Internal Accreditation of Engineering Education Programs of Iran

The number of students and engineering programs of Iran have significantly increased in the recent decades. In this period, due to the centralized educational planning in higher education, the engineering programs and course syllabus were almost similar in different educational institutes, but their graduates gained different levels of competence. While accreditation is a routine procedure in many countries, there is no consistent way of assessing engineering graduates of Iran. Accreditation can be carried out in three internal, national and international levels. In the absence of a national procedure, and due to the presence of obstacles for international recognition, the internal accreditation might be the most accessible method. Comparison of Iran’s national engineering programs with similar programs in some developed countries showed that our programs are mostly knowledge based and have less emphasis on developing the students’ skills and attitudes. This article discusses the process of accreditation and criteria developed in this respect by some international organizations. It also presents a guideline for internal assessment of Iran’s engineering programs. Internal accreditation will shed light on deficiencies of our engineering programs and prepare them for future national and international accreditation.