The University of West Alabama’s College of Business and Technology has received the ultimate stamp of approval from a top accrediting body for two of its fastest growing education programs, engineering technology and industrial maintenance. Accreditation from ABET sets the program above the standard and reflects UWA’s commitment to providing superior opportunities for students.

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and its Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission conducted the lengthy review cycle to evaluate both the bachelor of science in engineering technology and the associate of applied science in industrial maintenance. The 10-year accreditation extends retroactively from Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2025.

“This is what we call teamwork,” said Dr. Aliquippa Allen, dean of UWA’s College of Business and Technology. “The ABET accreditation process was a collective effort of a team led by Dr. Mitzi Green with commitment from full-time and part-time faculty, staff, and our COBT Technology Advisory Board. Countless University staff offices also contributed to the process. The team worked tirelessly over 18 months, and the results are outstanding.”

ABET accreditation of the programs can give students graduating with either degree an advantage over those from non-accredited programs by ensuring that benchmarks are met or exceeded and that quality in every aspect of the program is upheld.

“Having our four-year engineering technology and our two-year industrial maintenance programs accredited validates our commitment to excellence, and it reassures our stakeholders of our commitment to continuous improvement,” Allen said.

According to the report, “The institution is making progress in expanding engineering technology facilities and degree offerings to assist the community in preparing a competitive workforce through regional partnerships that connect business and industry constituents with a qualified and dependable workforce.”

The College of Business and Technology at UWA offers an array of major programs: accounting, finance, business administration, industrial maintenance, computer information systems, management, engineering technology, and marketing.

UWA’s engineering technology program is a general engineering technology program that serves the regional economy and was implemented in Fall 2014 to replace the industrial technology program. UWA received a Department of Labor (DOL) grant of $2.2 million in October 2012, and faculty members in the College of Business and Technology, particularly in engineering technology and industrial maintenance, were actively involved with the grant activities related to workforce training and teaching in the certificate programs.

The DOL grant funding, supplemented by other sources, has been a primary key to the enhancement of the engineering technology program—both with enrollment increases and facility enhancements.

To learn more about UWA’s College of Business and Technology and its engineering and technology or industrial maintenance programs, visit www.uwa.edu/academics/collegeofbusinessandtechnology.

(This article originally appeared in the Wednesday, January 8 issue of the Demopolis Times.)