It’s official—when the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET-ETAC) accredited the BS Engineering Technology Management (ETM) program earlier this month, this achievement was especially good news—now all the undergraduate programs in the College of Engineering and Computer Science are accredited by ABET.
The UTC BS Engineering Technology Management program has two concentrations, Construction Management and Engineering Management. Construction Management, added in 2008 after great demand the college received from the Construction industry in Chattanooga and the surrounding area, was established when Associated General Contractors (AGC) of East Tennessee donated $150,000 seed money. It was the first four-year degree program in Construction Management in the state of Tennessee.
To seek accreditation, the program had to grow steadily and graduate students from the program, according to Dr. Neslihan Alp, UC Foundation Professor and Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies and Research and Department Head of Engineering Management and Technology.
“We waited until 2011 to submit our interest for the initial accreditation of the program,” Alp explained. “Since all of the other programs in the College of Engineering and Computer Science were accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), we decided to pursue the same path to be consistent with the other programs. In fall 2012, the ABET-Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC) Team came to visit us and reviewed our program. We had a very successful visit and in September 2013, we learned that our BS ETM program is now ABET-ETAC accredited, which is retroactive from fall 2011.”
Alp said the college appreciates its Advisory Board members’ and industry partners’ support during the accreditation process, which was a very lengthy and diligent period.
“We also appreciate their trust, support, and cooperation since the beginning of this revitalized program. The former ETM program had less than 5 students before 2008, we now have close to 100 students, and we graduate more than 20 students every year who find employment in regionally and nationally-recognized companies,” Alp stated.
Now that all the undergraduate programs in the College of Engineering and Computer Science are accredited by ABET from three different commissions, Engineering, Computer Science, and Engineering Technology, the quality of these established undergraduate programs is exciting news for many constituencies.
“This is great news for almost 1,000 undergraduate students in the College because it guarantees that no matter which program they choose in the College, they will get the best quality of education, which is stamped by an internationally accepted accreditation board, ABET. This is also great for the employers, so they will be sure of the quality of education their employees are getting at UTC in the College of Engineering and Computer Science,” Alp said.
