Committee on Engineering Accreditation Activities
The Committee on Engineering Accreditation Activities (CEAA) reports to, and is a committee of, the EAB through the EAB University Resources Committee (URC).
- Mission
- Scope
- Functions
- Composition and Appointments
- Nomination and Selection of Members, Representatives, and Alternates
- Terms of Office / Length of Service
- Duties and Responsibilities
- Subcommittees
- Financial and Administrative Support
- Qualifications for IEEE EAC of ABET Program Evaluators
- Amendments
- CEAA Member Roster
Mission
To identify and meet the accreditation needs of the profession, by assisting in the establishment, operation, development and implementation of accrediting bodies and engineering accreditation policies and procedures in the United States and other countries as appropriate.
Scope
To execute, under the guidance of the IEEE Educational Activities Board and the IEEE University Resources Committee, all IEEE activities relating to the accreditation of engineering programs by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET, and to participate in activities of other accrediting bodies (e.g., regional accreditation agencies) in the United States and other countries as appropriate.
Functions
The CEAA responsibilities are:
1. Operational Plans and Activities
- Coordinate all IEEE activities relating to the accreditation of engineering programs by the EAC of ABET;
- Specify the qualifications for the IEEE EAC program evaluators, subject to consent, in writing, by the Vice President Educational Activities (VP-EA) and the Chair, University Resources Committee (URC);
- Propose IEEE program evaluators for nomination by the URC to the EAC on behalf of the EAB in accordance with the “Qualifications for IEEE EAC of ABET Program Evaluators,” which are included in the CEAA Operations Manual, and in accordance with the desire that at least half of the IEEE program evaluators shall be from industry and/or government;
- Train, mentor, and review program evaluators;
- Evaluate educational programs through review of program evaluator reports;
- Propose, review, comment upon, or facilitate the development of program criteria for EAB approval;
- Propose IEEE representatives and alternates through the URC for nomination by the EAB to the EAC of ABET;
- Propose the re-nomination of IEEE representatives and alternates by the URC to the EAC of ABET on behalf of the EAB.
- Recommend evaluators for programs for which the IEEE has sole responsibility;
- Coordinate, in conjunction with other participating or affiliated ABET member societies, the selection of evaluators for programs for which IEEE has lead society responsibility or cooperates with other societies; and
- Review and recommend changes to the CEAA Charter.
2. Strategic Plans and Activities
a. Periodically review committee activities so as to define, recommend and implement strategic initiatives relevant to the improvement of CEAA functions, including changes in accreditation criteria policy and procedures.
Composition and Appointments
The membership of the CEAA consists of up to eighteen (18) voting, up to three (3) non-voting, and additional corresponding members, as indicated below:
Voting Members
- CEAA Chair, with succession to this position as defined in Section G below.
- CEAA Chair-Elect, or the Past Chair, in accordance with the succession and terms as described in Section G below. The CEAA Chair-Elect shall be selected by the CEAA, endorsed by the URC, and approved by the EAB. Candidates for CEAA Chair-Elect shall normally have completed, or be entering, their final year as IEEE representative to EAC of ABET.
- CEAA Program Evaluator Assignment Coordinator, selected by the CEAA from among current or past CEAA members or IEEE representatives to EAC of ABET, endorsed by the APC, and approved by the EAB.
- CEAA International Program Evaluator Assignment Coordinator, selected by the CEAA from among current or past CEAA members or IEEE representatives to EAC of ABET, endorsed by the URC and approved by the EAB.
- CEAA Training Coordinator, selected by the CEAA from among current or past CEAA members or IEEE representatives to EAC of ABET, endorsed by the URC, and approved by the EAB.
- At-Large Members who are selected by the CEAA from among the pool of experienced program evaluators, endorsed by URC, and approved by the EAB. IEEE EAC commissioners are typically selected from experienced At-Large Members completing their terms on CEAA. To assure a sufficient number of qualified EAC commissioners, the maximum number of At-Large Members shall be one less than the total number of IEEE EAC commissioners designated by ABET.
- URC Chair, serving as an ex officio member.
- The IEEE representative to the EAC of ABET, nominated by the Chair of CEAA, with the concurrence of the VP-EA serving as an ex officio member for a two (2) year term and must have served on the EAC of ABET for at least two (2) years.
Non-Voting Members
- VP-EA, serving as an ex officio member.
- One (1) IEEE Representative Delegate serving on the ABET Board of Delegates, nominated by the URC Chair and approved by the VP-EA, serving as an ex officio member. k. Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association (ECEDHA), or designee, serving as an ex officio member.
Corresponding Members
- All IEEE representatives and alternates to the EAC of ABET not already Voting Members.
- All Alternate At-Large members of CEAA, selected by the CEAA from among the pool of experienced program evaluators, endorsed by the URC, and approved by the EAB.
- Up to two (2) CEAA Program Evaluator Assignment Coordinator Backups, selected by the CEAA from among current or past CEAA members or IEEE representatives to EAC of ABET, endorsed by the URC, and approved by the EAB.
- Liaisons between IEEE and other ABET member societies with responsibility for specific programs, subject to the approval of the CEAA Chair and the URC Chair. IEEE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES BOARD OPERATIONS MANUAL
2. All voting members must be IEEE Senior Members or Fellows. No IEEE member serving on the EAC of ABET (including the EAC Executive Committee) may simultaneously serve as an At-Large Member or Chair of CEAA. It is expected that approximately one-half of the voting members shall come from industry or government.
3. An individual holding multiple positions on CEAA shall have the responsibilities associated with all such positions, with the exception that no member shall have more than one vote.
Nomination and Selection of Members, Representatives, and Alternates
The CEAA Nominating Subcommittee shall be responsible for preparing slates of candidates for CEAA Chair-Elect, At-Large Members and Alternates, Program Evaluator Assignment Coordinator and Backup(s), and Training Coordinator; and for IEEE Representatives and Alternates to EAC of ABET. The Subcommittee shall solicit nominations and recruit eligible candidates, in accordance with this Charter, and the CEAA Operations Manual.
Under extenuating circumstances, the URC Chair, in consultation with the VP-EA, may approve the nomination of other candidates for CEAA Chair-Elect.
CEAA may select Alternate At-Large Members of the CEAA and Alternate Representatives to EAC of ABET, subject to endorsement by URC and approval by EAB. Alternates may be appointed by the CEAA Chair, subject to the approval of the URC Chair, to fill vacancies. The maximum number of CEAA alternates allowed shall be six (6). The maximum number of EAC alternates allowed shall be one-half the number of EAC commissioners allocated to IEEE according to the designation from ABET, required to fill vacancies for the following year.
Terms of Office / Length of Service
All terms of service, with the exception of those for ex officio members, commence on July 1st of each calendar year and are defined as follows:
CEAA Chair
The term of the CEAA Chair shall be two (2) years, beginning July 1st in even-numbered years. The Chair shall become the CEAA Past Chair upon completion of the term as Chair.
CEAA Chair-Elect
The term of the CEAA Chair-Elect shall be one (1) year, beginning July 1st in odd-numbered years. The Chair-Elect shall become the CEAA Chair upon completion of the term as ChairElect.
CEAA Past Chair
The term of the CEAA Past Chair shall be one (1) year, beginning July 1st in even-numbered years.
CEAA Program Evaluator Assignment Coordinator
The term of the CEAA Program Evaluator Assignment Coordinator is one (1) year. The Program Evaluator Assignment Coordinator may generally hold office for no longer than six (6) successive terms.
CEAA Training Coordinator
The term of the CEAA Training Coordinator is one (1) year. The Training Coordinator may generally hold office for no longer than six (6) successive terms.
CEAA At-Large Members
The term of an At-Large Member is one (1) year. An At-Large Member may generally hold office for no longer than a total of five (5) terms. Service as a CEAA member in other positions is not considered part of the five-year term limit for At-Large Members.
CEAA Alternate At-Large Members
The term of an Alternate At-Large Member is one (1) year, with re-appointment for additional years allowed.
Duties and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities of CEAA members are as follows:
CEAA Chair
- Serve as a voting member of the URC
- Seek out collaborative opportunities with other URC Committees and, when appropriate, with other IEEE and EAB organizational units and Committees
- Prepare meeting agendas
- Convene and conduct regular and special meetings
- Appoint CEAA Standing Subcommittee Chairs and members
- Maintain and update the CEAA Operations Manual as needed; this responsibility may be assigned to a CEAA member, or to a Standing or Ad Hoc Subcommittee
- Act as the principal liaison between CEAA and the Educational Activities (EA) professional staff
CEAA Chair-Elect
- Chair CEAA meetings in the absence of the CEAA Chair (Beginning July 1st in odd-numbered years)
- Additional duties as assigned by the CEAA Chair
CEAA Past Chair
- Chair CEAA meetings in the absence of the CEAA Chair (Beginning July 1st in even-numbered years)
- Additional duties as assigned by the CEAA Chair
CEAA Program Evaluator Assignment Coordinator
- Manage the Program Evaluator resource pool of current and past evaluators in conjunction with the EA professional staff under guidelines established by the CEAA
- Select, assign, contact and confirm Program Evaluators for all IEEE engineering program accreditation visits
- Maintain results of CEAA review of program evaluator reports
CEAA International Program Evaluator Assignment Coordinator
- Manage the International Program Evaluator resource pool of current and past evaluators in conjunction with the EA professional staff under guidelines established by the CEAA
- Select, assign, contact and confirm Program Evaluators for all international engineering program accreditation visits
- Maintain results of CEAA review of program evaluator reports
CEAA Program Evaluator Assignment Coordinator Backup(s)
- Assist the CEAA Program Evaluator Assignment Coordinator with program evaluator and visit assignment activities
CEAA Training Coordinator
- Chair CEAA Training Standing Subcommittee
- Develop materials for initial and refresher training of program evaluators, incorporating ABET training materials as required
- Coordinate with EAC and ABET training activities
CEAA At-Large Members
- Attend meetings and vote on CEAA issues
- Serve as Standing Subcommittee Chairs or members, as appointed
- Serve as program evaluators
- Assist in recruitment, mentoring and training of program evaluators
- Review and rate applications of potential program evaluators
- Review visit reports and rate program evaluator performance IEEE Representatives to EAC of ABET
- Serve on at least one CEAA Standing Subcommittee
- Review and rate applications of potential program evaluators
- Assist in recruitment and mentoring of representatives and alternates to EAC of ABET
CEAA Alternate At-Large Members
- Serve on Standing Subcommittees
- Serve as program evaluators
- Assist At-Large members in mentoring of program evaluators, including review of visit reports and rating of program evaluator performance IEEE Alternates to EAC of ABET (if not also serving in another CEAA position)
- Serve on at least one CEAA Standing Subcommittee
- Review and rate applications of potential program evaluators
Subcommittees
Standing Subcommittees of CEAA shall include Awards, Criteria, Mentoring, Nominating, and Training. The responsibilities, principal activities, and administrative processes of these Standing Subcommittees shall be defined in the CEAA Operations Manual. Ad-hoc Subcommittees may be appointed by the CEAA Chair as needed.
The CEAA Training Coordinator shall chair the Training Standing Subcommittee and the chairs of the other Standing Subcommittees shall be appointed by the CEAA Chair from among the At-Large Members. IEEE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES BOARD OPERATIONS MANUAL
Additional Standing Subcommittee members may be appointed by the CEAA Chair, or by the Standing Subcommittee chair with the approval of the CEAA Chair, and may include voting, non-voting, and corresponding members of CEAA.
Financial and Administrative Support
The EAB will provide financial and administrative support through the URC including travel, material and communication expenses, and secretarial and administrative assistance provided through an annual allocation by the IEEE. Only CEAA Voting Members, the VP-EA, the IEEE Representative Director serving on the ABET Board of Directors, and special representatives pre-approved by the URC Chair shall be eligible for travel and meeting expense reimbursement. The reimbursements shall conform to the standard IEEE Travel Policy.
If a CEAA Meeting is scheduled in conjunction with the ABET annual commission meetings, support may be provided for a joint dinner meeting with the IEEE representatives and alternates to the EAC of ABET. K. Meetings There will be at least one face-to-face meeting of the CEAA convened annually. Additional meetings shall be called by the CEAA Chair as needed. The meetings will be conducted under an informal application of parliamentary procedures and rules of order. Minutes will be recorded for each meeting. The CEAA Chair may invite representatives of IEEE organizational units or of ABET member societies to be non-voting participants in meetings of the CEAA for the purpose of assisting CEAA in fulfilling its duties.
Qualifications for IEEE EAC of ABET Program Evaluators
Qualifications for IEEE EAC of ABET Program Evaluators are provided in the CEAA Operations Manual. Changes and updates must be approved by the CEAA, subject to the consent of the VP-EA and the URC Chair.
Amendments
All amendments to this Charter must be approved by EAB.