Pittsburg State University announced on September 8, 2026, that ABET has renewed accreditation through 2032 for six programs in its Crossland College of Technology: five engineering technology degrees and one construction management degree. The renewals come from two different ABET commissions, which makes the announcement a useful example of how applied science & engineering technology programs at one college can sit under separate review tracks. Credentials Wave is an independent publication covering accreditation; it reports on ABET and does not represent it or the university.

The six programs

According to the university, the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC) renewed accreditation for five programs:

  • Construction Engineering Technology
  • Electronics Engineering Technology
  • Manufacturing Engineering Technology
  • Mechanical Engineering Technology
  • Plastics Engineering Technology

The sixth program, Construction Management, was renewed by ABET's Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission (ANSAC). The university says construction management students choose among three emphases: safety management, field management and company management. Engineering technology students choose one of the five paths listed above. The university's release says students in both areas spend substantial time in laboratories and in process and production settings starting in their first year.

The release names Lisa A. Riedle, dean of the Crossland College of Technology, along with university president Thomas Newsom and provost Susan Bon. It does not give the date of the review visit, enrollment figures or details of the review findings.

Why two commissions reviewed one college

ABET operates four accreditation commissions, each with its own criteria: applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. A program is reviewed by the commission whose criteria match its field and focus, so a single college can host programs accredited by more than one. At Pittsburg State, the engineering technology degrees fall under ETAC, while construction management is reviewed under ANSAC.

When an institution has programs going to more than one commission in the same year, ABET's Accreditation Policy and Procedure Manual requires a separate Request for Evaluation for each commission, and it provides for joint reviews in which each commission supplies its own team chair. The release does not say whether Pittsburg State's review was conducted jointly.

The manual also describes who does the reviewing. A team is typically made up of a team chair plus one program evaluator for each program, with at least three members, and evaluators are usually drawn from lists kept by the member society that leads each discipline. A cycle covering six applied science & engineering technology programs would therefore involve a separate evaluator for each degree, each reading that program's self-study against its own commission's criteria.

What a renewal through 2032 reflects

ABET's manual requires comprehensive reviews at intervals of no more than six years for a program to remain continuously accredited. The action that carries a full six-year term, Next General Review, is granted only after a comprehensive review that finds no Deficiencies and no Weaknesses. Shorter actions, typically two years, apply when a review finds Weaknesses or, for accredited programs, Deficiencies.

The review cycle that produces a fall 2026 announcement follows a fixed calendar in ABET's process. Institutions file the Request for Evaluation by January 31 of the visit year and the self-study report by July 1, host the review team between September and December, respond to the draft statement within 30 days, and receive the commission's decision after its July meeting, with the Final Statement delivered by August 31. A September announcement is consistent with that timeline, though the university does not state the dates of its own cycle.

What students and employers can check

ABET accreditation is attached to a named degree at a named institution under a named commission. For a reader verifying a credential, the relevant facts here are the degree title (for example, Electronics Engineering Technology), the commission (ETAC for the five engineering technology degrees, ANSAC for Construction Management) and the term, which the university gives as running through 2032.

The engineering technology and engineering commissions apply separate sets of criteria, so an ETAC-accredited engineering technology degree and an EAC-accredited engineering degree are accredited against different standards, even when the subject areas overlap. Students comparing programs in applied science & engineering technology fields can ask a department which commission reviews its degree and when its current term ends.

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