Frequently asked questions

ABET accreditation is a review, by ABET’s volunteer experts, that confirms a college or university program meets the quality standards of its profession. ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that accredits programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. According to abet.org it currently accredits 4,863 programs at 950 colleges and universities in 42 countries. See our guide to ABET accreditation.

It gives graduates a degree that employers, licensing bodies and graduate schools recognize. Graduation from an ABET-accredited program is a prerequisite for many licensing and certifying bodies, and ABET signs mutual recognition agreements (the Washington, Sydney, Dublin and Seoul Accords, among others) that extend recognition of its accredited programs internationally. It also gives the program a structured continuous-improvement process.

No. ABET accredits individual educational programs, each leading to a degree. It does not accredit institutions or departments.

Programs that fall under one of ABET’s four commissions: engineering (EAC; bachelor’s and master’s), engineering technology (ETAC; associate and bachelor’s), computing (CAC; associate, bachelor’s and master’s) and applied and natural science (ANSAC; associate, bachelor’s and master’s). The program name must describe its content, and engineering program names must include the word “engineering”.

The institution must be a recognized degree-granting institution with control over the program; the program must have had at least one graduate within the two academic years before the on-site review; and an institution with no ABET-accredited programs in that commission must first complete a Readiness Review. Details are in our eligibility section.

Every program must meet the General Criteria of its commission: 1 Students, 2 Program Educational Objectives, 3 Student Outcomes, 4 Continuous Improvement, 5 Curriculum, 6 Faculty, 7 Facilities and 8 Institutional Support. A program must also satisfy the Program Criteria for its discipline, written with ABET’s member societies.

A program with no deficiencies or weaknesses receives a Next General Review action, with a typical duration of six years. Accredited programs are reviewed comprehensively at intervals of no more than six years.

The institution submits a Request for Evaluation by January 31 of the year it wants the review, and the Self-Study Report by July 1. On-site reviews normally take place between September and December, and the final decision reaches the institution by August 31 of the following year.

It is the document in which a program shows, criterion by criterion, how it meets ABET’s criteria and policies. It must be written in English and follows the Self-Study Questionnaire of the program’s commission. See how Academix generates it.

For programs outside the U.S., ABET’s 2026–27 fees are US $1,185 per program for a Readiness Review, $8,975 for the team chair and $8,975 per program evaluator for the review, then an annual maintenance fee of $1,685 per campus and commission plus $1,685 per accredited program. A first review of one program comes to about $19,135. See ABET accreditation cost.

For a first program at an institution new to the commission, about two years from the Readiness Review (by September 1) to the final decision (by August 31 two years later), after the program has graduates and assessment evidence. See the ABET timeline.

Specific, measurable statements that break a Student Outcome into parts a rubric can score, such as “presents technical work to a non-specialist audience” for communication. ABET’s criteria do not require them, but they are a common way to assess outcomes under Criterion 4. See performance indicators with examples.

Academix is ABET accreditation software for universities. Instructors enter assessment results, coordinators write course reports, quality managers follow readiness criterion by criterion, and the platform generates the Self-Study Report from the evidence collected over the cycle.

All four: EAC, CAC, ETAC and ANSAC, with each commission’s Student Outcomes and Self-Study outline. The 2026–27 Program Criteria of every EAC, ETAC and CAC discipline are included word for word; for ANSAC disciplines the criteria are named and cited.

Academix is licensed per department, per year, for one to three years. You request a quote, receive it by email, and pay by invoice; there is no online payment. See pricing.

Academix is hosted by Jahiz Digital Solutions. Each institution gets its own address and its own database, and nothing is shared between customers. Access inside the platform follows each person’s role and department, and the database is backed up weekly.

Yes. We run live online demos on request. Book a demo and tell us about your programs and your next ABET visit.

Academix is built for ABET. Its course reports can also be exported in the ETEC TP-154 format used by Saudi universities, but it does not claim alignment with NCAAA standards.