Sept. 26, 2023
Contact Emily Vanderfleet at 608-796-3456 or ejvanderfleet@viterbo.edu
VITERBO UNIVERSITY ENGINEERING PROGRAM AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS ABET ACCREDITATION; PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE OCT. 6
LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Viterbo University bachelor’s degree program in engineering has been accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.
A celebratory public open house will be held from 3–5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6 on the second floor of the Viterbo D.B. and Marge Reinhart Center for Ethics, Science, and Technology. The event will feature a display of engineering projects and opportunities to tour the engineering lab and talk with department faculty about the program.
“We are very excited about the news because ABET is the gold standard in engineering academic accreditation,” said Emily Vanderfleet, PhD, associate professor and chair of the Viterbo department of engineering, math, and computer science. “This affirms the quality of our program and expands the range of opportunities for our engineering graduates.”
Sought worldwide, ABET’s voluntary peer-review process is highly respected because it adds critical value to academic programs in the technical disciplines, where quality, precision, and safety are of the utmost importance. Developed by technical professionals from ABET’s member societies, ABET criteria focus on what students experience and learn. ABET accreditation reviews look at program curricula, faculty, facilities, and institutional support and are conducted by teams of highly skilled professionals from industry, academia, and government, with expertise in the ABET disciplines.
ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization with ISO 9001:2015 certification. It currently accredits 4,564 programs at 895 colleges and universities in 40 countries and areas.More information about ABET, its member societies, and the accreditation criteria used to evaluate programs can be found at www.abet.org.
The engineering major at Viterbo began in fall 2018. The program’s first cohort of graduates received their degrees in spring 2022, at which time the university was eligible to apply for ABET accreditation. ABET accreditation is retroactive to Oct. 1, 2021.
A unique aspect of the Viterbo engineering major is that it allows students to apply academics and theory to real world, hands-on projects. The program also features a very active advisory board consisting of representatives from eight local employers.
“All of these companies offer our students internships, provide guest speakers, and work with us on curriculum development,” Vanderfleet said. “There is a real need in the community for what we’re doing.”
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