Research on quality assurance strategies within higher learning institutions' corresponding program accreditation of engineering education: From the perspective of sino-U.S. comparison

Abstract

The paper focuses on the quality assurance practice which promotes continuous quality improvement of engineering and technical talents, makes an in-depth analysis of the mechanisms of quality assurance in engineering education within higher learning institutions in the United States, and analyzes the characteristics of quality assurance mechanisms of engineering education, via reviewing research literature, interpreting the self-assessment reports and interviewing the internal stakeholders. Finally, the paper analyzes the practices and problems of the quality assurance in engineering education in China, discusses the construction of the quality assurance mechanisms of engineering education, and proposes some recommendations for the mechanisms construction of quality assurance in engineering education based on the specific national circumstances. In summary, the theoretical innovation of this paper is to conduct an in-depth research on quality assurance in engineering education from the perspective of higher learning institute, under the realistic background of program accreditation, and to conclude with a discussion of quality assurance approaches and mechanisms in cross-national, comparative perspective, with particular focus on U.S. and Chinese contexts of engineering education.