Wichita State University's College of Engineering has been reaccredited by the Accreditation Commission of ABET Inc., the recognized accreditor of college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering and technology. ABET accreditation demonstrates a program's commitment to providing its students with a quality education.

Some of the strengths cited were:

• Number of opportunities for freshman and sophomore students to obtain hands-on engineering experience, including working with faculty on research projects and participating in design, build and fly competitions.

• Many students gain real-world experiences through co-op/internship experiences and employment with the highly engaged local industry.

• The Cisco Networking Laboratory provides students laboratory experiences in computer networking co-op/internship opportunities.

• Faculty are committed to teaching and improving the quality of education.

One of the key elements of ABET accreditation is the requirement that programs continuously improve the quality of education provided. As part of this continuous improvement requirement, programs set specific, measurable goals for their students and graduates, assess their success at reaching those goals, and improve their programs based on the results of their assessment.

In addition to providing colleges and universities a structured mechanism to assess, evaluate and improve their programs, accreditation also helps students and their parents choose quality college programs, enables employers and graduate schools to recruit graduates they know are well-prepared, and is used by registration, licensure and certification boards to screen applicants.

ABET is a not-for-profit organization, owned and operated by its more than 25 professional and technical member societies. An internationally respected organization with some 1,500 volunteers, ABET has set the higher-education standards in its fields for nearly 75 years. More information is available at www.abet.org.

The Engineering Accreditation Commission evaluated WSU's aerospace, computer, electrical, industrial, manufacturing and mechanical engineering programs.