Program Evaluator Guide

As a Participating Society of ABET Inc. (the recognized accreditor of degree-granting postsecondary programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology), ASME is responsible for establishing a cadre of highly qualified and highly committed mechanical engineering and mechanical engineering technology program evaluators (PEVs) to perform for the profession the very sensitive and important role of evaluating degree programs.

ASME is committed to maintaining a group of evaluators who are well qualified by virtue of education and experience, who have a broad view of mechanical engineering and technology education and practice, and who have balanced professional judgment.

Evaluator Selection & Training Process

Potential evaluators must submit an application. The ASME Committee on Engineering Accreditation and the Committee on Technology Accreditation will review candidates, selecting an appropriate mix between academic and industry practitioners and ensuring ethnic and gender diversity. The selected candidates must be approved by the ASME Board of Directors, Center for Education.

Selected candidates will be expected to attend and successfully complete an Evaluator Training Workshop. [PEV Training Resources] Upon completion of the Training Workshop, potential evaluators will be assigned as observers on visits with experienced evaluators the following fall. Serving successfully as an observer completes the training process and the appointment.

Program Evaluator and Employer Commitment

Evaluators are asked to be prepared to make one evaluation visit per year. However, for various reasons, we can not guarantee that you will be called to serve or guarantee any pattern of service over the five-year term as an evaluator. Potential reasons for serving less than once a year include but are not limited to: ensuring that all evaluators are free of conflicts of interest; visiting teams have the appropriate balance of industry and academic evaluators; and that any special needs of the institution are met. We will make every effort to assure at least one visit and would prefer at least three to four visits in a five-year term.

The following outline more detailed expectations of program evaluators:

• Program evaluators must have completed a thorough review of all the materials provided by the school prior to arriving on campus for the visit.
• The team chair will require that the evaluators submit their visit forms, including their recommendation and exit statement, to the team chair before leaving the campus. [PEV Visit Forms]
• All report material furnished to the team chair, must also be furnished to ASME.
• Once a program evaluator or observer commits to a visit, he/she is expected to fulfill the commitment and can cancel (or leave early) only in the case of a serious emergency, in which case, the team chair must be notified immediately. ASME expects the individual'/s employer as well as the evaluator to commit to the agreed upon visit dates. A visiting team has only one evaluator for each discipline being evaluated, consequently, the team and the college/university being visited relies on each member being there at the scheduled time.
• Services required to support the visit (clerical efforts and long distance telephone calls) are expected to be borne by the evaluator'/s employer.

Time Commitment and Reimbursement Expectations:

Program Evaluator Training Workshop* [PEV Training Resources]

• Time commitment: Approximately 20 hours pre-work preparation and 1.5 days face-to-face training plus travel time.
• Travel Expenses: ABET will support two hotel nights and meals on-site for each candidate who completes the pre-work and the 1.5 day face-to-face training.

Observer on an Accreditation Visit*

• Time commitment: Same as participation as a program evaluator. (See below.)
• Travel expenses will be reimbursed according to ASME'/s volunteer travel policy. [Reimbursement Form and Policy for Observers only.]

Program Evaluator

• All program evaluators must first complete the Program Evaluator Training Workshop and be an observer on an accreditation visit.
• Time commitment: Approximately 30 hours pre-visit preparation (over a span of a few months on your own) and 2.5 days accreditation visit (typically Sunday, Monday, and a half-day on Tuesday), plus travel time and report generation (started before you leave the visit and completed on your own).
• Travel expenses will be reimbursed by ABET.

* Because of the complexity and the importance of this work, all prospective PEVs are formally evaluated with subsequent feedback during training and observation visit and in all visits as an ASME PEV.

Notes:

1. Evaluators (and observers) are excluded from evaluating programs at institutions they attended as students, where they were employed, where they previously served as an ABET team member, or where another association could create a potential conflict of interest. [ABET'/s Conflict of Interest Policy]
2. Each member of the team, including the observer, will be evaluated by personnel from the institution being evaluated and by fellow team members. The evaluation results are confidential and will be reviewed by ASME prior to making assignments for subsequent visits.