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University Accreditation

The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) fulfills its mission toward engineering education, in part, through its involvement with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). TMS is the ABET Participating Body with lead society curricular responsibility for programs in metallurgical, materials and similarly named engineering programs, including programs in polymers, welding engineering and welding technology.

TMS appoints representatives to the ABET Board and its commissions, and appoints members to serve on accreditation teams to visit the programs for which TMS has curricular responsibility or shares responsibility with another participating society.

The TMS Accreditation Committee is responsible for ratifying the program criteria with which metallurgical and materials science engineering programs across the United States are evaluated. Qualified volunteer program evaluators are always in demand, particularly those employed in industry, women and minorities.

To be considered for an appointment as a program evaluator, the individual must:

• Have been actively practicing or teaching metallurgical or materials engineering during the preceding six years
• Have achieved a level of professional stature commensurate with this responsibility.

The evaluators must satisfy a number of criteria relating to ABET needs and the needs of the metallurgical/materials profession as a whole including:

• Geographic distribution (evaluators should not visit institutions near home.)
• Academic/nonacademic distribution (reasonable representation from both is desirable).
• Area of specialization distribution (evaluators for various types of programs must be available).
• Group size consistent with an evaluator making a visit at least every other year during term of appointment.

For more information on becoming an evaluator volunteer, view the ABET Powerpoint presentation and visit http://www.abet.org/volunteer.shtml for a list of qualifications, training process, and the application form.

Nominations/solicitations for evaluators are made at the fall meeting of the TMS Accreditation Committee and must include a full resume, letter of intent, and names of references. At the fall meeting, a review committee investigates the qualifications of the nominee and makes recommendation based upon both the nominee's qualifications and evaluator group considerations. A nominee receiving a majority vote will be presented to the committee for final approval as an evaluator candidate. Candidates then must complete the training requirements.

EVALUATOR TRAINING

All candidates for evaluators must attend a special training session, held at the TMS Annual Meeting, usually held in the early part of each calendar year or alternatively at the American Ceramic Society's annual spring meeting if sufficient materials program candidates request a session.

After successful completion, the candidate will be expected to participate in a visit as an observer to assist the regular program evaluator. Following the visit, the observer will submit a draft "Statement to the Institution," which will be critiqued by the review committee and the regular program evaluator. Positive recommendations of both the review committee and the regular program evaluator will constitute completion of the training.

Candidates satisfactorily completing the training requirements will be presented to the TMS Accreditation Committee for addition to the evaluator list to be submitted for approval to the TMS Board of Directors.

EVALUATOR RESPONSBILITIES

Appointments are for an eight-year period with an annual review of performance for continuation of appointment.

All evaluators who make a visit must submit a copy of the visit report to TMS Headquarters. A report review committee will review each report and provide feedback to the evaluator. An unsatisfactory report review will mandate that evaluator participate in another training session prior to another visit. Two unsatisfactory report reviews will be an automatic removal from the approved list.

All evaluators must attend a review training session every second year. These reviews are held at a TMS Accreditation Committee meeting or at an American Ceramic Society meeting.

CURRENT ABET ISSUES

Reciprocal Accreditation
ABET has begun the development of reciprocal accreditation recognitions with the signatory countries to the Washington Accord on the mutual recognition of evaluation programs (signatories of the accord include Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States). Requests are continually received for ABET to conduct consultancy visits to universities in other countries.

NAFTA requires that professionals be allowed to practice in Canada and Mexico without undue restrictions. ABET is working toward that goal, as described in the Policies and Procedures Manual for ABET Substantial Equivalency Evaluations.

FOR MORE INFORMATION . . .

For additional information please visit the Accreditation Committee page of the TMS Committee Home Pages, which members can access in the Members-Only area. Or please contact:

TMS Executive Assistant
(724) 776-9000, ext. 238
nlesko@tms.org