Bridging the gap between ABET outcomes and industry expectations — A case study on software engineering course

The role of ABET accreditation system is quite significant in providing guidance towards program and course design. The program outcomes encompassing through knowledge, skill and attitude play an important role towards competency development of the students. To improve the employability quotient of these fresh graduates, the alignment of respective outcomes along with the base lined expectations of IT industry is needed. In this context Software Engineering (SE) plays an important role in the transformation journey of the graduates to become entry level developers. It also helps to bridge the gap between academia and IT industry so that these new hires are productive as soon as possible. In this paper, the expectations of an IT industry from the new hires is described in conjunction with ABET educational outcomes highlighting pedagogical aspects that enable students develop these abilities. SE course is used as vehicle and an approach is presented integrating software code of ethics (recommended by ACM - IEEE), SE principles, pedagogical aspects and assessment instruments. Subsequently experiences from our corporate learning environment are highlighted.