Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Gosney | CAS Marketing and Communications Manager | 405-744-7497 | egosney@okstate.edu
Oklahoma State University’s computer science program received accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) on Aug. 31. The accreditation applies retroactively from October 2020 onward
and includes OSU’s Stillwater, Tulsa and online CS programs.
The discussion of accreditation began in 2013 under former College of Arts and Sciences
dean Dr. Bret Danilowicz. The decision to actually seek it, however, didn’t happen
until 2016, when computer science professor Dr. K.M. George got the ball rolling.
“Danilowicz provided the support needed to undertake the activities and develop the
required self-study report,” George said. “So, I made it a priority for the department.
We first submitted in 2016 for review during the 2017-2018 cycle. We were informed
that we were not ready, primarily because a student outcome assessment and continuous
improvement process were not in place. I spent the next couple of years addressing
this deficiency and submitted a request for readiness review in summer 2020 for the
2021-22 review cycle.”
The 18-month accreditation process was not an easy task, George said. With multiple
steps to complete in order to even be reviewed, the computer science department faced
many challenges.
“We had to get faculty cooperation, collect assessment data, implement an assessment
and continuous improvement process and write a self-study report addressing all eight
criteria required by ABET, ” George said.
Dr. Blayne Mayfield, interim head of the Department of Computer Science, recognized
that the CS program accreditation in three OSU locations — Stillwater, Tulsa and online
— is a unique and valuable addition. Students graduating from the program are now
more compelling hires for potential employers.
“Let’s say you’re a student or a parent of a student getting ready to come to OSU
or looking at computer science degrees all over the region,” Mayfield said. “One of
the things you’re going to look at is if it’s an ABET accredited program, because
this improves their employability. It improves their chances relative to other candidates.
If I’m an employer and have two candidates with comparable resumes, one from a school
that’s not ABET accredited and one that is, I could be more likely to hire the one
from the ABET accredited school.”
To learn more about ABET accreditation, visit abet.org.
Story By:
Bella Vu, CAS student intern | bella.vu@okstate.edu
