A comparison of BSET transfer students from ABET-accredited and non-accredited community colleges

Abstract

The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology (BSET) program is a transfer program accepting students from county/community colleges throughout the state. Some of the feeder colleges are TAC/ABET accredited and some are not. The NJIT Electrical Engineering Technology program, a TAC/ABET accredited program, has been in existence for more than 15 years and a large amount of data is available on the success rate of these students. By comparing the data of students from TAC/ABET accredited lower-division programs with data of students from lower-division programs not TAC/ABET accredited, some conclusions can be drawn on the effectiveness of the TAC/ABET accreditation. Even though the programs listed in the catalogs are virtually identical, students from TAC/ABET accredited colleges are more successful academically than those from colleges not ABET accredited.<>