Chapter Four
Accreditation
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Accreditation
There’s a good deal more that you should consider when searching for
and choosing an online MBA program. In addition to knowing what the
curriculum is like, which is covered in Chapter 8, and who the faculty
and students are, which is covered in Chapter 6, you need to be aware of
an institution’s accreditation status.
There’s a lot of literature available online about higher education
accreditation standards. Accreditation is a process in which educational
institutions are recognized as viable places to learn. Standards are
established by various accrediting agencies that are comprised of
educational experts. If an institution meets the standards set down by
the agency, which is accomplished through a peer-review process, it is
acknowledged with accreditation status. To cut right to the chase, I’ll
simply say that regional accreditation is the most important. You’ll
also want to understand what it means to be nationally accredited and
professionally accredited.
Regional accreditation means that an institution has been accredited by
an agency that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the
Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
Credits earned at regionally accredited institutions can usually be
transferred from one regionally accredited college or university to
another. Transfer of credit is more common for undergraduate programs.
Graduate programs typically limit transfer credit to 25 percent or less
of the total credit needed to attain the degree. Regionally accredited
institutions, which are the majority in the United States, usually will
not accept credits earned from non-regionally accredited institutions.
In
short, make sure that the institution offering an online MBA program is
accredited by one of the following six regional accreditation agencies:
• MSA: Middle States
Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Higher Education
• NASC: Northwest
Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities Commission on Colleges
and Universities
• NCA: North
Central Association of Schools and Colleges, The Higher Learning
Commission
• NEASC: New England
Association of Schools and Colleges Commission on Institutions of Higher
Education
• SACS: Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• WASC: Western
Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Senior
Colleges and Universities
National Accreditation by DETC
Another notable accrediting agency is the Distance Education Training
Council (DETC), which is recognized by the Department of Education and
the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as a “nationally”
accredited agency. DETC (www.detc.org) has been around since 1926 and
was formerly known as the National Home Study Council. Most of the
institutions and programs DETC accredits are related to specific trades
or vocations, and many are print-based correspondence or home-study
courses. DETC does, however, accredit a number of online MBA programs.
If
you happen to enroll in an online degree program that is only
DETC-accredited, and you plan on transferring those credits to a
regionally accredited institution at a later date, or pursuing a
doctoral degree after you graduate, check with the regionally accredited
institution’s registrar before you proceed, because those credits may
not be
transferable.
In
addition to regional and DETC accreditation, there are basically four
professional accrediting bodies you may want to be aware of when it
comes to online MBA programs:
• The
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) at
www.aacsb.edu
• The International
Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) at
www.iacbe.org
• The
Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) at
http://acbsp.org
The
AACSB is commonly known as the most prestigious accreditation any
business school can achieve. IACBE and ACBSP are also regarded as viable
accreditation bodies.
Don’t confuse the term “membership” with accreditation status. In other
words, an institution can say they are a “member” of AACSB, IACBE and/or
ACBSP and not be accredited by any of these professional accrediting
bodies. The AACSB, IACBE and ACBSP list both accredited and members-only
institutions accordingly on their websites.
AACSB has been around since 1916. Institutions offering degrees in
business administration or accounting may volunteer for AACSB
accreditation review, which is conducted every five years. The review
process includes an extensive self-evaluation and a peer review
conducted by a team of about three business school deans from similar
AACSB-accredited institutions.
In
a nutshell, AACSB accreditation revolves around ensuring that a school
adheres to standards that are consistent with its mission. “We expect
our schools to articulate the kind of student body they are trying to
recruit, and then, of course, put together academic programs that are
appropriate to serve that student body, consistent to the mission the
school articulates,” said Jerry Trapnell, AASCB chief accreditation
officer.
As
noted in the preamble of an AACSB document titled “Eligibility
Procedures and Accreditation Standards for Business Accreditation,” it
is important to note that “accreditation does not create quality
learning experiences. Academic quality is created by the educational
standards implemented by individual faculty members in interactions with
students. A high quality degree program is created when students
interact with a cadre of faculty in a systematic program supported by an
institution. Accreditation observes, recognizes, and sometimes motivates
educational quality created within the
institution.”
An
institution that is AACSB accredited means that all of the business
programs offered by that institution, including any online degree
programs, fall under the umbrella of AACSB accreditation status.
A
list of AACSB accredited schools is provided on the AACSB website under
the “Accreditation” heading.
ACBSP was founded in 1988. The content of the ACBSP website reveals that
this organization’s mission “acknowledges the importance of scholarly
research and inquiry and believes that such activities facilitate
improved teaching. Institutions are strongly encouraged to pursue a
reasonable mutually beneficial balance between teaching and research.
And further, ACBSP encourages faculty involvement within the
contemporary business world to enhance the quality of classroom
instruction and to contribute to student learning.”
A
list of ACBSP accredited schools is provided on its website under the
“Why Join ACBSP?” heading.
The
IACBE website reveals that this organization’s mission is “to promote
and support quality Business/Management Education worldwide through
accreditation and outcomes assessment which involves: (1) the
measurement of effectiveness, (2) the measurement of learning outcomes,
and (3) the identification of changes and improvements that are needed
as a result of the assessment activity.” See Chapter 10 for more
information about learning outcomes and how it relates to online MBA
programs.
A
list of IACBE-accredited schools is provided on its website under the
“IACBE Members” heading.
The Great Debate
About AACSB Accreditation
Most educators who work at AACSB-accredited business schools will tell
you that one of the primary factors prospective students should consider
when searching for an online MBA is whether a school is AACSB
accredited. “AACSB accreditation is the good housekeeping seal of
approval on your forehead,” said Rick Niswander, dean of graduate
business programs at East Carolina University, an AACSB-accredited
school.
Educators who work at non-AACSB-accredited business schools will tell you that AACSB accreditation is not the be-all and end-all, so to speak. You’ll also find students, employers, and recruiters who say either being AACSB accreditation is highly important or highly irrelevant. “Not being AACSB accredited has nothing to do with the quality of our program,” explained University of Maryland University College Professor and Director of Business and Executive Programs, Rosemary Hartigan. “We probably have tighter assessment standards than any AACSB school.”
So
what’s the bottom line? In my opinion, the answer is you, and how you
can come to a decision, through your research, as to whether any
particular online MBA program will ultimately fit in with your goals and
aspirations. If you do enough investigating, you should be able to
discover the school that is right for you, regardless of any outside
accreditation body’s stamp of endorsement.
Every school that is AACSB accredited typically displays this status on
their program website. However, if you’re not sure about a school’s
professional accreditation status, just ask an academic
advisor.
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