Evaluation for General Accreditation (EGA)

The following table summarizes all the steps to be undertaken in an evaluation for General Accreditation.

Evaluation for General Accreditation

The following is a concise description of each step of Evaluation for General Accreditation (EGA) outlined in the above table.

See also: Accreditation Decision and Appeal against an accreditation decision.

Step EGA-1. PR & POIR Registration

Officials appointed by Program Operating Institution as PR and POIR are required to register as members of IABEE Online Evaluation System in advance. Registration is made through the IABEE website (this website) by choosing the Menu IABEE ku – login and creating a free user account. Uploading appropriate proof of authority is required as attachment to account registration.

Step EGA-2. PR & POIR Registration Verification

The IABEE Secretariat examines the credentials of the PR and POIR upon their registration through the IABEE website. Upon confirmation of the validity of the PR and POIR, a notification e-mail shall be sent to the officials.

Step EGA-3. Application for Program Evaluation

The Program Representative or POI Representative applies for Program evaluation by submitting proofs of eligibility requirements.  In the case of Evaluation for General Accreditation, these requirements include a copy of documents to be compiled in a single PDF file, indicating:

  1. The Institution and Program national accreditation status
  2. when the program was firstly established,
  3. when OBE was implemented for the first time,
  4. the statement of Program’s Autonomous Professional Profile as its educational objective,
  5. the statement of Program’s Learning Outcomes,
  6. number of graduates produced since OBE was adopted, or expected number of graduates under OBE system by October of the evaluation year,
  7. a sample of Learning Outcomes assessment results.

Step EGA-4. Program Eligibility Verification

The Secretariat and EAC Chair examine the data entered in the Program Eligibility Form and check it against the eligibility criteria.

Step EGA-5. Evaluation Scheduling

The EAC Chair compiles the results of Program eligibility verification for the Accreditation Cycle. An evaluation schedule plan for the cycle is then defined based on the list of eligible Programs, and availability of appropriate Program Evaluators (PEVs). The schedule for each Program shall include deadlines for all evaluation steps. If there are more than one Program of the same discipline are deemed eligible for evaluation, then the schedule shall be defined on a first come first served basis.

Step EGA-6. Notice of Evaluation Kick-off & Invoicing

Upon the confirmation of Program eligibility and the evaluation schedule of each Program, the Secretariat through IABEE Online Evaluation System sends a notification e-mail to each Program Representative, which contains notice of initiation of the evaluation process and important deadlines throughout the evaluation process. The Secretariat will also upload onto the online system an invoice for all evaluation fees, including information on payment method and deadline. The system will notify Program Representative regarding the invoice.

Step EGA-7. Full Payment Reception

No later than the payment deadline stipulated in the invoice, the Program must complete the full payment of evaluation fees in accordance to the invoice. Outstanding payment may cause suspension of evaluation process.

Step EGA-8. EAC Discipline Chair Assignment

Upon the definitive of the annual evaluation schedule, the EAC Chair examines the list of Programs to be evaluated and assigns the appropriate Discipline Chair for each engineering discipline involved in the accreditation cycle.

Step EGA-9. Evaluation Team Members Selection

The assigned Discipline Chair selects the member for the Program Evaluation Team, based on available PEVs. The selection of the members shall be based on academic competence, training qualifications, and potential conflict of interest with the Program to be evaluated. Requirements for program evaluator assignment is described in Rules and Procedures for Accreditation-Related Committees (RPARC) document.

Step EGA-10. Evaluation Team Chair Assignment

The EAC Chair assigns one Team Chair for each Evaluation Team. In the case where more than one Program in an Institution are to be evaluated simultaneously, some or all Evaluation Teams involved may share the same Team Chair.

Step EGA-11. Approval of Evaluation Observers

As part of the requirements to become a program evaluator, IABEE may assign candidates of program evaluator to observe a real program evaluation as evaluator-in-training. Also, IABEE welcomes non-IABEE members to become observer of the evaluation process. As the entire evaluation process in conducted through IABEE Online Evaluation System, before becoming an observer one must register a personal user account in the system. The EAC Chair assigns and attaches observer(s) to the appropriate Evaluation Team based on best match to his/her academic background or engineering discipline. The involvement of observer(s) shall be approved by the Program.

Step EGA-12. Evaluation Team Acceptance

The Program is expected to examine the acceptability of the Evaluation Team initially proposed by IABEE, and to send their approval through IABEE Online Evaluation System. If the Program does not approve the Evaluation Team members due to a valid reason (e.g. a conflict of interest), the EAC Chair shall re-assign a new Evaluation Team.

Step EGA-13. Final Evaluation Team Confirmation

Upon acceptance of the Evaluation Team by the Program, the EAC Chair confirms the Team Chair and Evaluation Team members through notification to the Program via the IABEE Online Evaluation System, issuance of an official Letter of Assignment, and provision of access to the Online System as Evaluation Team members.

Step EGA-14. Completed Program Profile and SER Submission

No later than the deadline shown on the related step in IABEE Online Evaluation System, the Program is expected to complete and submit the Program Profile and the Self-Evaluation Report (SER) including its necessary attachments to system. IABEE Online Evaluation System provides upload and submit procedure separately. It is to be noted that upload button is used only to store all the document files in the IABEE server. To send it as a submission, Program Representative must click the submit button. The Program can no longer amend the Program Profile and SER online documents after submit button has been used.

A Program may submit a total of six files, sizing 30 Mbytes each, to contain Program Profile and all SER attachment files (e.g. compendium of proofs/evidences), in addition to the SER itself. The SER itself is written separately in a dedicated spreadsheet template and uploaded onto the system by letting the system read and copy the data prepared in the template.

Step EGA-15. Program First Evaluation

In the Program First Evaluation, Evaluation Team members review the submitted Program Profile, Self-Evaluation Report, and all additional documents. Each member independently assigns the ‘A-C-W-D’ score and provide comments for each evaluation item in the Program Evaluator worksheet template downloaded from the IABEE Online Evaluation System. An observer (evaluator-in-training) may also review the documents submitted by the Program, but his/her judgment is not accounted for in the evaluation (only for training purposes). At this step, only Team Chair can see all evaluation results (i.e. A-C-W-D scores and comments on each criteria item). Evaluation results are not yet accessible by Program Representative.

Evaluation Team members are also expected to notify the Team Chair on the need for any additional information, data, or explanation from the Program to ensure accurate evaluation. IABEE Online Evaluation System provides internal message board facility to allow communication among Evaluation Team members and its chair.

Step EGA-16. Program Second Evaluation

The Team Chair collects the Program First Evaluation results from the Evaluation Team members. Subsequently, he/she prepares the Program Second Evaluation by assigning the ‘A-C-W-D’ score and provide comments for each evaluation item in the Team Chair worksheet based on the results collected from his/her team member, his/her own judgement, and considering any different opinion between the individual Evaluation Team members. The Team Chair also compiles the list of required additional information, data, or explanation from the Program. The Program Second Evaluation results are then uploaded and submitted to the IABEE Online Evaluation System.

Step EGA-17. Program First Response

Upon submission of the Program Second Evaluation results to the IABEE Online Evaluation System by the Team Chair, the Program Representative will get a notification e-mail from the system. The Program is expected to respond to the request for any additional information, data, or explanation. The additional information is to be submitted through IABEE Online Evaluation System. At this step, Program Representative can only see the Team Chair’s comments on each evaluation or criteria item. No “A-C-W-D” score is accessible to the Program.

The system again provides a space to upload three attachment files sizing 30 Mb at maximum for each file, in addition to SER improvement.

To facilitate smooth communication, IABEE Online Evaluation System provides external message board facility that can be used only by Program Representative and the Evaluation Team Chair. The deadline for this Program First Response is made known to the PR/POIR by the system.

Step EGA-18. Program Third Evaluation

The Team Chair collects the additional information provided by the Program in the Program First Response. Together with the results of the Program Second Evaluation, this information is then used to formulate the Program Third Evaluation, which contains the tentative ‘A-C-W-D’ scores of each evaluation item. This report shall also contain a list of items to be further elaborated during the On-Site Visit. At this step, Program Representative can only see the Team Chair’s comments on each evaluation or criteria item. No “A-C-W-D” score is accessible to the Program.

Step EGA-19. On-Site Visit Planning

Upon the completion of the Program Third Evaluation, the Team Chair prepares an On-Site Visit Plan via the IABEE Online Evaluation System. This plan contains the visit dates, a detailed list of daily activities to be undertaken by the Evaluation Team during the visit, including groups of people from Program stakeholders they wish to meet, as well as logistical matters related to the visit. Team Chair shall propose the visit dates to the Program and shall discuss further with Program Representative which of the options is the most suitable one to undertake the visit.

Step EGA-20. On-Site Visit

The On-Site Visit will be undertaken by the Evaluation Team on the agreed-upon dates. The visit shall include the following activities:

  • Interview of faculty members, students, support staff, as well as alumnae and other stakeholders to obtain a comprehension on the compliance of the Program to the RPEA and Accreditation Criteria items, and to identify specific issues arising from the review of Program Profile and Self-Evaluation Report, as well as from the On-Site Visit activities.
  • Examination on the following specific aspects:
    • Physical facilities: The Evaluation Team shall verify whether the learning atmosphere provided by the Program through the utilization of various facilities is sufficient, and that the facilities may be utilized in a safe manner for their intended purposes.
    • Learning materials: The Evaluation Team shall examine examples of course materials including course description and syllabi, textbooks, assignments and tests, and examples of student works which include works receiving borderline to very high marks.
    • Proof that the Autonomous Professional Profile envisaged by Program’s educational objectives and the Learning Outcomes declared by the Program has considered vision and mission of the POIR as well as the needs of Program Stakeholders.
    • Proof of the implementation of a process that is documented and effectively utilized, with involvement of Program Stakeholders, for the periodic review of the Autonomous Professional Profile.
    • Proof of the undertaking of learning assessment, evaluation, and attainment of Program Learning Outcomes.
    • Proof of the undertaking of actions to continually improve the quality of the Program.
    • Support functions for the students, to ensure the adequacy of student services in accordance to the mission of the Institution, the Autonomous Professional Profile, and Program Learning Outcomes.
    • The process for monitoring the completion of study and conferral of academic degree for each student.

Throughout the On-Site Visit, Program Evaluators are expected to re-evaluate the level of compliance of the Program to each evaluation item as temporarily scored during the desk study of its Program Profile and Self-Evaluation Report and to take note of Observations.

IABEE upholds certain codes of conduct in undertaking an On-Site Visit to make sure the activity achieves its intended objectives effectively and to prevent any conflict of interest. Please see Section 2.9. of the RPEA document for the related Codes of Conduct.

Step EGA-21. Exit Meeting

An Exit Meeting shall be held at the end of the On-Site Visit, in which the Evaluation Team Chair shall verbally communicate findings observed by the Evaluation Team to the Program Operating Institution’s highest executive officer of his/her representative, and other official(s) that the highest executive officer wishes to include in the meeting. The meeting concludes the On-Site Visit by reading out the Exit Statement. Prior to Exit Meeting, the Evaluation Team shall normally communicate the findings to the Program Representative and his/her team in a debrief session. This session is conducted to reach common understanding between the Evaluation Team and the Program about the findings and their consequences.

Exit Meeting is essentially a one-way communication. No discussion of the results shall be entertained during the meeting. The Evaluation Team shall not leave any written copy of Exit Statement document with the Program and Program Operating Institution since the statement shall be made available at the IABEE Online Evaluation System. The Program may inspect these findings in the IABEE Online Evaluation System after the conclusion of the Exit Meeting at the Program First Evaluation step.

Step EGA-22. Program First Evaluation

Program First Evaluation is produced by the Evaluation Team and sent by the Team Chair to IABEE Online Evaluation System. It consists of evaluation results and findings read out during the Exit Meeting.

A definite deadline is set for the Team Chair to complete the Program First Evaluation, which is approximately two weeks after the Exit Meeting date. The Program First Evaluation is accessible by the Program Representative and Program Operating Institution Representative. At this step, Program Representative can see the Team Chair’s comments on each evaluation or criteria item and a draft Exit Statement. No “A-C-W-D” score is accessible to the Program.

Step EGA-23. Program Second Response

Upon the disclosure of the findings in the IABEE Online Evaluation System, the Program is given 7 days to submit amendments only to factual errors or omissions, if such errors or omissions are identified in the online system entries. The period is initiated in the system right after Team Chair submits Program First Evaluation. Example of factual errors include errors in quoting names, identities, figures, locations, etc. related to the Program and its Institution. If the Program finds no factual error in the Program First Evaluation, its Program Representative may notify the Team Chair and let the 7-day period pass automatically.

Step EGA-24. Program Second Evaluation

Upon the expiration period of Program Second Response, the Team Chair thoroughly examines the evaluation results documented in the IABEE Online Evaluation System to amend factual errors pointed out by the Program, if any. The Team Chair then proceeds to prepare the Program Second Evaluation report in the IABEE Online Evaluation System. After submission of Program Second Evaluation by the Team Chair, Program Representative can see the “A-C-W-D” scores, the Team Chair’s comments on each evaluation or criteria item and a final Exit Statement.

Step EGA-25. Program Final Response

Upon the completion of the Program Second Evaluation by the Team Chair, the Program Final Response is triggered to commence in the IABEE Online System. In this period, the Program is given 30 days to follow up on shortcomings identified in the evaluation process to date. The Program is encouraged to upload report and proofs of corrective actions and/or improvements undertaken to address the shortcomings, until the 30-day deadline.

Step EGA-26. Program Final Report

After the deadline of the 30-day response period has passed, the Team Chair prepares the Program Final Evaluation document in the IABEE Online Evaluation System, by considering corrective actions and/or improvements reported by the Program to date. The report shall include a description of the Program, its areas of strength, identified shortcomings, and constructive Observations, and a summary of its compliance to the Accreditation Criteria as indicated by the ‘A-C-W-D’ scores of evaluation items. The report is submitted through the online system to the respective EAC Discipline Chair and EAC Chair.

Step EGA-27. EAC Discipline Harmonization

The EAC Discipline Chair receives the Program Final Report from the Team Chair and holds an EAC Discipline Harmonization meeting to discuss and harmonize any inconsistency between the respective Evaluation Teams within the same discipline, and inconsistencies with past evaluation results of similar Programs. Results of the Discipline Harmonization are documented in the IABEE Online Evaluation System.

Step EGA-28. EAC Plenary Meeting

After the Discipline Harmonization is completed, the EAC Chair organizes an EAC Plenary Meeting to discuss and harmonize any inconsistency with past and current evaluation results of Programs operated under different institutions. EAC Plenary Meeting then recommend the final accreditation decision to the IABEE Accreditation Council.

Step EGA-29. Accreditation Decision

Final decision of the accreditation status of a Program is taken by the IABEE Accreditation Council, with due consideration to the recommendation from the EAC Plenary Meeting. The decision shall be kept in IABEE’s permanent records.

Step EGA-30. Accreditation Announcement

After the final decision has been reached, the IABEE Secretariat conducts the public announcement of the decision. The Not-Accredited status shall not be publicly declared, but directly communicated to the corresponding Program Representative (PR) and Program Operating Institution Representative (POIR). Other status shall be declared in the IABEE Website and communicated to the PR and POIR. Program Accreditation Evaluation Report and accreditation decision shall be saved in the IABEE Online Evaluation System and shall be accessible by the Program.