An ABET accreditation review is an 18-month sequence with fixed dates, and most of the risk for a program sits in missing one of them. This guide walks through each stage in order, from the request through the self-study & site visits phase to the vote, using the deadlines ABET publishes on its process pages and in its Accreditation Policy and Procedure Manual (APPM) for 2026-27. It is written for accreditation coordinators, department chairs and deans who are planning a first review or preparing for the next one. Credentials Wave is an independent publication that reports on ABET; it is not ABET, and programs should confirm every date against ABET's current documents for their own cycle.

Before the clock starts: readiness review

An institution that has never had a program accredited by a given ABET commission must first complete a Readiness Review before it can request an initial evaluation. ABET's step-by-step page places this about a year before the visit: the request for a Readiness Review is due by August 15, and the submission itself, which includes samples of student work, syllabi, textbooks and assignments, is due by September 1. A committee of ABET staff and former commissioners screens the materials. According to the APPM, the outcome is a recommendation to proceed in the coming cycle, a recommendation to wait until substantive changes are made, or a binding determination that the institution should not submit, after which another Readiness Review is generally required.

Institutions that already hold accreditation in that commission skip this step. ABET also advises every program, new or returning, to have its assessment planning in place well before the formal cycle begins.

January 31: the Request for Evaluation

The formal cycle starts with the Request for Evaluation (RFE), due January 31 of the year the visit is wanted. The APPM sets out the details:

  • The institution's chief executive signs the RFE.
  • Each program listed needs one official academic record from a recent graduate. A new program whose first graduate is expected before July 1 may send that record later, but no later than July 1.
  • A separate RFE is filed for each commission that will review programs that year.
  • An RFE can be changed or withdrawn up until the July commission meeting.

Fees follow a fixed calendar. ABET posts its fee schedule by April 1, sends the invoice by May 1, and expects payment within 30 days of the invoice date. Between April and May, ABET sets the visit date and assembles the review team.

July 1: the self-study report

The self-study report is due July 1 of the review year, uploaded through ABET's Accreditation Management System. It must explain how the program meets each criterion and applicable policy, and it must cover every delivery method, completion path and remote offering. The APPM requires the report to be written in English and to be self-contained, with no active links to outside material. Once it is filed, the assigned team begins its review. ABET runs webinars for institutional representatives during this period and announces them by email to the primary and secondary institutional contacts.

September to December: the visit

Visits take place between September and December. A standard visit lasts three days, normally Sunday through Tuesday, though ABET can adjust the length. The team usually consists of a team chair, typically a current member of the commission, plus one program evaluator for each program, with at least three members in total. Evaluators are generally drawn from lists kept by the lead member society for each discipline. During the visit, the team reviews displayed materials and interviews students, faculty, staff and administrators. The APPM also allows ABET to reschedule or reconfigure a visit to protect the health and safety of its volunteers.

The visit closes with an exit meeting at which the team presents its preliminary findings orally. Preparation for scheduling, interviews and display rooms usually begins months ahead.

After the visit: corrections, draft statement and due process

The post-visit stage has its own deadlines:

  • Seven days after the visit. The institution may send the team chair corrections to any errors of fact in the exit presentation or in the Program Audit Forms.
  • Two to three months after the visit. The institution receives the Draft Statement, prepared by the team chair and edited by commission officers. It lists findings and any shortcomings, classified as Deficiencies, Weaknesses or Concerns, along with Observations.
  • Within 30 days of receiving the Draft Statement. The institution files its due process response, reporting progress on shortcomings or correcting errors of fact. Under the APPM, a shortcoming counts as resolved only if the fix was put in place during the academic year of the review and documented in official, signed records.

If new information that could materially affect the result becomes available after the 30-day window, a program may ask to submit it. The team chair decides, in consultation with commission leadership, and any approved material must arrive before the July commission meeting.

July and August: the decision

Each ABET commission meets in July to vote on accreditation actions. The team chair drafts the Final Statement after reading the due process response, commission officers edit it, and the commission sets the action. Institutions receive the Final Statement no later than August 31. The possible results range from Next General Review, which typically carries a six-year term when no Deficiencies or Weaknesses remain, to two-year Interim Report or Interim Visit actions, Show Cause actions for accredited programs with Deficiencies, and Not to Accredit.

For anyone mapping the self-study & site visits stage onto an academic calendar, the anchor dates are January 31, July 1, the fall visit, a 30-day response window after the draft statement arrives, and a July vote.

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