Engineering undergraduate degree programs are accredited by ABET. Our initial accreditation application cannot be made until our charter class graduates May 2020, which makes Summer 2021 as the earliest date it is possible for us to be granted accreditation. As is common for new engineering programs, we will request that our accreditation be made retroactive back to our charter class so that their degrees are included. We will also request permission from Professional Engineers of North Carolina for all of the students in our inaugural class to take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, the first step to professional engineering licensure.
Our Dean Jenna Carpenter, Associate Dean Michele Miller and Dr. Alison Polasik are accreditation experts. Dr. Carpenter is an ABET Program Evaluator for General Engineering programs (under the American Society for Engineering Education). Dean Carpenter has also personally led, as department head and associate dean, 14 programs on her own campus through successful re-accreditation by ABET, including 10 programs at Louisiana Tech in the 2014-15 academic year. Dr. Miller was a Program Evaluator for Mechanical Engineering programs from 2007 to 2014. She is currently an ABET Engineering Accreditation Commissioner and Team Chair for accreditation visits.
An ABET accreditation application is a years-long process! Consequently, the School of Engineering is already working toward accreditation of its program by ABET. This process includes developing learning experiences which help students achieve ABET’s eleven student outcomes. These range from the ability to identify, formulate and solve engineering programs to the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context. It also involves assembling an outstanding faculty; innovative laboratory and classroom spaces; safety training, policies and procedures; a culture of ethics and professionalism; solid student advising and extracurricular learning experiences; library resources; and an external Industrial Advisory Board composed of engineering experts in the Research Triangle Region and beyond to provide guidance on current industry needs and trends.
Program Educational Objectives
Student Outcomes
Enrollment Data
| Semester | First-YearS | Sophomores | Juniors | Seniors | TotaL |
| Fall 2016 | 88 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 88 |
| Fall 2017 | 49 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 116 |
| Fall 2018 | 60 | 51 | 56 | 0 | 167 |
| Fall 2019 | 66 | 64 | 40 | 38 | 218 |