You need to be there. The 2008 ABET Annual Meeting will be a special one. In Louisville, we will explore some of the most dynamic changes taking place in technological education today. Then, we will work to determine the impact of those changes on the foundation and framework of quality assurance. All attendees will be active participants. Facilitated breakout sessions will engage us in exploring the important questions posed on the opposite page. Our product will be recommendations for action. This is an opportunity to help drive the future of ABET and technological education. Will you be there?

Topics

Anticipating Needed Competencies: Knowledge in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology is expanding faster than can be absorbed by our undergraduate curricula. Several proposed responses to this dilemma have been made in recent years; yet, no consensus has been reached on how to proceed. Key to determining next steps is identifying those competencies that future first professional degree graduates will need to succeed in the ABET professions. Only then can the technological community propose educational sequences and disciplinary structures that are able to respond to those future needs. During this session, participants will identify the needed professional competencies and then consider appropriate educational frameworks.

Adapting to Millennial Learning Models: Learning styles and expectations of today’s undergraduates challenge current instructional delivery modes and traditional college educational paradigms. Coming generations will be adept at learning asynchronously—podcasting, streaming video, trillions of bytes of information on anything at the click of a mouse—leading interactive virtual lives—gaming, social networking, file-sharing—and diving into and out of complex subject areas and contexts seemingly without any sequential logic. The pervasiveness of educational technology does make it possible to build a more flexible and responsive educational structure to meet the needs of students. This session’s participants will consider how the traditional educational paradigm must change to do so.

Organizing to Improve the Pipeline: The technological professions are on the verge of a crisis: Without adequately prepared, diverse students flowing into our technical programs, our professions will fail. Billions of dollars have already been invested in improving the current reality. Both innovative and well-tested approaches have been taken by thousands of concerned entities. Yet, overarching success still looms beyond reach. Although the issue of diversity is being worked by many organizations, institutions, government, industry, K-12 educators, and other interested parties, it is not often done in concert. During this session, participants will formulate strategies to address these issues and develop new alliances along the way.

Rethinking Quality Assurance Accreditation: is a key driver of program curriculum, policy, structure, and innovation. ABET must ensure that its quality assurance paradigms, mechanisms, and policies are in line with what is best for the professions it serves. This session will engage ABET leadership, constituents, and topic experts in developing a framework for educational quality assurance in the years to come, a framework that will be able to adapt to new paradigms and encourage innovation while maintaining the quality ABET accreditation signifies.

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Schedule

8:30AM-9:30AM
Keynote Session
James J. Duderstadt, President Emeritus of the University of Michigan and author of Engineering for a Changing World: A Roadmap to the Future of Engineering Practice, Research, and Education, will kick off the 2008 ABET Annual Meeting by offering a provocative view of the future of technological education based on the findings of his report.

9:45AM-Noon
Anticipating Needed Competencies

• What competencies must the professionals in the technical fields possess in 2030 to compete in a world marketplace? 

• What disciplinary boundaries can handle the dynamic knowledge-base of our professions while still providing our students enough value-added education to keep them viable in the knowledge-driven economy? 

• Will the market drive stakeholders (institutions, programs, students, industry) to accept or block needed changes?

Computing and Applied Science Breakout
Engineering and Technology Breakout - Introduced by Jeff Russell of the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Noon-1PM
Lunch

1PM-2PM
Setting the Stage for Concurrent Sessions
Daryl Chubin of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Irving Pressley McPhail of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), and Diana Rhoten of the National Science Foundation (NSF) set the stage for Thursday afternoon and Friday morning concurrent sessions.

2PM-4PM
Adapting to Millennial Learning Models

• What characteristics will describe students of the future (demographics, learning styles, etc.)?

• Will educational paradigms change to meet the next generation’s need for flexible and responsive pedagogies? 

• How will the pervasive access to technology require programs to rethink the role of faculty in an environment where students are adept at employing asynchronous learning opportunities? 

Organizing to Improve the Pipeline

• What needs to happen to improve the demographics of the professions by 2030?       

• Who should lead and participate in this effort? 

• How can these entities work together to effect real, positive change?

6:30PM
ABET Annual Awards Banquet
Enjoy a plated dinner and network with long-time colleagues and new acquaintances. Black tie optional. 

8AM-9:15AM
ABET President’s Breakfast and Annual Address

9:30AM-Noon
Adapting to Millennial Learning Models

• What characteristics will describe students of the future (demographics, learning styles, etc.)?

• Will educational paradigms change to meet the next generation’s need for flexible and responsive pedagogies? 

• How will the pervasive access to technology require programs to rethink the role of faculty in an environment where students are adept at employing asynchronous learning opportunities? 

Organizing to Improve the Pipeline

• What needs to happen to improve the demographics of the professions by 2030?       

• Who should lead and participate in this effort? 

• How can these entities work together to effect real, positive change?

Noon-1:30PM
Lunch on your own

1:30PM-3PM
Rethinking Quality Assurance: Implications for ABET Policies, Procedures, and Processes

• How must current accreditation processes and policies evolve in response to new educational paradigms and the globalization of the ABET professions? 

• How will accreditation models need to be modified or rebuilt to accommodate the necessary pedagogical changes and promote innovation?

• What alternative accreditation-related and organizational models must be considered to ensure that ABET remains relevant to its constituencies?

3:00PM-4:00PM
Wrap-Up Panel
ABET leaders and topic experts respond to preliminary findings from previous sessions.

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About the Keynote

Keynote James J. Duderstadt is President Emeritus and University Professor of Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, where he currently co-chairs the university’s program in Science, Technology, and Public Policy and directs the Millennium Project, a research center exploring the impact of over-the-horizon technologies on society. Duderstadt has served on or chaired numerous boards, including the National Science Board, and many committees of the National Academies, including its executive committee and the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy. He has also served on the National Commission on the Future of Higher Education. His national awards for research, teaching, and service activities include the E.O. Lawrence Award for excellence in nuclear research, the Arthur Holly Compton Prize for outstanding teaching, the Reginald Wilson Award for national leadership in achieving diversity, and the National Medal of Technology for exemplary service to the nation. His teaching and research interests have spanned a wide range of subjects in science, mathematics, and engineering, including nuclear fission reactors, thermonuclear fusion, high-powered lasers, computer simulation, information technology, and policy development in areas such as energy, education, and science. He has published more than 20 books and 150 technical publications.