ABET Accreditation

The Bachelor of Science degree program in Computer Science at LAU is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org, the recognized accreditor of college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. ABET accreditation demonstrates a program’s commitment to providing its students with a quality education.

Accreditation is a voluntary, peer-review process that requires programs to undergo comprehensive, periodic evaluations. The evaluations, conducted by teams of volunteer professionals working in industry, government, academe, and private practice within the ABET disciplines, focus on program curricula, faculty, facilities, institutional support, and other important areas.

One of the key elements of ABET accreditation is the requirement that programs continuously improve the quality of education provided. As part of this continuous improvement requirement, programs set specific, measurable goals for their students and graduates, assess their success at reaching those goals, and improve their programs based on the results of their assessment.

Enrollment Trends in the Computer Science Program

Enrollment Trends BS in Computer Science
	Fall 2016	Fall 2017	Fall 2018	Fall 2019	Fall 2020	Fall 2021
Beirut Campus	153	179	199	235	292	355
% Change	1%	17%	11%	18%	24%	22%
Byblos Campus	90	72	74	75	78	127
% Change	20%	-20%	3%	1%	4%	63%
University Total	243	251	273	310	370	482
% Change	7%	3%	9%	14%	19%	30%

Degrees Granted BS in Computer Science
	AY 2015-16	AY 2016-17	AY 2017-18	AY 2018-19	AY 2019-20
Beirut Campus	23	24	29	26	45
% Change	-	4%	21%	-10%	73%
Byblos Campus	15	10	13	12	16
% Change	-	-33%	30%	-8%	33%
University Total	38	34	42	38	61
% Change	0%	-11%	24%	-10%	61%

*AY refers to degrees conferred between July 1 and June 30 of an academic year, i.e. Summer I, Summer II, Fall and Spring terms.

In addition to providing colleges and universities a structured mechanism to assess, evaluate, and improve their programs, accreditation also helps students and their parents choose quality college programs, enables employers and graduate schools to recruit graduates they know are well-prepared, and is used by registration, licensure, and certification boards to screen applicants.

ABET is a not-for-profit organization, owned and operated by its more than 25 professional and technical member societies. An internationally respected organization with some 1,500 volunteers, ABET has set the higher-educational standards in its fields for nearly 75 years. More information about ABET, its member societies, and the evaluation criteria used to accredit programs can be found at http://www.abet.org.