Accreditation Renewed for Engineering Programs

The Engineering Accreditation Commission of The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has re-accredited academic programs offered in the College of Engineering at Valparaiso University. ABET Inc. is the recognized accrediting agency for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering and technology.

Covered by the action are programs leading to bachelor of science degrees in civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.

Renewal of accreditation was granted following a yearlong process that included an institutional self-study, preparation of departmental self-studies, and an on-site visit by representatives of the Engineering Accreditation Commission.

Kraig Olejniczak, dean of the College of Engineering, said the accreditation process publicly affirms the academic quality of the engineering programs and is important to students who desire to gain status as a licensed professional engineer (P.E.).

“We are pleased to have this important third-party endorsement of our engineering programs and the positive feedback we received from on-campus reviewers,” Olejniczak said. “Accreditation renewal comes at an exciting time at the University’s College of Engineering. We recently opened the Donald V. Fites Engineering Innovation Center, and students are playing a major role in the design and construction of the James S. Markiewicz Solar Energy Research Facility, which we expect to be operational in the fall of 2012.”

U.S. News & World Report magazine recently ranked Valparaiso University’s College of Engineering 27th out of 190 in the nation for quality among nondoctoral engineering institutions.

More information about Valpo’s College of Engineering can be found online at valpo.edu/engineering.