ABET selects Ohio State aerospace contributions for display at 2018 symposium
The report was spearheaded by Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Cliff Whitfield and is the result of substantial work by the department’s Continuous Quality Improvement Committee, which aims to ensure its undergraduate programs meet or exceed ABET’s high standards.
The chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Vish Subramaniam, commends the committee, particularly the efforts of Whitfield, for the work recognized nationally as being exemplary. “Our students can benefit from the exceptional effort by our faculty in ensuring that they receive a world-class education that will prepare them to become leaders in their fields,” says Subramaniam.
The in-depth report demonstrates tools and best practices for maintaining a high-achieving aeronautical and astronautical program. Whitfield’s specific contributions include developing, modeling and adapting assessment tools and processes for continuous improvement for Ohio State’s undergraduate aerospace engineering program. The report’s procedures and best practices will be showcased at the ABET Symposium as strategies replicable by other institutions.
“The quality of the self-study report developed by members of the Continuous Quality Improvement Committee required a significant effort by all members for this important program review process,” says Whitfield, an assistant professor of practice in the department since 2013. “It is exciting to see ABET recognize the quality of the report and program assessment process as an example for other engineering programs at the upcoming national symposium.” Whitfield focuses his research and engineering practice on manned and unmanned flight vehicle conceptual design, multidisciplinary flight vehicle design analysis and optimization, and applied aerodynamics.
According to ABET, the criteria for selection were designed to identify well-written and well-organized reports. During the 2018 ABET Symposium, which is held April 12-13, 2018 in San Diego, CA, there will be only 50 Self-Study Reports on display from all report categories.
ABET sets the global standard for college accreditation in the disciplines of applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology at the associate, bachelor and master degree levels. It is a non-profit, non-governmental organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
