Engaging faculty in continuous improvement: The context of an ABET accreditation process

Abstract

Lessons learned. In this paper we present the lessons learned while implementing three strategies to promote faculty engagement in continuous improvement. These strategies were devised within the continuous improvement process that was established in the School of Engineering at Universidad Icesi. In this paper we will refer to full-time faculty members from two academic departments which serve three undergraduate programs, all of which were accredited by ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) in 2017. At the beginning of the 2018 academic year, faculty members were asked about their perceptions of the devised strategies; their perceptions are presented as a new ABET assessment cycle is beginning. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it discusses the strategies designed by the School of Engineering at Universidad Icesi to effectively engage faculty members in the implementation of a sustainable and continuous improvement process. Second, it presents early results obtained from the implementation of these strategies, including the perceptions of faculty members about these changes.