MSU's Mechanical Engineering Program receives accreditation

            Six years after beginning a new mechanical engineering program on campus, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) granted the program accreditation, the sought-after assurance that its program meets the quality standards established by the profession.

              The accreditation process cannot be requested by a university until it produces a graduating class. Ten students made up the first graduating class in 2008 after which the 15-month process began. Visits were made to campus from the accrediting team who studied the curriculum and facilities and visited with faculty, students, administration, the registrar and others. Receiving the positive evaluation on the first attempt means that students can sit for licensure exams four years after graduation instead of having to wait eight years.

            The program has grown faster than anticipated when less than 20 students were majoring in mechanical engineering in 2003. Enrollment has grown to 150 students, requiring two additional faculty members, making a total of five.

            "I am proud of our faculty working to get our program accredited. It is a very tedious process. They are a young, energetic group of faculty," stated Dr. Betty Stewart, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics.

            Mechanical engineering is one of the broadest fields of engineering. Professionals in this career can work in a number of areas including the design and development of bridges, solar energy, or the manufacturing of an item.

Graduating from a university with an accredited program helps employers to recruit graduates they know are well prepared. Of the 10 graduates in the first class, nine have been hired and one is attending graduate school.

"Our accreditation has been made possible by the work of Dean Betty Stewart and the engineering faculty. Vicki and Jim McCoy, and a few other benefactors, made the program possible," stated MSU President Jesse Rogers. "This step is so important. I'm elated and relieved."

"Increasing the number of new students to the program will likely result from the new McCoy Engineering Building and the new accreditation," Stewart added.