Report of the Representative Directors to ABET

1
Report of theRepresentative Directors to ABET

• Bruce Eisenstein, Michael Lightner and Moshe Kam
• IEEE Representative Directors to ABET
• Educational Activities Board
• 15 November 2008
• Agenda Item 8.1

2
ABET Board Meeting

• The ABET Board of Directors met on 1 November
  2008 in Louisville, KY
• IEEE representation
• Part 1 Eisenstein, King, Kam (for S. Kerns)
• Skip Fletcher presiding
• Part 2 Eisenstein, Lightner, Kam
• Joe Sussman presiding

3
Personnel Changes

• Dr. George Peterson no longer serves as ABETs
  Executive Director
• Starting January 2009 he will be in charge of
  international business development
• Lance Hoboy (CFO) is Acting Executive Director

4
ABET Officers

• President Joseph L. Sussman,
• President-Elect David K. Holger
• Secretary Phillip E. Borrowman,
• Treasurer Daniel J. Bradley
• Past President L.S. "Skip" Fletcher

5
Information Flow

• ABET continues to ignore past promises regarding
  provision of information, timely compilation and
  distribution of minutes, and updating financial
  information
• 2009 president promised a change

IEEE follow-up needed
6
Major Issues

• Finances
• Governance (AP)
• Expansion of the Board Society of Fire
  Protection Engineering
• International travel

• COI consultation to non-US schools
• International accreditation exit strategies
• Definition of assessment (criteria 2/3)
• PAVE (AP)

7
Finances

• Reserves continue to be low (500K)
• 2008 FY surplus was 133K
• Definition of reserves was changed
• the total unrestricted net assets minus the net
  investment in the fixed assets
• Under new definition reserves are negative
• Long-term forecasts depend heavily on success of
  international accreditation
• Unrealistic in our opinion

8
5 year forecast

• Predicts significant growth of the reserves (by
  any definition)
• From 734K (-33K)to 3.8M (3.1M) in 5 years

9
Finances (2)

• Attempt to adjust maintenance fees to take into
  account number of graduates was postponed
• so that impact can be assessed better
• A series of travel micro-management motions was
  defeated

10
Travel Policy

• The issue is not resolved
• ABET asks volunteers to sign a release form,
  absolving ABET from all responsibility
• There is some insurance coverage but extent and
  applicability are not clear
• ABET is using IEEE program evaluators to travel
  to countries under US S.D. warning
• These volunteers are NOT assigned by IEEE

IEEE follow-up needed
11
Conflict of Interest Supplying Consultants to
programs outside the US

• The issue is finally recognized
• Several proposals were made on how to keep
  consultation separate from accreditation
  activities
• Including a proposal to provide consultancy
  through the ABET Foundation

IEEE follow-up needed
12
INTAC report Peru

• INTAC reports on activities concerning ICACIT
• The current direction taken by ICACIT is somewhat
  surprising
• The exit strategy calls for a long time
  involvement of ABET (at least 6 years)

13
Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE)

• Motion Approve the application of the Society
  of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) for admission
  as a Member Society of ABET
• Society has 4500 members
• Grand Total of 2 programs (!)
• SFPE is not at this time proposing program
  criteria for fire protection engineering and
  technology programs, but fully intends to do so
  by the time of ratification as a member society
  within ABET or shortly thereafter.

14
Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE)

• IEEE objected to the addition to SFPE as a member
  of the ABET Board of Directors
• We were the sole dissenters
• BTW, INCOSE is now on the BoD
• We did not ratify

15
Accreditation Council

• 13.2 Changes to assessment definition
• The item is for information only
• However this is the first time that direct
  assessment is explicitly mentioned in the
  definition

16
Other Issues

• PAVE to be covered by Arnie Peskin
• Governance To be covered by Arnie Peskin
• New committee on accreditation of programs that
  use alternative delivery Moshe Kam, Chair

17
Final Observations

• ABET continues to be led by officials who are
  elected from single-candidate slates
• We will ask that at least several key positions
  be elected from a two-candidate slates
• Including ABET officers

IEEE follow-up needed
18
Comments and Questions

• Discussion