Evolution of the university of denver engineering programs due to ABET accreditation criteria

Radical changes in the engineering programs at the University of Denver came in 1996 with the advent of ABET EC2000. Prior to EC2000, the engineering programs were developed based on the experience of faculty, the numbers of students and faculty, laboratory resources necessary to deliver the programs, and the accreditation requirements. As disciplinary programs evolved from a general engineering program and the number of students was low, this was a difficult process under the old ABET Criteria; the new ABET Criteria gave opportunities to design unique programs. New curricula were developed in 1996 along with an assessment process that took into account the needs of constituencies. Since then, the programs, assessment processes, as well as the process of determining the needs of constituencies have evolved substantially. Ethics has evolved from half of a course shared with engineering economic to ethics throughout the curricula; engineering economics has evolved into a full course for the BSME program, and an engineering entrepreneurship course for the BSEE and BSCpE programs; a legal studies course is required in the BSEE and BSCpE curricula; an option in Mechatronics Systems Engineering has been added to the BSEE program; and 5 year dual degree programs have been created that combine BS and MS degrees.