Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

2015 ABET Symposium

  • 12/30/14

ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that accredits college and university programs in the disciplines of applied science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. ABET accredits over 3,400 programs at nearly 700 colleges and universities in 28 countries. ABET provides specialized, programmatic accreditation that evaluates an individual program of study, rather than evaluating an institution as a whole.

2015 ABET Symposium
Atlanta, GA
April 23-24, 2015

Constructive Disruption

Higher education is facing an unprecedented period of change. Technical educators have a strong history of embracing disruptive forces, but as institutions face growing pressures from external forces to rethink and transform the way they operate, even technical programs will find themselves impacted.

Over recent years, government has played a diminished role in funding higher education institutions. At the same time, online and blended learning are transforming how education is delivered, and student demographics are shifting, all while tuition climbs and emerging alternatives to traditional on campus education raise questions about the efficacy of conventional institutional and degree structures.

The 2015 ABET Symposium will explore these topics through the lenses of three high-profile plenary speakers: Chancellor of the State University of New York Nancy Zimpher will articulate the change imperatives facing higher education and explain why technical educators need to be agents for embracing change in their institutions. Deputy Director, Postsecondary Success of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Jason Palmer will offer insight on the growth in unconventional learning institutions and delivery methods as well as their implications for accreditation. Former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) Chris Inglis will draw on his years at the agency to speak on the rapidly growing demand for cyber security professionals and the future of the nascent academic discipline.

For more information or to register, log on to www.abet.org/symposium.

Featured

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.