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ABET accreditation of engineering programs of Tecnológico de

Monterrey

20 years’ experience (1992-2012)WEEF 2012

October 15, 2012Buenos Aires , Argentina

Dr. Teófilo RamosDirector of Institutional

RelationsTecnológico de Monterrey

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ABET contribution to the establishment of the Mexican engineering accreditation

agency CACEI• 1991 Curt Tomkins, ASEE President and Leslie

Benmark ABET President, gave a presentation on the American system of engineering accreditation to the Mexican Engineering Deans Council in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mx.

• 1992 David Reyes Guerra, ABET Executive Director offered a workshop on accreditation of engineering programs to the Mexican Engineering Deans Council in Tampico, Mx.

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• 1993 Mexican Engineering Deans Council in Puebla issued an unanimous declaration in favor of the establishment of an I independent Mexican accreditation systems of engineering programs

• 1994 The Mexican agency for accreditation of engineering programs (CACEI) was established with

a great collaboration and support from ABET.• CACEI was the first program accrediting agency established in

Mexico • Currently CACEI is the largest program accrediting agency

with 739 accredited programs, and there are other 26 accrediting agencies

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• 1992 ABET evaluated 7 engineering programs of Tecnológico de Monterrey and the evaluation

team concurred that the undergraduate programs evaluated were equivalent to those

programs that were accredited by ABET in the US. (substantially equivalent programs)

• 2012 There are 24 programs of Tecnologico de Monterrey from 5 different campus

accredited by ABET and all the engineering programs are currently accredited by CACEI

• 2012 there are other 7 ABET accredited programs from 4 Mexican institutions in Mexico

ABET Accreditation in Tecnologico de Monterrrey

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Acreditation in Tecnologico de Monterrrey

The efforts of institutional accreditation and of specific programs have triggered changes of great impact at the institution

Curriculum Faculty Students Infrastructure Organization

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Changes in the curriculum

More flexibility in the programs Establishment and operation of the

Academies To include more courses of humanities and

social sciences in engineering Formalization of general education Education in ethics, citizenship, innovation

and sustainable development across the curriculum

Graduate profiles based on program objectives and competences

Assessment of program objectives through graduate follow up

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Changes in Faculty

Better academic credentials Change in attitude: greater openness and

flexibility, less protagonic New role of teacher role: facilitator More participatory teaching methods focused on

learning of the student Advanced didactic techniques: PBL, POL, cases,

collaborative learning, service learning

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Changes in Students

More participative learning Co-responsability in the learning process Proactive role in the learning process Understand the importance of formation vs.

information better admission standards

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Changes in Infrastructura

Better technological and computational infrastructure

Better sports and cultural facilities Design and construction of new spaces for

learning

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Tecnologico de Monterrey system to administer the assessment of academic programs

• One of the main challenges for an institution that is not familiar con the new approach of the accreditation systems is to define and assess the program and learning outcomes

• In order to confront this challenge, Tec de Mty developed a system for the administration and follow up of the assessment of learning and program outcomes for all the programs in all of the campus.

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Final comments

Accreditation processes represent a great mechanism for continuous improvement and encourage innovation

Emphasis is on results: the success of the graduates

Focuses on learning and developing skills of students

The main barrier is the resistance to cultural change that this implies in our institutions

Accreditation shouldn’t be the only mean of quality assurance for the program. The institution should always be looking different ways to make ensure that it has a program of excellence.