ABET Accreditation: A Way Forward for PDC Education

TL;DR

This paper examines how ABET accreditation criteria influence the integration of parallel and distributed computing (PDC) in computer science curricula, analyzing top programs and case studies to identify effective approaches.

Contribution

It provides an analysis of PDC coverage in ABET-accredited programs and demonstrates diverse methods to meet accreditation requirements.

Findings

Top programs vary in PDC curriculum coverage

Case studies illustrate different effective approaches

ABET criteria influence curriculum design

Abstract

With parallel and distributed computing (PDC) now wide-spread, modern computing programs must incorporate PDC within the curriculum. ACM and IEEE Computer Society's Computer Science curricular guidelines have recommended exposure to PDC concepts since 2013. More recently, a variety of initiatives have made PDC curricular content, lectures, and labs freely available for undergraduate computer science programs. Despite these efforts, progress in ensuring computer science students graduate with sufficient PDC exposure has been uneven. This paper discusses the impact of ABET's revised criteria that have required exposure to PDC to achieve accreditation for computer science programs since 2018. The authors reviewed 20 top ABET-accredited computer science programs and analyzed how they covered the required PDC components in their curricula. Using their own institutions as case studies, the authors examine in detail how three different ABET-accredited computer science programs covered PDC using different approaches, yet meeting the PDC requirements of these ABET criteria. The paper also shows how ACM/IEEE Computer Society curricular guidelines for computer engineering and software engineering programs, along with ABET accreditation criteria, can cover PDC.