WWU’s Engineering Programs Receive ABET Accreditation

Western Washington University’s bachelor’s degree programs in Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and Plastics & Composites Engineering have been accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. 

ABET accreditation assures that programs meet standards to produce graduates ready to enter critical technical fields that are leading the way in innovation and emerging technologies, and anticipating the welfare and safety needs of the public.

“Achieving accreditation for these new engineering programs is the result of a lot of work by a lot of people,” said Jeff Newcomer, chair of Western’s Engineering and Design Department. “I’m very pleased for our students and especially for the graduates of all three programs, for they were the ones who had faith in our ability to successfully get the programs accredited.  It was a true team effort, and I’m very proud of the work that was done by the team.”

Brad Johnson, dean of Western’s College of Science and Engineering, agreed.

“This is a significant event for the college and the institution as a whole. I greatly appreciate the hard work that went into making the transition to Engineering work, and look forward to building the programs from this important milestone,” he said.

The process for ABET accreditation started in 2013 when the Washington legislature funded the transition of WWU’s Engineering Technology programs to become full engineering programs, and the first class of 31 engineering students graduated in June 2016. The accreditation is retroactive, so all of the 2016 and 2017 engineering graduates now have ABET accredited degrees.

Sought worldwide, ABET’s voluntary peer-review process is highly respected because it adds critical value to academic programs in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines, where quality, precision and safety are of the utmost importance.

ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). It currently accredits 3,709 programs at over 750 colleges and universities in 30 countries.

More information about ABET, its member societies and the accreditation criteria used to evaluate programs can be found at www.abet.org. 

For more information about Western’s degree programs in Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and Plastics & Composites Engineering, visit https://cse.wwu.edu/engd.