A Maximum Mutuality Model for Continuous Improvement in Engineering Departments

Abstract

In higher education, academic departments are always challenged by the need to succeed in operation while maintaining quality practices and outputs. It is common that departments need to adhere to multiple accreditation initiatives and standards at both the institutional and programmatic levels. In this paper, we benefit from the intersection between the improvement cycles of institutional and programmatic accreditations to propose a maximum mutuality model. The suggested model embeds program reviews, as required by ABET accreditation, within a departmental improvement loop. The model aims at being effective, productive, and easy-to-deploy; while responding to the needs for improvement at various levels. The application of the model is shown to be successful in assuring quality and leading to different accreditations. The paper includes thorough analysis, evaluation, and deployment results over six academic years.