EL-STEI Study Program's Outstanding Achievement: International Accreditation
The entire STEI family should be proud that one of its five study programs has received ABET International Accreditation. This achievement is the result of months of hard work by everyone at STEI.
ABET Accreditation
ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) ABET is a nonprofit organization owned and operated by more than 25 professional bodies and technical societies. It is an internationally respected organization with approximately 1,500 volunteers. ABET has been setting standards for higher education for 75 years.
ABET accreditation is a guarantee that a program of study has met a quality standard set by a relevant professional body. For example, the Electrical Engineering program meets the IEEE's quality standards. Achieving ABET accreditation demonstrates a program's commitment to providing a high-quality education to its students.
Kenapa ABET
The Electrical Engineering Study Program, as part of STEI, has a mission to provide high-quality, internationally recognized education. Of course, simply obtaining BAN accreditation is not enough, as BAN is a national accreditation body. However, the Electrical Engineering Study Program must also obtain national accreditation as a requirement for ABET accreditation.
To that end, STEI formed a special team tasked with preparing the ABET accreditation process more thoroughly and in detail. The team, consisting of 10 Electrical Engineering lecturers, carried out the ABET accreditation process similar to national accreditation, starting with an application for accreditation, then creating and submitting a "Self-Study Report" document containing information about the study program, and then followed by a visit by an ABET assessor to the EL study program.
This process does not take a short time, how come since the application to obtain accreditation status took more than 1 year, namely from January 2010 to August 2011. However, preparations for this accreditation have actually been going on since early 2007. This process takes time and energy as well as quite a long time of thought because there are many things that must be learned, prepared and also implemented in the implementation of the Electrical Engineering Study Program curriculum.
ABET examines and assesses nine criteria: Student Affairs, Program Objectives, Program Outcomes, Continuous Improvement, Curriculum, Faculty, Facilities, Support and Financial Facilities, and program-specific criteria.
Benefits of ABET Accreditation
Considering the lengthy process mentioned above, there will undoubtedly be significant benefits for institutions or study programs, namely the creation of a mechanism for measuring, evaluating, and improving program performance. With this system, instructors will easily be able to improve the implementation of lectures and practicums.
Another major benefit for EL students is that ABET accreditation guarantees the quality of their education. This will certainly make it easier for parents to choose a program of study. It will also make it easier for graduates to find work and continue their studies to a master's or doctoral degree.
In addition, of course, with international recognition, the opportunity to get high-quality students from both within and outside the country is greater so that not only the educational program benefits but also other programs within the STEI environment.
"ABET accreditation requires all of us to always be alert to changes both in terms of science and the needs of our country because this is the main principle in our continuous improvement. Of course, this process is a struggle that has been carried out for a long time and is indeed not easy, the recognition we get now is not the peak point but is a mandate that must be continuously improved. Hopefully, all of us with the help and support of the ITB environment will be able to continue fighting for the education of the Electrical Engineering study program in the future," said Ir. Yudi S. Gondokaryono, Ph.D as the head of the ABET team.