Implementing Fuzzy AHP and FUCOM to evaluate critical success factors for sustained academic quality assurance and ABET accreditation.

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredits the tertiary education programs in the areas of applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. ABET offers accreditation in the United States and other regions in the world that lack such entiti...

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Main Authors: Naim Ahmad, Ayman Qahmash
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2020-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239140
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author Naim Ahmad
Ayman Qahmash
author_facet Naim Ahmad
Ayman Qahmash
author_sort Naim Ahmad
collection DOAJ
description The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredits the tertiary education programs in the areas of applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. ABET offers accreditation in the United States and other regions in the world that lack such entities such as Gulf Cooperative Counties (GCC). Though ABET accreditation is voluntary, graduates of the ABET-accredited programs are considered equivalent in knowledge, behaviors, and attitude with global standards. The process of ABET accreditation takes months or years depending upon the gap with readiness and resources. The objective of this study is to compile and prioritize the list of critical success factors (CSFs) to commit resources optimally for sustained academic quality assurance and ABET accreditation. The triangulation research designed has been employed. Firstly, the observation of the ABET accreditation process of multiple programs at King Khalid University (KKU) helped in identifying 11 CSFs in three categories namely Program design and execution, Quality culture and excellence, and Institutional infrastructure and support. Further, these CSFs have been explored in the literature in the area of ABET accreditation. Finally, the research employs a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (Fuzzy AHP) and full consistency method (FUCOM) to rank the relative importance of these CSFs and their dimensions for sustained academic quality assurance and ABET accreditation. The incorporation of these CSFs will help institutions in the GCC and other regions to get their academic programs ABET-accredited in an optimal manner.
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spelling doaj.art-27f0b68866a5478fa5b34eb4738a21aa2022-12-21T21:54:57ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-01159e023914010.1371/journal.pone.0239140Implementing Fuzzy AHP and FUCOM to evaluate critical success factors for sustained academic quality assurance and ABET accreditation.Naim AhmadAyman QahmashThe Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredits the tertiary education programs in the areas of applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. ABET offers accreditation in the United States and other regions in the world that lack such entities such as Gulf Cooperative Counties (GCC). Though ABET accreditation is voluntary, graduates of the ABET-accredited programs are considered equivalent in knowledge, behaviors, and attitude with global standards. The process of ABET accreditation takes months or years depending upon the gap with readiness and resources. The objective of this study is to compile and prioritize the list of critical success factors (CSFs) to commit resources optimally for sustained academic quality assurance and ABET accreditation. The triangulation research designed has been employed. Firstly, the observation of the ABET accreditation process of multiple programs at King Khalid University (KKU) helped in identifying 11 CSFs in three categories namely Program design and execution, Quality culture and excellence, and Institutional infrastructure and support. Further, these CSFs have been explored in the literature in the area of ABET accreditation. Finally, the research employs a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (Fuzzy AHP) and full consistency method (FUCOM) to rank the relative importance of these CSFs and their dimensions for sustained academic quality assurance and ABET accreditation. The incorporation of these CSFs will help institutions in the GCC and other regions to get their academic programs ABET-accredited in an optimal manner.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239140
spellingShingle Naim Ahmad
Ayman Qahmash
Implementing Fuzzy AHP and FUCOM to evaluate critical success factors for sustained academic quality assurance and ABET accreditation.
PLoS ONE
title Implementing Fuzzy AHP and FUCOM to evaluate critical success factors for sustained academic quality assurance and ABET accreditation.
title_full Implementing Fuzzy AHP and FUCOM to evaluate critical success factors for sustained academic quality assurance and ABET accreditation.
title_fullStr Implementing Fuzzy AHP and FUCOM to evaluate critical success factors for sustained academic quality assurance and ABET accreditation.
title_full_unstemmed Implementing Fuzzy AHP and FUCOM to evaluate critical success factors for sustained academic quality assurance and ABET accreditation.
title_short Implementing Fuzzy AHP and FUCOM to evaluate critical success factors for sustained academic quality assurance and ABET accreditation.
title_sort implementing fuzzy ahp and fucom to evaluate critical success factors for sustained academic quality assurance and abet accreditation
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239140
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