Accreditation

As is known, engineering is a profession focused on improving our quality of life by solving technical problems in society. It has become a more global profession than in the past due to the highly developed transportation and communication opportunities. This situation has increased the opportunity for engineers to find and work in foreign countries as well as in their own countries. This formation imposes important responsibilities as well as the need for engineers to have more skills. For this reason, it has become very important today that the education received is transparent, the diplomas received are recognized and meet the minimum requirements set on a global scale. One of the most effective ways to document that these requirements are met is that the engineering program in question is accredited by authorized institutions.

What is accreditation?

Accreditation is the process of evaluating a product or service according to universal criteria, approving its technical and administrative competencies and repeating this process at regular intervals by an organization authorized by an official authority in order to demonstrate the conformity of a product or service to the conditions and standards demanded by the market.

Why is accreditation important for Işık University, Department of Mechanical Engineering?

It creates the opportunity to update itself due to the periodic evaluation of the engineering undergraduate programs it conducts according to accepted criteria,
By announcing its accredited programs to the public, the society is informed about this issue,
They are encouraged to improve themselves by encouraging continuous improvement of their programs,
Students' and/or parents' preferences are positively influenced, resulting in a competitive advantage in the academic environment.

Why is accreditation important for students?

The national/international validity and equivalence of their diploma in terms of profession is proved,
It is documented that they have graduated with the qualifications to provide the performance expected from them in their working environment,
It provides an advantage in terms of ensuring diploma equivalence and recognition in the admission process for their future graduate education.
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Accreditation by whom?

Evaluations and accreditation processes are carried out by organizations whose criteria are up-to-date and understandable, whose processes are well defined and clear, who are recognized and authorized by national and/or international authorities, and who have the status of independent non-governmental organizations. In the national context, MÜDEK (Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Engineering Education Programs) is the only institution that has all these qualifications and is recognized and authorized by YÖK to accredit engineering undergraduate programs nationally.

Short history of MÜDEK

It was established in 2003 and started evaluating national engineering degree programs,
Became a member of the European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education (ENAEE) in 2006,
In 2007, it became a legal entity and was recognized by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) as the national quality assurance body for engineering undergraduate programs,
In 2009, it was authorized by ENAEE to award the EUR-ACE label to the engineering programs it accredits,
Became a full member of the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) in 2011 and
Evaluated more than 500 engineering undergraduate programs at over 50 foundation and state universities until 2016.
MÜDEK's International Position
MÜDEK is a member of two major and important international umbrella platforms of accreditation organizations.

IEA (International Engineering Alliance-Washington Accord):

With the “Washington Accord” agreement signed by the accreditation authorities of the member countries of this platform, the programs accredited by each other in their own countries are recognized as equivalent. The member countries of this platform are:

Turkey(*)
Australia
Canada
Taiwan
Hong Kong
India
Japan
Ireland(*)
Malaysia
South Korea
New Zealand
Russia(*)
Singapore
South Africa
Sri Lanka
England(*)
United States of America

Thus, a program that receives MÜDEK accreditation gains significant advantages in terms of the recognition and validity of the diplomas of its graduates in its own country and in 25 different countries outside its own country.

(*) It is also a member of ENAEE.

ENAEE (European Network for Accreditation of Engineering Education):

It is an organization that provides international recognition at the European level for the accreditation of engineering undergraduate programs and includes accreditation bodies from the following countries:

Turkey
Germany
France
England
Ireland
Portugal
Russia
Romania
Italy
Poland
Switzerland
Spain
Finland

A program accredited by MÜDEK in Turkey is considered equivalent to programs accredited by their respective organizations in these countries.

What is the EUR-ACE Label?

It is a certificate given to engineering degree programs accredited by institutions authorized by ENAEE in countries in the European higher education area. It is very useful in determining the equivalence of diplomas in Europe. All undergraduate programs accredited by MÜDEK in our country are also entitled to receive the EUR-ACE label.

What are the criteria for accreditation?

MÜDEK evaluates engineering undergraduate programs by taking into account the criteria summarized very briefly below and grants accreditation to engineering undergraduate programs that meet these criteria:

Criterion 1. Students

In the evaluation of an engineering program, the quality, development and success of students, one of the inputs of the program, is important. For this reason; the quality of students, the infrastructure they have when they enter, student exchange programs, horizontal-vertical transfers, DMP and YAP programs and their applications, the counseling service they receive, the transparency and fairness of the evaluations, the graduation conditions and the mechanisms that control them are evaluated.

Criterion 2. Program Educational Objectives

The career goals (program objectives) that program graduates are expected to achieve in the near future must be defined by taking stakeholder views, must be in line with the mission of the institution, must be published and announced to the community, and must be updated at appropriate intervals.

Criterion 3. Program Outcomes

These are the knowledge, skills and behaviors that must be acquired by the program until graduation. The program outcomes must cover the following MÜDEK outcomes and must be measured by a system to prove that they are achieved by the graduates.

Knowledge of mathematics, basic science and basic engineering
Ability to identify and solve engineering problems,
Ability to design a process, system or product,
Ability to use modern equipment,
Ability to design, conduct and evaluate experiments,
Ability to work in a team,
Communication skills in Turkish and foreign languages,
Awareness of the necessity of lifelong learning,
Ethical awareness
Awareness of project management, innovation, entrepreneurship,
Awareness of universal and social dimensions of health, environment and safety in applications.

Criterion 4. Continuous Improvement

The results obtained from the assessment and evaluation system established for the program should be used in the continuous improvement of the program and evidence of this should be presented.

Criterion 5. Education Plan

The program must have an education plan (curriculum) that supports the educational objectives and outcomes of the program and must include the following components:

At least 32 credits of mathematics, basic science courses
At least 48 credits of engineering courses
Adequate general education courses and
At least one major design experience.

Criterion 6. Teaching Staff

The teaching staff is the basic element of the program. For this reason, they must be sufficient in number and quality to cover all areas of the program, and the criteria for appointment and promotion to faculty membership in the institution must be arranged and implemented in a way to ensure this process.

Criterion 7. Infrastructure

Classrooms, laboratories, libraries, computer infrastructure, etc. should be adequate, adequate security measures should be taken in laboratories and other places, and infrastructure should be arranged for the disabled. Extracurricular social activities should be supported.

Criterion 8. Institutional Support and Financial Resources

The administrative support and resources of the university should be at a level to ensure the quality of the program and there should be sufficient support staff (administrative, technical). Resources should be sufficient to attract qualified faculty members to the institution.

Criterion 9. Organization and Decision Making Processes

The functioning of the University in general, the relations between the Rectorate / Faculty / Department, the decision-making mechanisms and processes within the Department and their consistency are evaluated.

Criterion 10. Program (e.g. Mechanical Engineering) Specific Criteria

This criterion specifies the additional conditions that the relevant engineering program must meet. For example, the additional requirements for the Mechanical Engineering Program include the following sub-criteria:

Knowledge of chemistry and physics to gain depth in at least one of them,
Knowledge of multivariable mathematics and differential equations,
Familiarity with linear algebra and statistics,
The ability to design and work on both thermal and mechanical systems must be acquired.

If there is no deficiency in all these criteria, the program is accredited by MÜDEK.

What is the situation in the programs carried out by the Department of Mechanical Engineering?

The most important prerequisite for applying to the MÜDEK accreditation process, which is based on output evaluations, is that the program must have graduated on the date of application. For this reason, the necessary application was made at the beginning of 2015 for the accreditation of the Mechanical Engineering (English) undergraduate program, which had graduated for 4 years, and after a successful process, MÜDEK accreditation was obtained for 5 years in July 2016. This program has also received the right to use the EUR-ACE label on the diplomas of its graduates for the same period. MÜDEK has set the validity period of accreditation as 30.Eylül.2022 and 30.Eylül.2027 for the Mechanical Engineering (English) Undergraduate Program, 01.May.2022 and 30.Eylül.2027 for the Mechanical Engineering (Turkish) Undergraduate Program and 01 May.2022 and 30.Eylül.2024 for the Mechatronics Engineering Undergraduate Program, and all graduates who have graduated and will graduate within this time interval will receive their diplomas with MÜDEK accreditation.