Help Shape a New Educational Infrastructure

ABOCE is building the accreditation framework for offsite construction degree programs. That work requires participation from colleges and universities, industry practitioners, employers, manufacturers, faculty, students, donors, and public-interest representatives.

The MBI–CfOC Task Force concluded that offsite construction is maturing into a distinct field with its own methods, workflows, and knowledge base. Building an accreditation system for that field requires more than internal drafting. It requires broad participation from the people and institutions who will teach, hire, evaluate, fund, and improve these programs over time.

ABOCE welcomes several forms of involvement.

Academic Institutions

Colleges and universities can participate by exploring future accreditation, reviewing draft criteria, testing model curriculum pathways, and identifying existing courses that may support an offsite construction degree.

Institutions with programs in architecture, engineering, construction management, manufacturing, industrial design, building science, real estate development, or related fields may already have many of the building blocks needed for an accredited offsite degree pathway.

Academic institutions may get involved by:

• expressing interest in future accreditation;
• reviewing draft Conditions and Procedures;
• participating in curriculum discussions;
• identifying faculty already teaching offsite-related content;
• hosting information sessions or listening sessions;
• helping ABOCE understand institutional barriers to launching new programs.

Faculty and Educators

ABOCE invites faculty members and educators to help shape the body of knowledge for offsite construction education.

This includes instructors teaching design studios, building technology, construction management, industrialized construction, fabrication, manufacturing systems, digital workflows, logistics, housing delivery, or related subjects. Faculty perspectives are especially important because accreditation criteria must be rigorous enough to matter while flexible enough to work across different institutional settings.

Educators may get involved by joining curriculum working groups, reviewing learning outcomes, contributing course examples, or helping test model undergraduate and graduate pathways.

Industry Practitioners

Offsite construction education must remain connected to the realities of practice. ABOCE welcomes participation from manufacturers, builders, contractors, developers, architects, engineers, consultants, software providers, and project delivery professionals working in offsite construction.

Industry practitioners can help identify the competencies graduates need to succeed in the field: manufacturing-informed design, systems integration, interface discipline, digital coordination, quality control, transportation planning, site assembly, procurement, scheduling, and collaboration between factory and field.

Practitioners may get involved by advising on criteria, joining working groups, participating in visiting teams, offering case studies, hosting student learning opportunities, or supporting employer feedback efforts.

Visiting Team Members

ABOCE will rely on trained peer reviewers to evaluate programs seeking accreditation.

Visiting team members will help review institutional self-studies, participate in program visits, assess alignment with accreditation criteria, and contribute to fair, transparent, and constructive evaluation reports. These teams should include a balance of academic, industry, and public-interest perspectives.

Individuals interested in visiting team service should bring strong professional judgment, a commitment to educational quality, and the ability to evaluate programs with fairness, consistency, and care.

Curriculum Drafting Participants

ABOCE’s model curriculum work will help institutions understand how an offsite construction degree may be structured.

The goal is not to impose a single course sequence on every school. The goal is to provide useful models that institutions can adopt, adapt, or supplement. This work can help schools identify how existing courses might be combined with new content to form a coherent, manufacturing-informed degree pathway.

Curriculum drafting participants may include faculty, practitioners, employers, recent graduates, researchers, and professional organizations with insight into what students need to learn.

Employers

Employers have a central role in clarifying the value of offsite construction education.

ABOCE invites employers to help define the capabilities they need from graduates, participate in surveys or interviews, support internships or applied learning opportunities, and provide feedback on whether accredited programs are preparing students for real work in the field.

Employer participation helps ensure that accreditation remains connected to hiring needs, project delivery realities, and the long-term maturation of the offsite construction sector.

Donors and Founding Supporters

Launching a new accrediting body requires early philanthropic and institutional support.

Donors and founding supporters can help ABOCE develop accreditation documents, train reviewers, build model curricula, create outreach materials, support early institutional engagement, and establish the administrative infrastructure required for a credible accrediting body.

Support may come from foundations, companies, associations, institutions, individuals, or public-interest partners who believe that education is essential to the future of offsite construction.

Board and Committee Service

ABOCE will periodically invite expressions of interest for board service, committee service, advisory roles, and working groups.

These roles help ensure that the organization remains balanced, transparent, and accountable. ABOCE seeks participation from individuals with experience in higher education, accreditation, offsite construction, manufacturing, architecture, engineering, construction management, workforce development, nonprofit governance, law, policy, fundraising, and public-interest work.

Students and Emerging Professionals

Students and emerging professionals have an important voice in shaping the future of offsite education.

ABOCE welcomes perspectives from people entering the field, especially those who see offsite construction as a path toward better housing delivery, climate responsibility, technical innovation, and more coordinated project delivery. Student and early-career perspectives can help ensure that future programs are legible, useful, and connected to real career pathways.

Start the Conversation

ABOCE is in its founding phase. The organization is building its accreditation framework, model curriculum work, reviewer network, and early institutional partnerships.

Whether you represent a school, employer, professional organization, funding partner, or individual area of expertise, there is a role to play in shaping the future of offsite construction education.