A Systems Approach to Accredited Program Accountability in Regional Universities

Broadly stated, academic degree program accountability measures value created versus cost. Value is determined by social and economic needs of the community, state, and region. Costs reflect resource requirements to address complex endogenous and exogenous challenges that require strategies for allocating resources, and monitoring and adapting strategies to ensure accountability. Program accountability is also important in flagship institutions. However, small perturbations in degree programs strategies of flagship institution can be major problems for regional universities because of insufficient resources to quickly adjust for unintended consequences of these strategies. The signature of engineering degree programs in regional universities is graduating successful practicing engineers and mid-level managers for regional companies and regional operations of larger companies from a student population that includes a significant number of rural and frequently less academically prepared students. An engineering curriculum that satisfies ABET General criteria and meets academic needs of students from a diverse and time variant student profile in a regional university creates uniquely challenging problems. This paper proposes a W. Edwards Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge (SPK) that extends program accountability embedded in the ABET General Criteria by developing metrics for academic program efficiency and effectiveness; compressing time to collect, summarize, and analyze program data; and identifying at-risk students in a timely manner. Program efficiency measures levels of non-value added activities consuming academic program resources. In contrast, effectiveness measures attainment levels of ABET defined student outcomes and program objectives. The additional industrial engineering and engineering management tools and techniques incorporated into this SPK address accountability and program effectiveness limitations in a previously developed ABET accreditation platform that received critical acclaim. These SPK concepts are easily extendable to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs.