ABET Accreditation

Program Mission Statement

Within the liberal arts learning atmosphere of the College, the Chemical Engineering program offers a curriculum that prepares its graduates to pursue a wide spectrum of career paths in chemical industries and enroll in top-ranked graduate programs. The graduates will have the necessary technical, communication, teamwork, and social skills to adjust to various facets of the profession and the changing technological challenges through lifelong learning.

Program Educational Objectives

The department defines educational objectives as “statements that describe the expected accomplishments of graduates during the first few years after graduation.” To achieve its mission regarding undergraduate student education in chemical engineering, the department has set the following five educational objectives.

While we recognize that some of our graduates will, because of their broad education, choose to follow career paths outside chemical engineering, the graduates who are practicing chemical engineers will:

  1. Apply foundational chemical engineering skills to address evolving techno-economic, societal, and environmental challenges
  2. Conduct themselves professionally and ethically and demonstrate a strong commitment to safety, public welfare, and the environment.
  3. Value diverse perspectives and promote ethical and inclusive behavior through their professional conduct and leadership.
  4. Communicate effectively to diverse audiences and support collaborative and dedicated teamwork.

In addition to achieving the departmental mission, the educational objectives are developed to address and meet the 2000 Criteria of the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, on Program Outcome and Assessment “a through k,” as listed in parentheses above.

Program Outcomes

An outcome is described as specific knowledge and skills that a student should possess at the time of graduation from an engineering program. With that view in mind, the chemical engineering faculty has identified 14 outcomes for the program. These outcomes, with their relevance to Criterion 3 of the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET and to the educational objectives of our program, are shown in Table 1. The first 11 outcomes listed in Table 1 are those instructed by Criterion 3 (a through k). The added three outcomes, l through n, are important to our program.

Table 1. Program outcomes of the Chemical Engineering Curriculum and their correlations to the Criterion 3 of the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET http://www.abet.org and the Educational Objectives of the program
No. Outcome Criterion 3 Educational Objectives
a Ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering a 1
b Ability to design and conduct experiments as well as to analyze and interpret data b 1
c Ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs c 1, 2
d Ability to function in multidisciplinary teams d 2, 3
e Ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems e 1
f Understanding of professional and ethical responsibility f 2
g Ability to communicate effectively g 2, 4
h Broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context h 2, 4
i Recognition of the need for, and the ability to engage in, lifelong learning i 5
j Knowledge of contemporary issues j 1, 2, 5
k Ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice k 1, 2, 4
l Understanding of safety and environmental factors b, c, e, f, h, j 2
m Understanding of engineering economics c, f, h, j 2
n Understanding of theoretical fundamentals a, b, c 1

Enrollment and Graduation Data

Engineering enrollment and graduation data for each program is archived by the Division of Engineering.