There is an increasing global interest among universities to obtain and maintain various international accreditations; a common one being the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technologies (ABET). ABET accreditation lists seven Student Outcomes (SOs) an engineering program should ensure that students attain before graduation. The attainment process and assessment procedures vary among different programs. Furthermore, there is a global interest among universities to engage in various forms of international education, including virtual exchange. This work presents an approach to attain and assess several ABET SOs through international virtual exchange (IVE) using a case study between universities in the US and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The IVE experience was conducted over seven weeks where civil engineering students enrolled in pavement design or environmental engineering courses at the participating universities were challenged to develop innovative solutions to a pavement related problem and has been run for three offerings.

Both IVE and non-IVE teams were formed with different numbers based on the enrollment at each institution and the non-IVE teams were considered as control groups. Assessment focused on teamwork, global competencies, and application of engineering design to meet specified needs. Attainment of outcomes was assessed using direct and indirect measures that included established and adapted surveys as well as student work products. The results of this study emphasize how IVE experiences can not only have a positive impact on students’ formation as engineers, but also that these experiences can help students attain SOs outlined by ABET in a meaningful and authentic way that is embedded within a course context. For example, IVE teams tended to focus on solutions that met the needs and contexts of both countries, whereas non-IVE teams focused on the context of their own country. Additionally, students on IVE teams overcame language barriers and differences in vocabulary to effectively communicate with their teammates.

Conference Title

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Conference Country

United States of America

Conference Date

June 23, 2024 - June 26, 2024

Conference Sponsor

American Society for Engineering Education

Additional Info

Conference Website