Thomas Edison State College- Manufacturing Engineering & ABET

Greetings,

Hoping someone can shed a little light for me. My highschool son has begun working on his independant study degree - including CBE's and Duel Enrollment, etc. He's been looking at Thomas Edison's Manufacturing Engineering Degree. With the rate he's going, he could graduate from TESC with BSAST in Manufacturing Engineering Technology by the time he's 20. HOWEVER, we just learned about the importance of engineers earning a degree from a ABET accredited college, which TESC is not. How important is this? If anyone can inform me, it would be greatly appreciated.

Heather

 

There is a distinction between "engineering" degrees and "technology" degrees. They are different, even though technology degrees often include the word "engineering" -- as in TESC's "BSAST in Manufacturing Engineering Technology". TESC offers "technology" degrees, not "engineering" degrees.

Engineering degrees generally have more math and more theory; they are oriented towards the design of new items, rather than the actual production or maintenance of those items. Technology degrees are generally more hands-on and applied; they are oriented towards actual production and maintenance of items, in accordance with a given design.

In engineering, the normal professional degree is an ABET-accredited BS (in practice engineers commonly have the MS as well). In technology, it's more flexible: technology degrees can be AS or BS, and may or may not have ABET accreditation.

ABET accredits both engineering and technology degrees, but the two types of degrees are accredited separately. In practice, ABET accreditation is not considered essential for technology degrees, although it can be helpful in some situations.

 

Someone will correct if me I am wrong, but I believe the ABET distinction is very important in order to gain the PE designation (Professional Engineer). You need to have an ABET accredited degree and along with passing an exam or two need four years experience to get the PE. If you do not have an ABET degree you need somethnig like 8-12 years of experience.

I would not get any degree, with an eye on becoming an engineer, that was not ABET aaccredited. For engineering the ABET accreditation is the gold standard.

 

If he not building bridges etc. he should be fine...lol

 

This is generally true. However, a PE license is not required in most fields of engineering, and the vast majority of engineers will never apply for one (even if they have ABET degrees). It's only necessary in civil engineering and related fields.

Furthermore, the Original Poster is interested in a technology degree -- which is not an engineering degree. It is difficult to get a PE license with any technology degree, even if it is ABET-accredited. ABET accredits engineering and technology degrees separately; they are not equivalent.

ABET engineering degrees are prestigious and valued in the job market, even in fields where PE licensure is not necessary. So yes, if you want to become an engineer, you should pursue an ABET engineering degree. In practice, it is very difficult to obtain an ABET engineering degree by distance learning.

However, the Original Poster is interested in a TESC technology degree -- which is not an engineering degree. For technology degrees, ABET accreditation is generally perceived as helpful but optional. The same is also true for computer science, which is another field subject to ABET accreditation; many top universities don't have ABET accreditation in computer science.

 

No special educational qualifications are needed to build a bridge.
You probably need a contractor's license, but you don't need a degree of any kind to get that.

You need an ABET engineering degree (not a technology degree) if you want to design a bridge.
In that case, you need a PE license. And to get a license, you want an ABET degree.

 

I looked at the curriculum for his degree and it very much seems engineering focused. But, I'm not familiar with engineering at all. I assumed that these categories corresponded with engineering, here are the requirements for the degree:
A. Statics 3
B. Materials Science 3
Engineering Materials/Properties of Materials
C. Other Engineering Mechanics 3
Strength of Materials/Dynamics
Fluid Mechanics/Thermodynamics
D. Quality Control 3
E. Manufacturing Processes or Tool Design 3
F. Automated Manufacturing, or CIM 6
Computer Aided Manufacturing
Numerical Control Methods/Microprocessors/Robotics
G. Electronics 6
Solid State/Semiconductor/Circuits
Industrial Electronics/Instrumentation or Metrology/Controls
H. Industrial Engineering 6
Occupational Safety Health
Plant Layout and Design/ Manufacturing Design & Operations
Production and Inventory Controls/ Human Factors
Production Scheduling, Planning & Specifications
Time and Motion Study or Work Methods & Measurement
I. Engineering Economy 3
J. Computer-Aided Design 3
K. Manufacturing Engineering Technology Electives 6
Metal and/or Plastics Processes
Industrial Safety/Design for Production

If you say that's a technology degree then it is. I came at this from the viewpoint that the kid wants to be an engineer since they were relating the fact that they learned that engineers need an ABET degree. I'm not sure now. I would not pursue a non ABET degree if my goal had anything to do with engineering. But that's me.

 

Thats what I ment..lol

 

Tarleton State University (Department of Engineering Technology) offers an online BAAS in Manufacturing and Industrial Management
BAAS- Manufacturing and Industrial Management - Tarleton State University

Tarleton’s Department of Engineering Technology degrees in Engineering Physics and Environment Engineering are ABET accredited, e.g., Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC); however, NOT ABET, e.g., the Computing Accreditation Commission(CAC), the Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) or the Applied Science Accreditation Commission (ASAC).

Accredited Programs Search

 

Nope. Larger universities often offer both types of degrees -- for example, Bradley University offers both a BS in Manufacturing Engineering (which is an "engineering" degree) and BS in Manufacturing Engineering Technology (which is a "technology" degree). If you review the two program curricula, you will see that they are obviously both technical degrees, but they are also obviously different. In this case, both degrees have ABET accreditation -- but the engineering degree has ABET's "engineering" accreditation, while the technology degree has ABET's "technology" accreditation (which is not the same).

If the Original Poster wants an "engineering" program, then forget TESC. The lack of ABET accreditation is not the main issue -- the main issue is that it's not an "engineering" program at all. It's a technology program. This may still be OK, but it's not engineering, and so engineering accreditation issues aren't really applicable.

 

Ah, got it. I guess that makes more sense. When I think of Technology I of course think either IT or CS so maybe that's why I was confused and thinking it was an engineering degree.

 

Just to recap:

(1) In the US, engineering BS degrees typically have ABET/EAC accreditation (the "EAC" means engineering specifically). There are certain exceptions, but ABET/EAC is the norm.

(2) However, the TESC BSAST in Manufacturing Engineering Technology is not an engineering degree. Therefore (1) does not apply.

(3) The TESC BSAST in Manufacturing Engineering Technology is a "technology" degree. If you want an "engineering" degree, you should look elsewhere. However, it is difficult to get an ABET engineering degree by distance learning.

(4) In the US, technology degrees often have ABET/TAC accreditation (the "TAC" means technology specifically). However, some technology programs (including TESC's) lack such accreditation.

(5) ABET accreditation is usually regarded as optional for technology degrees (though it can be helpful in some circumstances). Therefore the lack of ABET accreditation is not a critical drawback for TESC technology degrees.

 

The Excelsior College technology degrees are ABET accredited.

These degrees can be used for a career in engineering - for example designers (referred to as CAD jockeys), test engineers, quality engineers frequently do not have regular degrees.
I do not have a regular engineering degree but am regarded as an expert in my area of specialization. In the end it depends on what you can do for your employer. I've worked with engineers with degrees from top schools (such as Stanford and USC) but were useless, and I have worked with engineers with no degrees who were terrific.

However I do agree that good engineering degree is a great asset.

 

I built a bridge or three. It's fun to see it come together.

Submerged arc welding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Some of them are -- but not all of them. Currently the only Excelsior degrees with ABET accreditation are the BS in Electrical Engineering Technology and the BS in Nuclear Engineering Technology.

Excelsior offers other BS in Technology degrees, but they don't have ABET accreditation. Their AS in Technology degrees don't have ABET accreditation either.

 

Its all making sense now. TESC offers the "technology" degree but not the "engineering" degree. With all the time & money we'll save, he may just go for that "technology" engineering degree. Hoping years in the field might prove him worthy. He's looking at being that CAD jock anyway - eats the stuff up. I've been very enlightened reading this forum. Thanks.

 

This BSBA degree might be of interest to you:
Bachelor of Science Quality Assurance
Certainly many of the courses could be transferred to a technology or engineering degree.
In my previous position of engineering manager in a large aerospace company I would have seriously considered hiring an engineer with this degree since I had responsibility for a dozen suppliers.
However dealing with CSUDH bureaucracy is daunting at times (unless they have improved over the last decade).