” statements.
   • Student Outcomes: explicitly indicate which of the student outcomes listed in Criterion 3 or any other outcomes are addressed by the course. Note the outcomes that are assigned to your course in the “Course Samples – What’s Required from Each Course” on this page and be sure to include those.
7. Topics to be Covered: Brief list of topics to be covered.

When your course syllabus is finished, submit it to the this One Drive file

Course Samples will be collected for courses being assessed.

ABET requires course samples for assignments, quizzes, exams, reports, homework relevant to departmental and ABET criteria and other work for your courses this semester. Appropriate samples will be determined individually per course. Prof. David Kraemer will assist in this process. The default sample set, should no unique sample set be determined, will be three samples each of above average, average, and below average work per assignment.

These samples must be collected from you or your Teaching Assistants. We must obtain a copy of the assignments for each assignment.

ABOUT “RELEVANT HOMEWORK”
Note that we will need homework samples only for courses that help assess our achievement of student outcome criteria.  You can submit samples for all homework if that’s easier but that’s not required.

This document gives a synopsis of the courses where homework assignments will be needed.  If you need access, please contact David Kraemer at david.kraemer@jhu.edu.

NEW!  SEPARATE SAMPLES ARE NEEDED FOR BOTH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING and ENGINEERING MECHANICS MAJORS

ABET requires a separate set of both Mechanical Engineering majors and Engineering Mechanics majors.  If you have any Engineering Mechanics majors in your courses, you must obtain samples for at least three of them (or however many you have if less than three) and then an additional set of samples for Mechanical Engineering majors.

DUE DATES FOR SAMPLES

• Fall 2028 – due January 10, 2029
• Spring 2029 – due May 27, 2029

COURSES NEEDING SAMPLES

The following is a list of assignments in which we will collect homework samples:

• EN.500.114 Gateway Computing – Simulate object trajectory (Criterion 1 – Solve Problems), Object-oriented Programming application (Criterion 7 – New Knowledge)
• EN.530.108 MechE Undergraduate Seminar – Ethics homework (Criterion 4 – Ethics)
• EN.530.115 MechE Freshman Lab I – Fall Design project (Criterion 5 – Teams)
• EN.530.116 MechE Freshman Lab II – Spring Design project (Criterion 2 – Design), Project report (Criterion 3 – Communication)
• EN.530.124 Intro to Mechanics II – Homework TBD (Criterion 1 – Solve Problems)
• EN.530.201 Statics and Mechanics of Materials and EN.530.211 Statics and Mechanics of Materials Lab – any one homework assignment the instructor feels addresses each of Criterion 1 – Solve Problems and Criterion 6 – Experimentation.  The same or different assignments can address these criteria.
• EN.530.202 Dynamics – any one homework assignment the instructor feels addresses Criterion 1 – Solve Problems.
• EN.530.212 Dynamics Lab – Lab work TBD (Criterion 6 – Experimentation)
• EN.530.215 Mechanics Based Design – any one homework assignment the instructor feels addresses each of Criterion 1 – Solve Problems and Criterion 2 – Design. The same or different assignments can address these criteria.  Homework 5, Problem 2 was selected.
• EN.530.216 Mechanics Based Design Lab – Design project (Criterion 2 – Design and Criterion 5 – Teams) and any one homework assignment the instructor feels addresses each of Criteria 3 and 6. The same or different assignments can address these two criteria.
• EN.530.231 Thermodynamics – any one homework assignment the instructor feels addresses each of Criterion 1 – Solve Problems and Criterion 4 – Ethics. The same or different assignments can address these criteria.
• EN.530.232 Thermodynamics Lab – any one homework assignment the instructor feels addresses each of Criterion 3 – Communication and Criterion 6 – Experimentation. The same or different assignments can address these criteria.
• EN.530.327 Fluid Mechanics – Pipe Flow problem (Criterion 1 – Solve Problems), Design Project (Criterion 7 – New Knowledge) and any one homework assignment the instructor feels addresses Criterion 3 – Communication.
• EN.530.329 Fluid Mechanics Lab – Lab 3 report (Criterion 3 – Communication and Criterion 6 – Experimentation)
• EN.530.403 Senior Design Project I – Preliminary Design Review (all Criteria)
• EN.530.404 Senior Design Project II – Final Design Review (all Criteria)

We will be collecting samples in One Drive.

1. Obtain samples: a cross-sampling of excellent, average, and below-average examples of the homework that addresses the criteria being assessed in your course as noted in the “Course Samples – What’s Needed…” section above. You may be able to download these directly from your course’s Canvas system or scan them from paper or electronic samples.
2. Label each sample
   • On the Top of the form, note the assignment type and sample type, for example: “Homework 1, Excellent 1” or “Homework 2, Average 1.”
   • If you have multiple samples of the same assignment, you can label the sample type “(assignment type and number), Excellent 1,” “(assignment type and number), Excellent 2,” “(assignment type and number), Excellent 3,” “(assignment type and number), Average 1,” “(assignment type and number), Average 2,” and so on until the last one “(assignment type and number), Below-Average 3.”
   • On each sample, note the student’s major.  Please collect samples of only Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics majors, as we need samples for both majors.  We do not need samples of students from other majors.
3. Provide problem sets or questions: please have the problem sets or questions of every assignment that you plan to upload.
4. Upload the file:  Upload your samples to the ABET Course Samples ’23 folder.  Simply upload your samples and problem sets/questions to your course’s specific folder (Note, a new file will be set up for the 2028-29 course sample collection later).

Do this as you go instead of waiting until the last days of the semester. If you can spread out the work through the semester, it will be much easier.

If collection is needed, the academic staff will collect textbooks that will be used for display during the ABET Accreditation visit in Fall 2029. This includes all courses assessed in Spring 2028, Fall 2028, and Spring 2029.  They will contact course instructors later to begin the collection process.

NOTE: textbook collection was not done for the 2022-23 visit and it is not expected to be needed in future visits.

Summer 2018 – Continuous Improvement

• Determine process to document in detail our curriculum and course review, outcomes assessment, objective review with constituents. What data is necessary? What should we change from current practice so we expand beyond grades as the primary measure?
• What process will update or replace Partial Score Assessments to gather data needed to identify needs and actions for continuous improvement? How will documentation be achieved?
• Begin documentation – and save in a central location.
• Streamline the process and document very specifically.

2019-2020-2021

• Employ process to identify and act to achieve continuous improvement every year.
• Participate in Whiting School kickoff meetings and planning.
• Identify courses taught every other year to be taught in 2021-22 that will miss the 2022-23 academic year. Arrange for course syllabi and course sample collection.
• Pre-Accreditation Orientation meeting with the Whiting School – August 2021
• Fall 2021 – ask Advisory Committee members to be available for the Fall 2023 ABET visit.

These were the outcomes in which ABET assessed our programs for the 2011-2017 assessment period:

• A – Math / Science Skills
• B – Laboratory Experimental Skills
• C – Design Skills
• D – Teamwork
• E – Solve Engineering Problems
• F – Professional and Ethical Responsibility
• G – Written and Oral Communications
• H – Global Impact / Broad Perspectives
• I – Lifelong Learning
• J – Contemporary Issues
• K – Modern Engineering Tools

See the ABET EAC webpage (Criterion 3) for more detailed definitions.

In 2018, ABET changed the criteria to the following:

The program must have documented student outcomes. Attainment of these outcomes prepares graduates to enter the professional practice of engineering. Student outcomes are outcomes (1) through (7) plus any additional outcomes that may be articulated by the program.

1. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
2. An ability to apply both analysis and synthesis in the engineering design process, resulting in designs that meet desired needs.
3. An ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
4. An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
5. An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
6. An ability to recognize the ongoing need for additional knowledge and locate, evaluate, integrate, and apply this knowledge appropriately.
7. An ability to function effectively on teams that establish goals, plan tasks, meet deadlines, and analyze risk and uncertainty

The department has been collecting information on continuous improvement of courses and processes.  Dave Kraemer has been collecting data each semester for the affected courses.  This data will be available to create our Self-Study.  The information below is derived from past accreditations and may not directly apply.  It remains as an archival record.

TO BE COLLECTED IN 2018-19, 2020-21, 2022-23
Fall semesters due ~February 2
Spring semesters due ~August 15

It is vital that instructors provide partial score assessments for every semester that describes the concepts and work samples used to achieve competency in our students in each of the outcome criteria. The department must describe these for specific criteria on the tabs below.

NOTE: Effective Spring 2016, the department has decided to focus only on core courses.  Assessments will no longer be needed for electives.

Freshman

If you have concerns about the criteria assigned to your courses, please contact Mike to discuss them.

Sophomore

If you have concerns about the criteria assigned to your courses, please contact Mike to discuss them.

Junior

If you have concerns about the criteria assigned to your courses, please contact Mike to discuss them.

Senior

The Whiting School supports the ABET Accreditation process for all of its programs.