AACSB vs. IACBE

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Tarbuza, Dec 27, 2003.

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  1. Tarbuza

    Tarbuza New Member

    What's the difference between AACSB and IACBE? Which one should one consider while choosing an MBA school?
     
  2. Han

    Han New Member

    It depends, whata do you want to do with your degree?

    I have not seen IACBE even discussed, thoug it is a professional accreditation, while AACSB I have had discussions in academic and professional settings?

    AACSB is for teaching at AACSB schools, they USUALLY requrie equivelant accreditation standards. Some mployers (though I can't find anybody but my employer) care about AACSB outside academia.
     
  3. Andy Borchers

    Andy Borchers New Member

    Tarbuza - I've had some involvement with the three professional accreditation agencies that deal with business programs. As I see it, they can be lined up as follows. My observation is that all other things being equal, I'd take a school accredited by one of these groups over a school that is only regionally accredited.

    AACSB - Gold Standard - all the top business programs are AACSB accredited and they have the toughest standards. AACSB is CHEA recognized. AACSB has recently changed their standards in ways that makes it more likely for DL programs to achieve AACSB accreditation. AACSB has a reputation for being more research focused - although their standards address curriculum and professional practice aspects as well.

    ACBSP - Silver Standard - A number of middle tier schools are accredited by ACBSP. Several schools that are currently aspiring to AACSB (such as Abilene Christian University and some state schools) are ACBSP while they work up to AACSB. ACBSP is CHEA recognized. ACBSP has two ways to achieve accreditation - one route based on traditional input measures and the other more driven by outcomes and following Baldridge quality standards. Although generally recognized as being more teaching focused, ACBSP recognizes the role of scholarship (although more broadly defined than AACSB into "the scholarship of discovery, teaching, etc.").

    IACBE - Bronze Standard - This is a relatively new organization and is not CHEA recognized. They seem to permit more flexibility in accreditation. The one visit I underwent with IACBE was not impressive, and I know they granted a number of ACBSP schools initial accreditation without visitation or self study.

    Regards - Andy

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 27, 2003
  4. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Re: Re: AACSB vs. IACBE

    Speaking of ACBSP accreditation, Harding University, a sister school to ACU, is ACBSP and seems content to remain so and not move toward AACSB.

    Dave
     
  5. dwkelly2

    dwkelly2 New Member

    Touro and many other quality institutions are accredited through IACBE.
     
  6. Tarbuza

    Tarbuza New Member

    Thanks

    Thanks for all postings. After reading all postings, I think AACSB is the way to go from long term perspective.
     
  7. manjuap

    manjuap New Member

    If you are not trying to break the ice.. an MBA from any RA IACBE/ACBSP/AACSB will do. If you want to try/are trying for a tenure position.. AACSB is the way to go.
     
  8. w_parker

    w_parker New Member

    Mainly I would say it depends what you want...From what I have read if you want to teach in a university position, attendance at a top tier school likely is necessary. If you want a quality education, any regionally accredited institution will do. If you are looking to validate your DL education, a top name school that is AACSB would likely be your choice. If, as in my case, your education is in the accounting sphere, then the CPA is paramount, and where you earned your accounting credits matter little. My opinion, and as always yours is welcomed and appreciated...
     
  9. w_parker

    w_parker New Member

    When I first looked into this I asked one of my adminastrators at my school why IACBE and not AACSB, and I was told that for a small school the cost of AACSB accreditation (whether in salaries or increased tuition, but I am speculating here) was phrohibitive. That for a small school to seek AACSB accredition would result in increased tuition costs.
     
  10. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    According to a friend of mine, who is a Dean at a small business school, one aspect of AACSB accreditation that is a "deal breaker" is that faculty must carry a formal research load in addition to their teaching load, which essentially means that four faculty members would be needed to handle the teaching load previously handled by three faculty members. And there are other "enhancements" required as well...

    Dave
     
  11. oko

    oko New Member

    I think Dave may have hit the nail in its head about AACSB. As far as I am concerned, it is of no real value and so are the likes of it. The school that has it tries to promote it but it is really a business. Less than 500 schools worldwide or is it the US have it? The others like it in the business schools program accreditation are equally irrelevant. Professionally, CPA is what counts not AACSB or the likes. If you don't have CPA and you are an accounting graduate, AACSB or IACBE or the likes won't do you any good where CPA is required. If you are a general business major, specialize in one area such as Financial Planning, Banking, Auditing etc and take the certification exam.

    AACSB is in business of making money. Now they are accrediting accounting programs separately. Isn’t something wrong here? Harvard's accounting is not accredited by AACSB. In other words, an accounting graduate from Harvard can't teach at any State College that is AACSB accredited. Harvard is only AACSB accredited at the graduate school level. Their undergraduate program is not accredited. Nichols State University in Louisiana’s undergraduate that is AACSB accredited is a better program than Harvard because it is AACSB. Right?

    The only meaningful accreditation is Regional or similar accreditation recognized by a country department or ministry of education. Other accreditation that is meaningful is those that bestow eligibility for licensure, certification or the likes. Any other thing no matter how they are promoted is money making. Employers already recognized this and 99 % of them do not even care about additional and optional accreditation that does not result in a test of basic knowledge or basic entry level skill such as certifications/registration or licensure.

    I say if you have been published, with a solid work history and in the lecture circuit, you can teach at any school. I MEAN ANY SCHOOL. I think we ought to stop all these optional accreditation discussions that add no value to education because we are helping promote them. It is becoming repetitive. I have friends and families members who make well above six figures and they graduated from non AACSB, IACBE, and others accredited programs. However, they do hold CPAs and other professional accreditations. They are also some of the best in their professions. That is what counts and shame on any school who would not allow a multi million dollar founder of an accounting practice to teach basic accounting for the narrow requirement of an alphabet soup accreditation that is irrelevant in the work place. What we should be discussing is how to put degree mills out of business not alphabet soup accredit
     
  12. -kevin-

    -kevin- Resident Redneck

    Oko,

    good point. The true test of any degree, or rather the knowledge gained by it, is one's ability to apply this knowledge. Many of the degrees indicated in this forum do not carry the additional accreditation of the various bodies that Andy has mentioned, and, as he pointed out in another post, often the additional accreditation is not conferred because the program is of a distance learning type and does not have the requisite full-time staff.

    Your points are accurate. While there is some altruism in continued education and teaching, I doubt that the expense related to the PHD is incurred without looking at the monetary benefit upon completion (derived from the practical application) regardless of the accreditation of the school. I believe Kristie has touched on this topic briefly.

    However, the presentation of the issues allows all of us to make individual choices with facts in hand and I believe that in addition to reading about degree mills being chased down by this forum I also like to read about education in general for my own decision purposes, including the accreditation bodies. The information presented on the various body websites is decidedly slanted and the discussion in this forum offers a counterpoint.
     
  13. cogent

    cogent New Member

    On AACSB Accreditation

    I have personal knowledge of some of this stuff. One thing I learned is there is a FINANCIAL incentive for faculty to teach at an AACSB school. A school I am quite familiar with will significantly BOOST the salaries of their business faculty once AACSB's blessings are announced (hopefully this February). For me as a graduate of the program I could care less as long as they retain regional accreditation. Now, also keep in mind those wanting to get a doctorate will want to have their MBA from an AACSB school or risk having some of the work for their masters being thrown out. And if you aspire to the big bucks world of the $100,000+ business faculty elite, you'll need an AACSB schools' doctorate.
     
  14. Han

    Han New Member

    I acutally agree with this - I think it is important to keep professors up to date with current research, otherwise you have a professor who finishes their degree when they are 30 and never keep up to date with the research, when he/she is 55, still teaching, but has no knowledge of today's research and how it is effecting theory.
     
  15. Han

    Han New Member

    This is completely inaccuratee - AACSB does not accredit any certain degree, but the department. Since Harvard's business program is accredited, all degree's within the business department are accredited. It is laughable to think Harvard is not accredited, did you read this somewhere? It is wrong.

    I do agree with you though of what is the value.... but hat is a whole other subject.
     
  16. Han

    Han New Member

    One last note - I have seen postings about NCU (which I don't know a great deal about), getting RA accreditation, while it is considered to some to be a degree mill (not my opinion, just some on the baord). This brings up an interesting point, if degree mills are starting to get RA accredited, then the only standard that will not is professional accreditiation - like AACSB. It seems there willbe a market if things continue.
     
  17. Andy Borchers

    Andy Borchers New Member

    Kristie - I think you are a bit off here. Harvard's Business School is accredited - but they don't offer undergraduate degrees. I don't believe there are any other units of Harvard that do either.

    The point here is that AACSB does accredit business programs, as you say. In so doing, however, the school has to define the scope of what part of their program is being accredited. AACSB is sensitive to a school offering degrees in business from a non-accredited part of the same university. They want to ensure there is no confusion.

    For example, Central Michigan is AACSB accredited - that is the on-campus business school. They offer undergraduate and graduate programs. What isn't accredited is the "Master of Science in Administration" that is offered at many locations worldwide.

    This situation gets interesting when a business program (or school) offers programs in areas like information systems. The school must either include all of the business curriculum material (and hence limit their coverage of IS) or offer a degree that doesn't meet the curriculum requirements (and have to explain this to the accreditor).

    Regards - Andy
     
  18. Han

    Han New Member

    I may be wrong, but I have received my information from the Director of Accreditiation at AACSB. When a program is accredited, then the degrees offered within that program are accredited, but if you have a degree in something like tehcnology management that is offered in the technology department, the technology department would have to be accredited before it would be considered an AACSB school degree.

    Where have you gotten you info?

    Maybe I am wrong, but I only am if AACSB directors are incorrect.

    But as they state on their website, they do not accredit doctorate schools only, they must have an undergrad or master's program associated with them.

    When you say they have to define their scope, can you give an example of a school that has two degrees FROM THE SAME DEPARTMENT that one is accredited and one is not. I don't think it is possible, but I would take this to AACSB and clarify if you can name one (link would be helpful).

    Right now, I will side on AACSB's info until I see otherwise (but they have had plenty of mistakes in the past - like Henley's program not being accredited).

    Thanks,
     
  19. w_parker

    w_parker New Member

    I have also looked into the various accrediting bodies, infact I recently gave a presentation on education benefits offered by the government, and within that scope I covered AACSB, IACBE, etc.,etc... While researching for this presentation (which was a professional presentation as opposed to an acadamia presentation for school) I spoke to various personnel involved in the accreditation process. Anyway, I was told that accreditation was dependent on the education level of the staff and the curriculum that the school must follow, to a point. In other words, there are certain subjects that must be taught, and for each course there are a number of AACSB approved texts. So, just because a business school is accredited by AACSB at the masters level, it is not necessarily accredited at the doctoral level, and vice-versa. In reality, when a school has AACSB accreditation and they offer a new program, etc., they will request that the new program be included in the accreditation process, but that program must also be evaluated and the prerequsite fees be paid. I agree that to some AACSB accreditation is important, but in reality any RA school is likely good enough, at least in the eyes of our government. Personnaly I feel that it is all a matter of money, from preceived value to required texts. In reality, it reminds me of the "ring" knocker mentality of our service schools--West Point officers are a step above ROTC officers...in reality we know this has absolutely no merit, that the individual matters, we are not a caste society and should be judged on our actions as opposed to some preconceived notions of the value of various letters, etc, when it is the individual and the knowledge they posses that matters. My two cents, which at present value mean little, lol...
     
  20. oko

    oko New Member

    Kristie7, what is in accurate about the statement that Harvard is accredited by AACSB at the graduate level only but not the undergraduate? Go to AACSB's web site and you will find that 8 or so percent of their member institutions are only accredited at the graduate level and Harvard is one of them. I went to graduate school with a graduate of Harvard College, which is the undergraduate arm of Harvard University. The issue here is AACSB has changed. They no longer simply accredit whole program. They now accredit Business, Accounting and the likes separately. Read their web site. They not only accredit individual courses/program, they have now gone fishing into accrediting PhD, Master and Undergraduate programs separately. I have a recent public story why I feel all these AACSB and the likes are all business which I may share if any one cares. But for now, just read the AACSB web site. They list schools accredited by level of accreditation - undergraduate, graduate and doctoral. They list accreditation by program business, accounting etc.

    You can believe what schools marketing departments want you to believe or what you want to believe but the fact is AACSB's own web site is clear on who has what and in what program.

    Once again, I have said repeatedly that I am not against AACSB or any other optional accreditations. I just do not agree that their program is better than non AACSB because the facts as I know them simply do not support that assertion.

    I stand on my statement that Harvard is only accredited at the graduate level by AACSB International and I provide this link as proof:

    http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/accreditedmembers.asp

    Then go to accreditation council profile. My question to AACSB is why the accounting specialty accreditation? Isn’t business accreditation enough to include accounting? I think I know the answer – Money. It has lee to do with education.
     

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