ABET Accredited

The Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering degree at NDSU is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Agricultural and Similarly Named Engineering Programs, and Program Criteria for Biological and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering students are well qualified for and encouraged to take the national Fundamentals of Engineering examination. This is the first step in the process of registration as a professional engineer.

Accreditation provides an opportunity for academic institutions to demonstrate they are committed to maintaining their programs' quality and that their programs are performing at the level required by the professions they serve. Programs undergo periodic accreditation to ensure that they continue to meet quality standards set by the profession. The result provides lasting benefits to students, the institution, employers, the professions, and society as a whole.

When a program becomes ABET-accredited, it means that it:

  • Has received international recognition of its quality
  • Promotes "best practices" in education
  • Directly involves faculty and staff in self-assessment and continuous quality improvement processes
  • Is based on "learning outcomes," rather than "teaching inputs"
  • Can more easily determine the acceptability of transfer credits

Earning a degree is a significant achievement and an important investment in your future. Since so much of your future success depends on your educational foundation, the quality of the education you receive makes a big difference.

Earning a degree from an ABET-accredited program:

  • Verifies that the quality of the educational experience you’ve received meets the standards of the profession.
  • Increases and enhances employment opportunities.
  • Permits and eases entry to a technical profession through licensure, registration, and certification.
  • Establishes eligibility for many federal student loans, grants, and/or scholarships.
Program Educational Objectives (PEOs)

Graduates are expected to have established themselves as practicing engineers who, within a few years of graduation:

  • successfully address emerging engineering challenges in the design or evaluation of machine, processing, environmental, and natural resources systems that affect the production of food, feed, fuel, and other biobased products;
  • effectively use professional communication, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills as team leaders and members; and
  • responsibly serve the public and their employers by participating in and promoting professional development, while maintaining the highest standard of professional engineering ethics.

Student Outcomes in Relation to PEOs

Graduates are expected to have established themselves as practicing engineers who, within a few years of graduation:

PEOs
  • successfully address emerging engineering challenges in the design or evaluation of machine, processing, environmental, and natural resources systems that affect the production of food, feed, fuel, and other biobased products;

 

 

  • effectively use professional communication, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills as team leaders and team members; and

 

 

  • responsibly serve the public and their employers by participating in professional development and by maintaining the highest standard of professional engineering ethics.
Student Outcomes

Technical learning outcomes include student outcomes (1), (2), and (6):
1. an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
2. an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
6. an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions

 

Communicational learning outcomes include student outcomes (3) and (5):
3. an ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences
5. an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives

 

Contextual learning outcomes include student outcomes (4) and (7):
4. an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts
7. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies

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