Quality assurance and outcomes-based assessment
"Quality assurance in education" means "that everyone (including students) involved in a program recognizes what they must do to establish and achieve appropriate learning and educational objectives; that the program implements education to achieve the learning and educational objectives; that the program graduates only those students who have achieved the learning and educational objectives; and that the program continuously improves the learning and educational objectives and the level of achievements". Greater emphasis is therefore placed on outcomes-based approaches ("What knowledge and abilities have the students achieved? "), rather than on input-based approaches ("What has been taught to the students? "). In recent years quality assurance in engineering education has come to be regarded around the world as a duty for educational institutions, and outcomes-based assessment of competence has become the global norm.
Principles of JABEE Accreditation System
- Never obstruct institution’s originality, diversity and innovation.
- Accreditation is a voluntary, not compulsory, process conducted upon request.
- Publish accreditation criteria and procedures to ensure transparency.
- Accreditation is authorized and neutral peer review.
- Publish the list of accredited programs.
- Re-evaluate programs periodically to maintain accredited status.
- Conduct evaluations of programs in a fair and consistent manner.
- The accreditation system must be suited to the actual situation in Japan.
- Operate the system efficiently and eliminate unnecessary costs.
- Evaluate the system itself periodically and implement improvement.
Accreditation System comparable to global standards
Evaluation of an engineering education program is commenced upon receipt of a voluntary request from an applicant institution. JABEE commissions engineering societies to form an evaluation team to visit the site. Team members, selected from both industry and academic societies to avoid any conflict of interest with the program, are knowledgeable and experienced, as well as well-trained experts. The program conducts self-evaluation and prepares a Self-Inspection Report. The team verifies the contents of the Self-Inspection Report and reviews whether the program meets respective accreditation criteria. The evaluation result is reviewed through the Discipline-Based Examination Committee and through the Coordinating Committee to make adjustments between disciplines, and the final accreditation decision is made by the Accreditation Commission. Relevant documentation such as Accreditation Criteria, Accreditation Procedures and Methods, and the Guide to Preparing Self-Inspection Reports are published.
JABEE ACCREDITATION PROCESS
Outlines of the accreditation process after on-site visit are shown in chart above. JABEE Accreditation Commission is responsible for the final decision of accreditation; however, JABEE Board of Directors bears legal responsibility as respects the accreditation and examination.
PDCA Process to spiral up educational Quality and Achieve continuous improvement
JABEE Accreditation Criteria follow the PDCA process. The criteria aim to spur programs to raise quality in education and to achieve continuous improvement by establishing a PDCA cycle.
Continuous Improvement of Education
Engineering degrees as passports to a professional career in engineering
National engineering certification in Japan is the Gijutsu-shi (P.E.Jp, Professional Engineer). Yet P.E.Jp registrations number just 61,000 (as of December, 2007), despite the much larger number of active engineers in Japanese industry. To broaden the use of this system, the Professional Engineers Act was revised in 2000 to apply P.E.Jp certification to a wider range of engineers. More specifically, graduates of programs accredited by JABEE are now exempt from the primary P.E.Jp examination and are eligible to apply for the final examination after the prescribed years (min. four years) of training and practice. By strengthening the link between accreditation of engineering programs and engineering certification, the structure of the engineering profession in Japan has been reformed to make it comparable to those of the Washington Accord Signatories. The number of P.E.Jp registrants is expected to increase tenfold in the years ahead, making the number commensurate with Japan’s national engineering prowess.
Link between JABEE Accreditation and P.E.Jp Registration
