AUD School of engineering gets ABET accreditation

Dubai,Sep 08th, 2008 (WAM): The American University in Dubai (AUD) has recently received notice that the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has taken the decision to accredit the School of Engineering through its three academic programs in Civil, Computer, and Electrical Engineering, said a statement.

All the programs are accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education in the UAE.

The ABET Accreditation complements the recent independent accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), one of America's seven regional accrediting commissions, an addition to the two accreditations received by AUD since 1996.

Part of its strategic goals, AUD has been pursuing professional accreditation for all its academic units, as an impetus to continuous quality improvement and a sign of excellence. As a result, the School of Engineering can now boast possession of the most prestigious accreditation imparted to engineering programs: ABET.

'Since joining AUD two years ago as the Dean of the School of Engineering, Dr. Alaa Ashmawy has worked tirelessly to bring the engineering programs (curricular, in terms of faculty, standards, student advising, and outreach) to a level worthy of world-class recognition; and the awarding of ABET accreditation is the culmination of this process,' said Dr. Lance de Masi, AUD President. This quest for quality driving the administration and faculty of the School has proved its effectiveness as recent AUD graduates in engineering have gone on to pursue graduate studies on fellowships and grants in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Dr. Alaa Ashmawy, Dean School of Engineering commented 'this is a significant milestone for the AUD School of Engineering. As our School was founded in 2003, we are the first outside the United States to secure ABET accreditation within such a short time frame. This is a strong testament to the quality of our programs and a culmination of the exceptional efforts of our faculty and students over the past years'.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2008.