The Bachelor of Science in Computer Science program will not be renewing its accreditation with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology in 2027.
ABET provides accreditation for computer science, engineering technology and engineering programs at Wichita State including aerospace, applied engineering, biomedical, computer, electrical, industrial, mechanical and product design and manufacturing engineering.
“In the College of Engineering, not just here, but in most colleges in the country, it’s the norm to have the engineering programs accredited by ABET,” Interim Director of the School of Computing Rajiv Bagai said. “… (when computer science joined the College of Engineering) we were not even aware of what this accreditation was because it’s not the norm in computer science.”
Vice Provost Ashlie Jack said in an email to The Sunflower, “programs pursue accreditation when it meaningfully enhances student outcomes, and in this case, the determination was that accreditation was not essential to student success.”
Bagai said that the main reason for not renewing is because of new requirements for computer science programs that have been put in place by the Kansas Board of Regents — the governing board of the state’s higher education. This mandated the programs for the three research universities — WSU, University of Kansas and Kansas State University — to adjust their curriculum to be compatible with KBOR’s systemwide transfer program.
Because ABET has its own curriculum requirements that do not align with those of KBOR, WSU has decided to not renew its accreditation. Bagai said as of now, KU and K-State have chosen to not give up their accreditations and are seeking an exception from KBOR.
This decision will not affect students because most employers only look to see if an institution as a whole is accredited, not the computer science program alone, according to Bagai. WSU is accredited through the Higher Learning Commission.
The computer science program joined the College of Engineering in 2008, after being in the Liberal Arts and Sciences college since the 1970’s, when it was created, and got its first ABET accreditation in 2015. While the program was in the College of LAS it did not have an accreditation.
“Out of those 50 years, it has been accredited for just 12 years… so for most of the life of this program, it has never been accredited,” Bagai said.
ABET evaluates programs every six years on factors like curriculum and continuous improvement of curriculum, the amount and qualifications of faculty, facilities, institutional support and student outcomes.
Another reason for not renewing is the time and cost ABET accreditation takes with the large amount of data collection it requires, according to Bagai.
“It does not add any value to our students,” Bagai said. “And only a minority of computer science programs in the U.S.A. are ABET accredited… most of the computer science programs in top-tier schools are not ABET accredited.”
“In computer science, industry employers place greater emphasis on practical skills, internship experience, and applied projects completed during the program rather than program-level accreditation,” Jack said.
