Proceedings of the 7th International Forum on Engineering Education (IFEE2015), 17-19 March 2015, University of Sharjah, UAE. MINIMIZING ABET REVIEW PROCESS UNCERTAINTY: THE ROLE OF INNOVATIVE QUALITY ASSURANCE TOOLS Ayham Jaaron 1 and Ahmad Ramahi 2 1 Industrial Engineering Department, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine Email: ayham.jaaron@najah.edu 2 Industrial Engineering Department, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine Email: ramahi@najah.edu ABSTRACT: The new ABET accreditation system was first introduced to the American Engineering Education in the middle of 1990s. Since its introduction, majority of academic literature focused on the most appropriate procedures for forming Program Educational Objectives (PEOs) and student outcomes (i.e. A-K), giving little attention to the process of developing innovative quality assurance tools that can enhance accreditation success and minimize review process uncertainty. Based on a case study methodology at An-Najah National University (NNU) in Palestine, this paper aims at closing the aforementioned gap by proposing a novel form of ABET quality assurance tools that can increase the chance of having a successful ABET review process. The findings of the case study analysis illustrates the successful experience of NNU in getting accreditation for seven of its Engineering programs, it illustrates in particular a number of practical quality assurance tools that were developed and adapted by the Faculty of Engineering at NNU; these tools were found very useful in minimizing ABET review process uncertainty. KEYWORDS:Quality assurance; ABET; Engineering Education; Innovative Quality Tools; Accreditation. INTRODUCTION The literacy rate in Palestine is ninety one percent; Palestinians are the most educated population in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region [1]. However, as in other countries in the region, mismatch between the qualifications demand and supply is always a major challenge for the higher education institutions [2,3].Qualifications refer to the capacity, knowledge, or skill that make someone suitable for a particular job or activity [4]. Higher education is the backbone of any society; the quality of higher education shapes the quality of human resources in a country. Quality in higher education means the educational process ensures that students achieve predetermined educational objectives/outcomes and thereby satisfies the needs of the society and helps in the national development [5]. It is difficult to ensure good educational quality in developing countries; many private and public universities/colleges are offering engineering degrees, but products of these universities/colleges could work only in their own country and educational globalization has little or no meaning for them [6]. On the other hand, international accreditation can insure that graduates have met the educational requirements necessary to enter the profession, provides opportunities for the industry to guide the educational process to reflect current and future needs, and enhance the mobility of professionals [7]. ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accreditation provides assurance that a college or university program meets the quality standards established by the profession for which the program prepares its students [8]. ABET accreditation enables academic institutions to demonstrate to the public that they are serious about advancing the quality of their programs. It is recognition by the technical professions that these programs are preparing students well, and it encourages "best practices" in education through formal, continuous quality improvement processes. Programs seeking accreditation from the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET must demonstrate that they satisfy all of the following General Criteria [9-11]: