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| School of Technology Getting a Head’s Up on Accreditation |
by John Gagnon, promotional writer
Three faculty in the School of Technology are doing double duty with regards to accreditation: they are training and serving as evaluators of other institutions and also using that experience to achieve the school's own accreditation goals.
Interim Dean James Frendewey says that faculty who immerse themselves in the accreditation of other institutions will not only serve their profession but also enable the School of Technology to "stay ahead of changes in the process."
"We must stay current," Frendewey says. "Accreditation criteria are steadily evolving. Standards change. It's important to have people involved so we learn about curriculum emphasis and requirements."
He noted that the accreditation process used to involve largely a checklist; now it's "assessment-driven"--a more complicated regimen of "vision, goals and outcomes."
"The immediate goal," he says, "is to get all of our own programs fully accredited. The long-term goal is the growth, maturation, and continuing improvement of the school."
Some programs--mechanical engineering technology, electrical engineering technology, and surveying engineering--are accredited and must be recertified over the next few years.
Others--construction management and industrial technology--must be accredited for the first time.
The accreditation effort stems from the evolution in the School of Technology from two- to four-year programs. "The school has changed its character," Frendewey says, "and we want the foundation for continued growth in place."
There are accreditation agencies that involve three faculty in the School as evaluators in the following disciplines: Assistant Professor Nasser Alaraje (electrical engineering technology and computer engineering technology); Associate Professor John Irwin (industrial technology); and Assistant Professor Aurenice Oliveira (also electrical engineering technology).
Irwin recently returned from his first accreditation visit to an Ohio university as an evaluator for the Association of Technology, Management and Applied Engineering. He sums up his work in part: "It's a preview of what's going to happen here on campus."
Alaraje recently evaluated a New York university for the Technical Accreditation Commission, a unit of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology. Noting that the EET program must be reaccredited in three years, he says, "We need to start preparing now." He adds that being involved in other institutions "will allow us to manage the process of our own accreditation really well."
Oliveira is training online to be an evaluator. She will also attend a class for two days of intensive hands-on instruction. She says of her duty: "I want to learn how I can improve--and how I can improve our program. It's part of my service to the University."
The School of Technology has 26 faculty and 430 students. The goal is to have 550 students by 2013.
The oldest bachelor's program is land surveying (now surveying engineering); the newest are electrical engineering technology, mechanical engineering technology, industrial technology, and construction management (all 2005). Computer network and system administration began in 2003.
Additional in-house accreditation efforts involve Associate Professor John Daavettila in construction management and Assistant Professor Guy Hembroff in computer network and system administration. |
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