ABET ACCREDITATION
The ABET Self-Study Report (SSR)
What it is, what goes in it, and how to prepare one — with dal.ai organizing your evidence and drafting each section from it, so you start from a draft, not a blank questionnaire.
What is an ABET Self-Study Report?
The Self-Study Report (SSR) is the document a program prepares for its ABET review — a candid, evidence-backed assessment of how the program meets each ABET criterion. Programs prepare it using the official Self-Study Questionnaire that ABET's commission issues for the review cycle, and submit it ahead of the on-site visit. It's part narrative, part data, and it's read closely by the program evaluators who visit.
What an ABET Self-Study Report contains
Every commission's questionnaire follows the same backbone:
- Background Information — program name, history, enrollment and graduation data, delivery modes, and actions taken on any shortcomings from the previous review.
- The eight General Criteria — 1 Students, 2 Program Educational Objectives, 3 Student Outcomes, 4 Continuous Improvement, 5 Curriculum, 6 Faculty, 7 Facilities, and 8 Institutional Support.
- Program Criteria — the discipline-specific requirements that apply on top of the general criteria for your program.
- Appendices A–D — Course Syllabi, Faculty Vitae, Equipment, and an Institutional Summary.
- Submission Attesting to Compliance — the signed statement that the report is accurate.
dal.ai supports all four commissions — EAC (engineering), CAC (computing), ETAC (engineering technology), and ANSAC (applied and natural science) — and works from each commission's own criteria and questionnaire, since the specifics differ even though the backbone is shared.
Where the self-study report actually gets hard
For most programs, the hard part isn't continuous improvement itself — that's the meaningful work faculty already do. The hard part is the recordkeeping: pulling years of scattered evidence into one coherent report. Assessment data in one folder, syllabi in another, a filing cabinet, a shared drive, and a coordinator who inherited the whole thing from someone who left. Criterion 4 is usually where it bites hardest, because it asks you to show a documented, closed-loop improvement process over time — and that's exactly the record that tends to be scattered.
How dal.ai helps you prepare your SSR
dal.ai is the system of record your program lives in between site visits, so when it's time to write the self-study report, the evidence is already organized.
Organize your evidence
Upload syllabi, assessment data, and continuous-improvement records, or enter them directly. dal.ai tags each item to the criteria and student outcomes it supports.
Draft each section from that evidence
dal.ai drafts every section your evidence supports, grounded in your commission's official ABET criteria and self-study questionnaire, and cites the source behind every claim. Where the evidence isn't there, it stops and tells you what's missing.
Review, verify, and export
You review each draft, accept what's right, and see exactly what still needs evidence — before gaps become findings. Nothing reaches ABET without your sign-off. Export the finished report as a PDF.
dal.ai handles the assembly. You're still the one writing it — nothing goes out until you say so.
Is it allowed to use AI for your ABET self-study report?
Yes — within ABET's published AI policy. ABET permits AI-assisted tools to gather and summarize information, support the analysis of assessment data, and help develop supporting materials. It also requires two things: qualified personnel must verify everything presented for review, and AI must not replace human judgment in continuous improvement. dal.ai is built around exactly that — it drafts and flags; you review, decide, and own every word before submission.
dal.ai is independently built to align with ABET's AI policy; it is not endorsed or certified by ABET.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ABET Self-Study Report (SSR)?
The Self-Study Report is the evidence-backed document a program prepares for its ABET review, assessing how it meets each ABET criterion. Programs prepare it on the official Self-Study Questionnaire their commission issues and submit it ahead of the on-site visit.
What does an ABET Self-Study Report include?
Background information; the eight general criteria (Students, Program Educational Objectives, Student Outcomes, Continuous Improvement, Curriculum, Faculty, Facilities, and Institutional Support); any program-specific criteria for your discipline; appendices for course syllabi, faculty vitae, and equipment; an institutional summary; and a signed statement attesting to compliance.
Can I use AI to write my ABET self-study report?
You can use AI to assist, within ABET's published AI policy: to gather and summarize information, support assessment-data analysis, and help develop supporting materials. Qualified personnel must verify everything, and AI must not replace human judgment. dal.ai drafts each section from your evidence and cites its sources; you review, verify, and approve before submission.
Is there an ABET self-study report template?
Yes — ABET publishes an official Self-Study Questionnaire for each commission and review cycle, which serves as the template. dal.ai works from your commission's current questionnaire so your draft follows the structure ABET expects.
Which ABET commissions does dal.ai support?
All four: EAC (engineering), CAC (computing), ETAC (engineering technology), and ANSAC (applied and natural science), including each commission's general and program-specific criteria.
Walk into your site visit prepared, not panicked
Start organizing your evidence today and let dal.ai draft your self-study report section by section. 14-day free trial, no setup fees, cancel anytime.