Can MBA accreditations impact your employment?

Hello everyone,

I have a quick question.. If I'm looking to get an MBA and don't intend to then get a PHD it doesn't matter from which institutions my MBA is accredited right?
Technically this only matters if one intends to switch schools or campus or programs during his / her studies correct?

Thank you for your help !

 

It is only matter if you work in the academia. Outside of the academia would be the reputation of the school. For example, University of Phoenix's MBA is ACSBP accredited, but Johns Hopkins University's MBA does not have any professional accreditation. But between two MBA's, the guy with Johns Hopkins University's MBA is more likely to be chosen over UoP's MBA.

 

Professional accreditation is seldom called out specifically by employers, but some do make the distinction. Also, there is a strong correlation between AACSB accreditation and program ranking in the U.S. This is becoming supplanted, however, by other forms of consumer information.

That said, institutional accreditation is still essential. There is a huge difference between (a) unaccredited and accredited universities and (b) universities accredited by regional vs. national agencies. Do your due diligence.

 

Finally something you and I agree on completely!

 

Thank you very much for your replies.
Tekman, it is exactly the point I wanted to know.
However, following your different feedbacks I understand there is a bit of a grey zone in terms of what the employer thinks of just having an MBA or having a professional accreditation / national accreditation...

Do you guys happen to know more about professional accreditation? I noticed it's also called professional certification.
Do all schools deliver one? Is it only upon specific exam results?
Or does it function like a GMAT for example? The higher / better your professional accreditation, the better, the company and status you may apply to?

 

I believe what TEKMAN is referring to as "professional accreditation" is perhaps better-known as "programmatic accreditation."

"Institutional Accreditation" is the accreditation that applies to an entire University or College. It is either Regional ("Big 6", including WASC, NEASC, SACS et al.) or National - DETC, ACICS, ACCSC. National accreditation -- as you will see, is beyond the scope of this post.

"Programmatic Accreditation" is an additional endorsement of individual degree programs taught by the school. We're dealing in this case with schools of business, usually within a larger school. Only schools that are Regionally Accredited can qualify for the additional programmatic accreditation.The major programmatic accreditors for business schools in the US are AACSB and ACBSP.

And no, it has nothing to do with the individual student or his/her marks. The school either has programmatic accreditation - or it doesn't. There are plenty of decent schools that have no programmatic accreditation - and, of course, lots of very good schools that do have it. It's voluntary - and up to the school whether they want to seek it or not.

In the business world, there are varied opinions on programmatic accreditation. Some employers insist on it, others don't. Some people say they wouldn't consider a program with anything less than AACSB -- others are fine with ACBSP -- others don't care. Both are reputable organizations. I believe AACSB is longer-established, and I'm not qualified to go into any other differences.

Hope this helps.

Johann

 

Johann, thank you very much for your clarification, it actually makes perfect sense. I'll look into it and see what the best options are for my future plans -> how do the companies I wish to integrate feel about MBA's and if they do require specific Programmatic Accreditation.
Tks so much for your help!

 

During the 9 or 10 years that I was doing marketing in the US for the online MBA of the Edinburgh Business School (which at the time became the largest MBA of any kind in the US), we tracked the experiences of the first thousand students, representing more than 70 of the Fortune 100. Only one company rejected it, ostensibly because it did not have acceptable accreditation. So unless you work for Ingersoll-Rand . . . no, wait, the manager there who rejected it (there were 12 employees wanting to do it, as a cohort group) was later fired, and we later heard they were accepting it.

 

Great program then -- great program today. Glad to hear the manager who rejected it got exactly what he deserved! :smile:

Johann