The Washington Accord, originally signed among six countries in 1989, is an International Agreement among bodies responsible for accrediting undergraduate engineering degree programs. It recognizes the substantial equivalency of programs accredited by those bodies and recommends that graduates of programs accredited by any of the signatory bodies be recognized by the other bodies as having met the academic requirements for entry to the practice of engineering in the area of their jurisdiction.
The membership of Washington Accord is an international recognition of the quality of undergraduate engineering education offered by the member country and is an avenue to bring it into the world class category. It encourages and facilitates the mobility of engineering graduates and professionals at international level.
National Board of Accreditation, India has become the permanent signatory member of the Washington Accord on 13th June 2014.
The NBA accredited programs offered by the Tier-1 Institutions are eligible for the recognition of the programs by other signatories of the Washington Accord.
Recognition of graduates of programs accredited by any signatory by registering or licencing bodies in other signatory jurisdictions is subject to the following restriction. The graduate must have completed the programme:
After the date of acquiring the signatory status, i.e., 13th June 2014.
During the period of validity of the accreditation (which may have commenced prior to the date of admission).
Recognition of graduates before the date of admission is not required under the Accord. Other signatories may, at their sole discretion, recognize graduates of accredited programs from before the admission date.
NABEEA (Network of Accreditation Bodies for Engineering Education in Asia)
The network (NABEEA) was established at the first General Assembly, held on August 8, 2007 at Penang, Malaysia. This network is expected to promote engineering education and develop mutual cooperation towards better accreditation systems in Asia.
Status of NBA in NABEEA
India represented by the National Board of Accreditation, New Delhi was awarded full membership of NABEEA in the year 2011.