ABET Syllabus Generator

CLI tool that converts university course specification files (PDF/DOCX) into standardized ABET-compliant course syllabi. Designed for KFUPM but adaptable to any institution.

Features

• Extract text and tables from PDF and DOCX course specifications
• Parse two input formats automatically (PDF sections A-H and DOCX CRF2)
• Store all extracted data in a central SQLite database
• Map Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) to Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) using AI
• Generate ABET syllabus documents (DOCX) from a customizable template
• Export data to CSV/JSON for ABET self-study reports
• Validate data quality before generation
• Interactive mode with folder browsing and smart defaults
• PLO aliases for mapping between different PLO naming conventions (K1/S1 to SO1/SO2)

Installation

pip install abet-syllabus

With AI mapping support:

pip install "abet-syllabus[ai]"

For development:

git clone https://github.com/mmogib/abet-syllabus.git
cd abet-syllabus
pip install -e ".[ai,dev]"

Quick Start

One command (interactive)

abet-syllabus run

Browses your folders, asks for program code and term, then processes everything.

One command (scripted)

abet-syllabus run input/math/ -p MATH -t T252 -o ./output/math/

With AI mapping

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="your-key"
abet-syllabus run input/math/ -p MATH -t T252 --map -o ./output/math/

The default AI model is free (no cost). Use --model for premium models.

Step by step

# 1. Ingest course specification files
abet-syllabus ingest input/math/ -p MATH -r

# 2. Load PLO/SO definitions
abet-syllabus ingest-plos plos.csv

# 3. (Optional) Set up PLO aliases if your files use different codes
abet-syllabus plo-alias K1 SO1 -p MATH
abet-syllabus plo-alias S1 SO2 -p MATH

# 4. (Optional) AI-powered CLO-PLO mapping
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="your-key"   # free models available
abet-syllabus map --all -p MATH

# 5. Review and approve mappings
abet-syllabus map "MATH 101" -p MATH --review
abet-syllabus map "MATH 101" -p MATH --approve

# 6. Generate ABET syllabi
abet-syllabus generate --all -p MATH -t T252 -o ./output/math/

Commands

Command	Description
run	Full pipeline: ingest, (optionally) map, generate
ingest	Extract, parse, and store course files in database
ingest-plos	Load PLO/SO definitions from CSV
plo-alias	Manage PLO code aliases (e.g., K1 = SO1)
map	AI-powered CLO-PLO mapping
generate	Produce ABET syllabus DOCX from database
query	Inspect database (courses, CLOs, stats, coverage, SQL)
export	Export data to CSV/JSON
status	Database overview
validate	Data quality check
extract	Raw text/table extraction (debugging)
parse	Structured field extraction (debugging)

AI Mapping

Supports two AI providers for CLO-PLO mapping:

Provider	Env Variable	Cost	Notes
OpenRouter	OPENROUTER_API_KEY	Free tier available	Default. Multi-model gateway. Get key at openrouter.ai
Anthropic	ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	Pay per use ($5 min)	Direct Claude API. Get key at console.anthropic.com

The provider is auto-detected from available API keys. Use flags for control:

# Use a specific provider
abet-syllabus map "MATH 101" -p MATH --provider anthropic

# Use a specific model (any model available on OpenRouter)
abet-syllabus map --all -p MATH --model google/gemini-2.5-flash

# Force re-mapping
abet-syllabus map --all -p MATH -f

PLO Aliases

Course specification files often use codes like K1, S1, V1 (Knowledge/Skills/Values) while ABET uses SO1-SO6 (Student Outcomes). PLO aliases bridge this gap:

# Define aliases (one-time setup per program)
abet-syllabus plo-alias K1 SO1 -p MATH
abet-syllabus plo-alias S1 SO2 -p MATH
abet-syllabus plo-alias V1 SO3 -p MATH

# List defined aliases
abet-syllabus plo-alias --list -p MATH

# Delete an alias
abet-syllabus plo-alias --delete K1 -p MATH

During ingestion, if unmatched PLO codes are found, you'll be prompted to map them interactively.

Query and Reporting

# List all courses
abet-syllabus query courses -p MATH

# Course details
abet-syllabus query course "MATH 101"

# CLOs for a course
abet-syllabus query clos "MATH 101"

# PLO coverage matrix (which courses cover which PLOs)
abet-syllabus query coverage -p MATH

# Database statistics
abet-syllabus query stats

# Custom SQL query (read-only)
abet-syllabus query sql "SELECT course_code, course_title FROM courses WHERE department='Mathematics'"

Export

# Export courses to CSV
abet-syllabus export courses -o courses.csv
abet-syllabus export courses -p MATH --format json -o math_courses.json

# Export CLOs
abet-syllabus export clos "MATH 101" -o math101_clos.csv

# Export PLO mapping matrix
abet-syllabus export plo-matrix -p MATH -o math_matrix.csv

Input Formats

The tool automatically detects and handles two formats:

• Format A (PDF) - Standard KFUPM "COURSE SPECIFICATIONS" with sections A-H. Used by external departments (BUS, CGS, COE, ENGL, IAS, ICS, PE, SWE, etc.)
• Format B (DOCX) - CRF2 "COURSE SPECIFICATIONS" with structured tables. Used by MATH, AS, DATA departments.

Configuration

Optional YAML config file (abet_syllabus.yaml in the working directory):

db_path: abet_syllabus.db
template_path: resources/templates/ABETSyllabusTemplate.docx
output_dir: ./output
log_file: abet_syllabus.log

CLI flags always override config file values.

Course Code Normalization

All user input is automatically normalized:

math101   -> MATH 101
Math 101  -> MATH 101
MATH   101 -> MATH 101
math-101  -> MATH 101

Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• Core dependencies: pdfplumber, python-docx, PyYAML, defusedxml
• Optional: anthropic (for direct Anthropic API), docx2pdf (for PDF output)

License

MIT

Author

Mohammed Alshahrani - KFUPM