SUNY Oswego’s engineering programs earn ABET accreditation

Global accreditation recognizes Oswego’s electrical computer engineering and software engineering programs

Oswego, N.Y. –  SUNY Oswego’s Bachelor of Science degree programs in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), and Software Engineering (SE) have been accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET – the global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology. 

“ABET accreditation affirms that Oswego’s engineering programs meet rigorous industry standards,” said SUNY Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley. “Our state-of-the-art labs and facilities, highly skilled and involved faculty, and rigorous curriculum have all contributed to this ‘best practices’ recognition – a testament to how Oswego prepares our students to graduate from an ABET-accredited program, enter critical STEM fields,  and lead the way in innovation and emerging technologies.”

ABET accreditation assures that programs meet standards to produce graduates ready to enter critical engineering fields. Sought worldwide, ABET’s voluntary peer-review process is highly respected because it adds critical value to academic programs in the technical disciplines, where quality, precision and safety are of the utmost importance. Following a rigorous review of self-study reports prepared and submitted by SUNY Oswego for the Electrical and Computer Engineering and Software Engineering programs, the EAC (made up of engineering faculty from other accredited, highly reputable engineering programs) visited the campus in fall 2018 for an intense three-day visit, before making its official decision in August 2019.

Accreditation impact on graduates entering the workforce

“ABET accreditation enhances my degree and verifies that my educational experience at Oswego was of the highest quality,” said Sushmita Banerjee, a 2019 graduate of SUNY Oswego. “As a student at SUNY Oswego, I benefitted from engineering and computer science faculty who pushed me forward, were constantly present, and provided individual attention and care to ensure that I (and my fellow students) succeeded.”

Banerjee praised Oswego for preparing her well and recalled how the college assisted her in securing an internship her sophomore year with Ahold Delhaize (one of the world’s largest food retail groups and leader in supermarkets and e-commerce/sustainable retailing).  The company hired Banerjee as a front-end developer at their Massachusetts office upon her graduation from SUNY Oswego this past May.   

Oswego’s Electrical and Computer Engineering program provides a well-rounded competitive engineering education that delves into five high-demand concentration areas of embedded systems, robotics, biomedical instrumentation, modern energy systems and wireless communication systems.  Oswego’s Software Engineering program — the first of its kind in the entire State University of New York system — provides a systems-oriented curriculum that encompasses software requirements, design, construction, testing, maintenance, configuration management, engineering management, engineering process, tools and quality assurance. 

Joseph T. Lauko, senior vice president of the Electronic Warfare Division at SRC, Inc., and chair of the Engineering Advisory Board at SUNY Oswego added, “We are thrilled about having another accredited engineering school in the Central New York community.  SRC has always been impressed with our hires from Oswego from multiple disciplines.  Having an accredited engineering school to help satisfy Central New York’s need for talented engineers is exciting.  We look forward to bringing in the well-trained, motivated, diverse set of students that the Oswego engineering school will produce.”

Faculty leading the way

ABET accreditation reviews look at program curricula, faculty, facilities, and institutional support and are conducted by teams of highly skilled professionals from industry, academia, and government, with expertise in the ABET disciplines.

“We designed the Electrical and Computer Engineering program (the curriculum, facilities, assessments, evaluations, and learning outcomes) with ABET accreditation in mind,” said Marianne Hromalik, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “Accreditation is a testament to what we’ve built: highly-qualified, dedicated and accessible faculty; innovative facilities and labs housed in the Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation; mature, well-run programs (ECE, SE and Computer Science); and students with whom we included throughout the ABET accreditation process.”

Small but elite

“I believe what separates Oswego’s ABET-accredited engineering programs from others is the quality, well-rounded liberal arts education our students receive and how we integrate applied engineering learning experience within the context of the global environment,” said Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Scott R. Furlong.

Provost Furlong added, “Oswego students benefit from immediate interaction with full-time faculty versus learning from adjunct instructors and teaching assistants (TAs). Our aspiring engineers work directly with faculty on course work, career advice and cutting-edge research projects as early as their first year at Oswego. It is rewarding to see them develop over the course of four years and become confident, self-motivated problem-solvers and fully-functioning engineers.”

For more information, view SUNY Oswego’s Engineering Accreditation video or visit www.oswego.edu/engineering.

For more information about ABET, visit abet.org/accreditation.  ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization with ISO 9001:2015 certification. It currently accredits 4,005 programs at over 793 colleges and universities in 32 countries. More information about ABET, its member societies, and the accreditation criteria used to evaluate programs can be found at www.abet.org.