Understanding the New ABET Computer Science Criteria

The Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET accredits over 300 Computer Science programs worldwide under the Computer Science program criteria. In the past few years, the Commission has engaged the computing community to modify and update these criteria, and has now signed off on an updated set of program criteria that take into account factors such as the CS2013 curricular guidelines, impact on currently accredited programs, structural changes to clarify the criteria, and the reduction of the assessment burden. These recent changes to the Computer Science program criteria primarily impact student outcomes (what program graduates are expected to know and be able to do by graduation) and curriculum. Those changes will impact computer science programs in a variety of ways and degrees---some programs will be impacted significantly while others will be affected in a relatively minor way. This paper examines the changes that will take effect starting in the 2019-20 accreditation cycle, covering the rationale for those changes and exploring the likely impact on computer science programs that are currently accredited or seeking accreditation in the near future.