ABET Preparations and Experiences Related to Water Resources

In the Fall of 1999, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh underwent an accreditation visit using ABET Criteria 2000. Although the preparations were made for the whole program, aspects of the process that particularly relate to water resources engineering will be highlighted in this paper. ABET Criteria 2000 require that graduates of civil engineering programs must demonstrate proficiency in at least four areas of civil engineering. This requirement is unique to civil engineering programs and is the outgrowth of ASCE's recommendations. Our Department chose water resources as one of the four areas on which to focus its preparations. The development of program and course objectives, program outcomes and assessment methods will be examined. Concerns, weaknesses and deficiencies are terms which describe a program's degree of compliance with Criteria 2000. Because of a certificate program which the Department had instituted, a weakness was identified which required some modifications to the curriculum. Our approach to the process of resolving this difficulty will be discussed.