Accrediting Artificial Intelligence Programs from the Omani and the International ABET Perspectives

Abstract

With an increasing interest in launching artificial intelligence (AI) programs at higher education institutions, both at the undergraduate level and the postgraduate level, a parallel interest in accrediting these programs locally and internationally should arise. This work considers two accreditation systems. One system is local in the Sultanate of Oman, and it is managed by the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA), as per its current version (as of September 2020). The other system is recognized internationally, which has accredited programs in more than 30 countries, and it is managed by the U.S.-based non-governmental agency ABET. It is described here as per the 2020-2021 accreditation cycle of ABET, which is the current cycle (as of September 2020). Exploring the applicability of both systems to artificial intelligence programs, the following findings were reached: None of the systems has explicit customization for artificial intelligence specialization. The local Omani accreditation of an AI program comes after a 2-stage institutional accreditation first, with its two stages separated by about 4 years. On the other hand, ABET accreditation combines the institutional and the program assessments in one process. The OAAA program accreditation is available to both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees of artificial intelligence programs. ABET program accreditation applies only to bachelor programs of artificial intelligence.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, AI, Accreditation, OAAA, ABET