Abstract:

San Diego State University established a government-funded STEM campus in Tbilisi Georgia in 2014. The Government of Georgia and the United States, acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation of the U.S. State Department entered into a five year Millennium Challenge Compact, providing for a grant of up to $140,000,000 USD to advance economic growth and reduce poverty in Georgia. Higher education portion of the grant is about $30,000,000 USD with the provision of Degree Accreditation and Institutional Support Initiative for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics by SDSU in Georgia. This project is intended to improve human capital in the Georgian labor force by increasing the number of high quality scientists and professionals for companies operating in Georgia, to contribute to economic growth, and enhance employment in companies requiring market-driven skills. It also aims at building capacity in the Georgian higher educational institutions by renovating infrastructure, training faculty members, and by guiding institutions to acquire American accreditation (or certification) for their own STEM degree programs.

SDSU is approaching this project in partnership with Ilia State University, Tbilisi State University, and Georgian Technical University – the three premier public universities in Georgia – to provide Bachelor’s degrees in the country of Georgia. Using the facilities of these three universities, SDSU-Georgia provides STEM education to train an advanced workforce to meet the growing needs of Georgia. This program meets SDSU standards for curriculum, faculty training, and accreditation. As with all SDSU Bachelor’s degrees, this program also includes general education to provide students with breadth in the liberal arts so necessary for an advanced workforce that will enhance the economy of the country.

SDSU Georgia admitted its first cohort of students in 2015. Currently there are more than 500 students (4 cohorts) studying at Georgia campus in six degree programs: BS Computer Engineering; BS Electrical Engineering; BS Chemistry – Biochemistry; BS Computer Sciences, BS Civil Engineering; and BS Construction Engineering. By 2023, SDSU Georgia will graduate five cohorts and 600+ students in total. SDSU Georgia will have its first group of graduates in Summer 2019.

Accreditation of engineering and computer science degree programs in the Georgian partner universities are sought from Association of Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET), and certification of their chemistry / biochemistry programs is sought from the American Chemistry Society (ACS). The project completed its fifth year of operation and five cohorts are recruited. One of the partner universities completed its preparations for ABET accreditation of its electrical engineering and computer science program.

The paper presents the experiences in the introduction of accredited American STEM degree programs in Georgia, and the challenges faced in designing a pathway to obtaining American accreditation in the Georgian public higher education institutions. The statistics from the employment / placement of first graduates from the program are also presented.

Keywords:

San Diego State University, SDSU, ABET, ACS, Accreditation, STEM.