The mission of Escuela Politécnica Nacional (EPN or National Polytechnic School) is to cultivate conscientious, solidary, and critical academics and professionals in engineering and the sciences who contribute to social wellbeing. Interacting dynamically with other actors in Ecuador and the international community, EPN strives to generate and spread scientific and technological knowledge in a socially responsible way. EPN has a student body of nearly 10,000 studying across eight faculties: Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Exact Sciences (Mathematics, Physics), Systems Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Geology and Petroleum, Chemical Engineering and Agro-Industry, and Administrative Sciences. There is also a School of Technical Studies, a Social Sciences Department, and a very active and large Continuing Education Centre. All Ecuadorian universities are required by law to undergo a rigorous evaluation process that assesses their quality. On July 29th, 2010, the national accreditation board ranked 68 universities into four categories (from A to D). EPN was placed at the very top of the list of the country´s eleven best "Category A" universities. As of the most recent evaluation in 2013, only three universities remain in this prestigious category and the EPN continues to be acknowledged as a leader amongst them.