COVID-19 Updates

ABET continues to monitor the evolving situation related to the coronavirus COVID-19. We know individuals and institutions continue to be under tremendous stress in these uncertain times, and the full impact of this global health crisis still remains to be seen. As we navigate these challenges together, please be assured that we are committed to supporting our common goal of ensuring our world’s sustainability, safety, health and well-being.

Below, you’ll find several announcements regarding this year’s accreditation cycle and upcoming ABET events and programs. Please check this page for additional updates as the situation evolves.

ABET volunteers: please log in to MyABET for additional information.

Updated May 19, 2023

As of May 17, 2023, the ABET Board of Directors has now confirmed the end of ABET’s requirement for volunteers to be fully vaccinated when travelling on behalf of ABET. This is consistent with the White House announcement declaring the end of the vaccine requirement for federal employees, contractors and international air travelers and the declared end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

ABET continues to recommend that all volunteers and staff on ABET business travel, regardless of the visit location, follow the CDC guidelines and comply with local requirements at the travel destination and the visit institution. ABET will continue to monitor all visit all locations for security, health, and safety risks in partnership with Global Rescue as we return to in-person reviews this cycle. Our priority continues to be the well-being, health, and safety of our volunteers and, if at any point a heightened risk makes it unsafe to send a team to a location, we will pivot to a virtual review.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to [email protected] with any questions about program delivery or planning for an upcoming review.

ABET has been monitoring the evolving situation related to the coronavirus COVID-19 as we prepare for the upcoming 2022-2023 Review Cycle activities. ABET’s top priority is the well-being, health and security of the institution’s administrators, faculty, staff and students, as well as the ABET team members. Our intention is to conduct reviews on site unless conditions are unsafe to send a team to the institution.

In consultation with Global Rescue as our trusted partner in providing reliable risk assessment and in conjunction with CDC travel advisories and the U.S. State Department, we have reached a determination regarding where we will send a team to campus and where we will conduct the review virtually.

It was important to decide early in the accreditation cycle to provide certainty for the volunteers as we assign the teams between late March and early June. In addition, it was important to provide certainty for the institutions to minimize disruption in their planning for the accreditation review.

ABET staff will continue to monitor Global Rescue’s weekly COVID-19 updates regarding the risk associated with travel to institutions that are designated for onsite reviews between now and the date of the review.

In the event of new pandemic conditions increasing risk, ABET may transition any remaining onsite visits to virtual reviews. Once a review is designated as a virtual review it will remain virtual for the remainder of the cycle, even if conditions change again.

As part of ABET’s COVID-19 policy, ABET requires that any individuals traveling on ABET business comply with all requirements established by the institution such as vaccinations, testing or masks.

All programs under review in the 2022-2023 accreditation cycle have received notification regarding whether their review will be conducted virtually or on site.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to [email protected] with any questions about program delivery or planning for an upcoming review.

We understand that universities and colleges continue to deal with unprecedented changes to their operations and budgets as they work to reallocate resources and continue to educate students. In light of these challenges, we are reducing maintenance fees for the 2021-2022 accreditation cycle by $50 USD per accredited program.

Adjustments to fees will be reflected in the next invoice.

If you have specific questions about your program, please contact [email protected].

We are temporarily unable to provide copies of ECEI Credentials Evaluation Reports. We appreciate your patience, and we will respond to all requests when the ABET headquarters office reopens.

Upcoming Events and Workshops may be postponed or offered as virtual events. We will make a determination about future events and send out notifications two weeks prior to the event so participants can make adjustments to their travel plans.