Surveying, Safety, Data Science: The Ten Program Areas ABET Reviews Outside Engineering and Computing
ABET reviews more than engineering. Here is what its applied and natural science criteria cover in 2026-27, from surveying and safety to industrial hygiene.
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What a Concern, a Weakness and a Deficiency Mean in an ABET Review, and the Action Each Brings
by Credential Review ·ABET sorts every review finding into four levels and turns them into one of ten actions, from Next General Review to Not to Accredit. Here is the ladder.
After the Exit Meeting: Seven Days, a Draft Statement and the 30-Day Due Process Response
by Credential Review ·What happens between an ABET visit and the July vote: the seven-day corrections window, the draft statement, and how the 30-day due process response works.
Two Degrees, Two Commissions: What ABET Requires of Computer Science and Computer Engineering
by Credential Review ·Two degrees, two ABET commissions. What the 2026-27 criteria require of computer science and computer engineering programs, hour by hour.
Who Comes to an ABET Visit: The Team Chair, the Evaluators and the Observer Seat
by Credential Review ·How an ABET review team is built: who chairs it, where program evaluators come from, who may observe, and how a school can flag a conflict of interest.
Cited for a Weakness? How ABET Interim Reports and Interim Visits Work
by Credential Review ·An IR or IV action gives a program about two years to fix what a review found. What ABET checks, when the report is due, and how it ends.
From Comment Form to First Visit: How a Change to ABET's Criteria Becomes Binding
by Credential Review ·ABET criteria change one review cycle at a time, after a 180-day comment period and a vote. How the process runs, and which 2025-26 proposals it covers.
What Counts as AI Literacy? The Labor Department's Framework, Area by Area
by Credential Review ·The Labor Department's AI Literacy Framework defines the baseline AI skills workers need in five content areas and seven delivery principles. What each one covers.
Tax-Free Tuition From Your Employer Tops Out at $5,250, Until Inflation Indexing Starts in 2027
by Credential Review ·Employer-paid tuition and student loan payments are tax-free up to $5,250 a year under Section 127. What counts, what does not, and the inflation change coming in 2027.
Workforce Pell's Three Gates: Governor Approval, a 70/70 Test and an Earnings Cap on Tuition
by Credential Review ·Short programs of 8 to 15 weeks can now carry Pell Grants, but only after a governor, the Education Department and an earnings test sign off. How each gate works.
Earning a Licensure Degree Online From Another State? The Federal Rule That Covers You
by Credential Review ·Federal aid rules require online programs that lead to a license to meet the education requirements of the state where the student lives. How it works and what to ask.
House Bill Would Fund Faster Bachelor's-to-Ph.D. Routes in AI, Quantum and Chips
by Credential Review ·The PHD Talent Act, now in both chambers, would have the Energy Department run a five-year pilot of accelerated Ph.D. pathways with fellowships for U.S. students.
Engineering Degree Earned Abroad? How NCEES Credentials Evaluations Work for U.S. Licensure
by Credential Review ·Engineers with a foreign degree usually need an NCEES credentials evaluation before a U.S. board will license them. What it measures, costs and how long it takes.
FE, Experience, PE: The Four-Part Path to an Engineering License, Step by Step
by Credential Review ·The usual route to a PE license runs through an accredited degree, the FE exam, about four years of work and the PE exam. What each step involves and costs.
Drafting a Self-Study With AI? What ABET's Policy Permits, and Where It Stops
by Credential Review ·ABET lets programs use AI to gather and organize accreditation material, but not to alter evidence or replace faculty judgment. What the statement requires.
Program Educational Objectives vs. Student Outcomes: The Line ABET Draws Between Them
by Credential Review ·ABET Criterion 2 objectives describe graduates a few years out; Criterion 3 outcomes describe them at graduation. What each requires and how to document it.
Which ABET Program Criteria Apply to Your Engineering Degree? How the 31 Sets Work
by Credential Review ·A program's title decides which of ABET's 31 sets of engineering program criteria it must meet. How the rule works, who writes each set and what is proposed.
AI and Machine Learning Degrees Get Their Own ABET Program Criteria From Fall 2027
by Credential Review ·ABET approved program criteria for AI and machine learning degrees on Nov. 6: a sixth outcome, 42 hours of AI coursework and 9 of math, from fall 2027.
Inside an Open Badges 3.0 Credential, and How an Employer Can Check One
by Credential Review ·Open Badges 3.0 makes every digital badge a signed verifiable credential. What one contains, how verification and revocation work, and what it does not prove.
Engineering vs. Engineering Technology Degrees: What ABET's 2026-27 Criteria Require of Each
by Credential Review ·Complex, broadly defined or well-defined problems: how ABET's EAC and ETAC criteria for 2026-27 differ on outcomes, mathematics, curriculum and capstones.
Graduated Before Your Program Was Accredited? How ABET's Two-Year Retroactive Window Works
by Credential Review ·Initial ABET accreditation normally covers one academic year before the visit, and at most two. What the 2026-27 APPM requires, and how graduates can check.
Federal Agencies Must Screen Applicants With Job-Specific Tests by December 2027
by Credential Review ·The Chance to Compete Act requires federal agencies to screen applicants with job-specific technical assessments from December 23, 2027, and orders a review of degree rules.
Using the GI Bill for Licensing and Certification Exams: Limits, Retakes and Forms
by Credential Review ·VA reimburses up to $2,000 per licensing or certification test, including retakes and failed attempts. What it costs in entitlement and how to file Form 22-0803.
NCES Opens Its Survey Portfolio to Public Input, With Comments Due December 3
by Credential Review ·The National Center for Education Statistics asks how to redesign its surveys and data collections, weighing respondent burden against timeliness. Comments close December 3.
Ten Accreditors Face Federal Recognition Review. How to Comment Before December 5
by Credential Review ·HLC, Middle States, NECHE, WSCUC and six more agencies are up for federal recognition renewal. Here is what a comment must address and how to file by December 5.
Labor Department Removes Affirmative Action From Apprenticeship Rules, Effective January 5
by Credential Review ·A final rule removes Part 30 affirmative action duties for Registered Apprenticeship sponsors from January 5, 2027 and sends discrimination complaints to the EEOC.
NCEES Adds a Second Ethics Course for PEs and Surveyors, Worth Two Hours
by Credential Review ·Moral Literacy for Professional Engineers and Surveyors is a five-part online course worth two continuing education hours, logged automatically in CPC tracking.
New PMP Training Rule Starts December 1: What Still Counts Toward Your 35 Hours
by Credential Review ·From December 1, live PMP training must come from a PMI Authorized Training Partner or accredited program. Earlier courses and self-paced study still count.
Oberlin Students Can Now Earn a Penn Engineering Master's in Five Years
by Credential Review ·The Oberlin-Penn Engineering 4+1 opens in fall 2027 with five pathways, from materials science to systems engineering, and three courses of credit.
ECU and Lenoir Community College Open a Home-County Path to an Engineering Degree
by Credential Review ·A new agreement moves Lenoir engineering associate graduates into ECU's BS in engineering, with scholarships and capstones at the Global TransPark.
Education Department Finalizes AIM Accreditation Rule, Effective July 1, 2027
by Credential Review ·The Education Department's final AIM rule rewrites accreditor recognition, ends the two-year rule and geographic scope limits, and takes effect July 1, 2027.
Zambia Gains Provisional Washington Accord Status at IEA Meetings in Cape Town
by Credential Review ·International recognition news from the June 2026 IEA meetings in Cape Town: Zambia joins the Washington Accord as a provisional signatory, and more.
Revised Information Systems Program Criteria Clear Final ABET Vote, Effective Fall 2027
by Credential Review ·ABET's Computing Area Delegation approved revised Information Systems program criteria on Nov. 6, 2026, CSAB reports. The changes take effect in fall 2027.
STEM Careers to 2035: What BLS Projects for Five Engineering and Computing Jobs
by Credential Review ·BLS projections for 2025 to 2035 for civil, electrical, mechanical, software and security jobs: growth, openings, median pay and entry paths for STEM careers.
From January Request to July Vote: How an ABET Accreditation Review Runs
by Credential Review ·A guide to ABET self-study & site visits: the January request, the July 1 report, the fall visit, the draft statement, due process and the July decision.
How a Siemens and CU Boulder Microcredential Won ABET Recognition for All Three Pathways
by Credential Review ·The Siemens and CU Boulder Design for the Circular Economy microcredential now has ABET recognition on all three pathways. How the industry partnerships worked.
NCEES Exam Changes Through Spring 2027: Architectural, Structural, Civil, Controls, Fire
by Credential Review ·New PE Architectural Engineering specifications took effect in October 2026; Structural, Civil, Control Systems and Fire Protection exams change in April 2027.
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