USQ intends to apply for AACSB accreditation

I was told by the business faculty of the USQ that they aim to apply for AACSB accreditation in 2006.
Incidentally, does someone know how long does it usually take to achieve AACSB accreditation?

Dennis

 

They already hold DETC accreditation not to mention they have the equivalent of RA in Australia.

I wonder why they would feel the need to pursue AACSB accreditation?

 

Marketability in the U.S. Same reason that some of the top business schools in Europe have obtained it or are pursuing it.

 

Wouldn't DETC accreditation do this? Is AACSB accreditation unique in some manner?

 

DETC accreditation is practically worthless. AACSB accreditation on the other hand, would allow DBA or PhD holders to teach at AACSB schools. I don't know how reliable is this information as the web site doesn't say anything about this, but if this is true, it is great news for those of us with DBAs from USQ.

 

It may have its limits but I would not describe it as "practically worthless."

DETC accreditation is just as valid as any other legitimate U.S. accreditation.

 

Is worthless is a sense that an undergraduate degree from an Australian University could be accepted for admission for a graduate degree at a RA school in the US while a DETC school B.Sc would have a hard time getting admission to a RA school. Also, an Australian graduate degree could be acceptable for teaching at a RA school while a graduate degree from a DETC school is in most of the times not acceptable.

In few words, the added value of a DETC accreditation is almost none.

 

This would be the fault of the schools in question. The DETC is not worthless as it is an accrediting body FULLY RECOGNISED AND SANCTIONED by the United States Department of Education.

DETC degrees may have limited utility in RA schools but this does not change the fact that DETC accreditation is just as legally valid as RA accreditation. A DETC 4 year degree is just as valid in the eyes of the US DOE as an RA 4 year degree is.

This is untrue, having a FULLY LEGITIMATE ACCREDITED degree from any accredited institution is a lot better then having no degree at all.

 

OK, let me put this way. DETC accreditation is of little value for the case of USQ that has already Australian accreditation.

 

Why would the smart folks down under waste the time, resources, effort, and money on accreditation that offers almost no value? How might they have been so misguided in their due diligence?

 

Dennis,

This seems to be to good to be true, Do you have any reference to this information?

 

DETC accreditation isn't worthless for all things, but it's certainly worthless if you had a DETC graduate degree and wanted to teach in an AACSB school. The AACSB is a professional accreditation for graduate schools of business. In most cases, if your MBA or a doctorate comes from a school that does not have this accreditation, it will be a knock out if you wish to teach at that level.

I believe there are about 700 total graduate schools of business in the U.S. and that roughly half of them are AACSB accredited. Some UK schools (as well as others around the world) also have sought this accreditation. The schools in the UK, for example, that have have sought and received AACSB are: Henley, Warwick, Open University, Manchester, Aston, Strathclyde, London Business School, Cranfield, Ashridge.

Not surprisingly, most of those UK schools (I think the first 6 of the 9, though not certain about Strathclyde) also have distance MBA, PhD or DBA programs. Kind of like a Who's Who of top DL UK graduate business programs. Apparently, they are seeking this U.S. accreditation, even though it's not necessary and hardly known over there, because they want to be able to market those DL degrees here in the U.S. to graduate business degree seekers like some who post on this forum. I believe at least one person who posts here is currently seeking a PhD or DBA from one of these schools. It's about the only way you'd have a ghost of a chance if you had no way of pursuing a doctorate in person but yet wanted to be a tenured prof someday at an AACSB school of business, as there are no AACSB-accredited schools in the U.S. that offer DL PhDs or DBAs. It's pretty much Europe or nothing for the AACSB DL business doctorate.

The U.S. DL learner angle's about the only reason I can figure for these schools pursuing AACSB, as almost all of the other top schools in the UK which don't have DL, such as Oxford and Cambridge, do not have the AACSB and I doubt they care, though I'm certain they could easily achieve it if they wanted to.

The AACSB accreditation is the gold standard for the U.S. MBA and business research doctorate programs (though the doctorate programs aren't directly accredited by the AACSB--don't ask, too complicated to discuss here). Nothing against DETC or RA-only for that matter, but it doesn't cut it for a graduate business degree if your goal is to teach above the CC or small college or for-profit level.

 

Re: Re: USQ intends to apply for AACSB accreditation

I've learned about it through an e-mail reply from Professor Ronel Erwee, the Director of the Graduate School of Business

I intend to enroll in their MBA program and so the issue is of interest to me.
However, if one graduates prior to the date they officially achieve accreditation, would such a degree later bring one the same benefits as a degree completed after the accreditation has been awarded?
That is why I asked how long it usually takes to get the AACSB accreditaion.

Dennis

 

Re: Re: Re: USQ intends to apply for AACSB accreditation

From what I have found 3 years is the shortest with 5 or more being common. One of the top business schools in Florida is FAMU. They estimate 5-7 years.

It will be interesting to see as to the acceptability of a foreign DL AACSB doctorate degree for tenure at a big name school in the US.

It seems to me the top US schools do not want DL Ph Ds for the most part. How else would one explain the lack of AACSB DL PhD or DBA programs offered by US schools?

Remember, the AACSB does NOT require a business PhD or DBA to be from an AACSB school to be accepted. It is some of the schools themselves that make that requirement. Theoretically at least a school could have all RA only DL PhDs and meet AACSB accreditation guidelines.

It is my guess that a foreign DL PhD\DBA from an AACSB school will put it just above the DL RA only PhD\DBA in the desirability scale and under Tier 4 B&M AACSB schools like Florida Atlantic University.



Just my opinion

 

The best option is to go for a school with triple-crown accreditation: AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA. The AACSB-accreditation is the heavy hitter of the bunch, but EQUIS is very well known in Europe and AMBA is highly regarded in the UK.

Only a handful of schools have the triple crown, but they are top notch business schools.

For teaching at an AACSB-accredited school, having a AACSB-accredited degree with be a must-have. Also, non-AACSB-accredited schools that are looking to get AACSB will hire professors with AACSB-accredited degrees.

RA, DETC, etc. have little meaning in the world of business schools since it is assumed. It's the professional accreditations that matter (i.e. AACSB for business, ABET for engineering, etc.)

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: USQ intends to apply for AACSB accreditation

That's a fair guess. Even a doctorate obtained from a world-class school like Manchester or Henley or Aston (all ranked in The Economist's worldwide top 60) would probably still be sneered at by hiring committees if obtained via distance. The only way around this would be if that doctorate was accompanied by some very solid scholarship and publications in good journals, but that's easier said than done for even B&M PhD grads.

There's an attitude among some U.S. b-school academics that no one can get a solid education in business while actually working in it. The problem, at bottom, is that many business PhD programs are not really about business, but about using statistical methods to investigate and write about the philosophy of business, which may not really be about what goes on in business at all. This phenomenon has been discussed ad naseum on this forum, but I can't help chiming in yet again. That said, I still aspire to attend B-school for a PhD, B&M if I must.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USQ intends to apply for AACSB accreditation

I have enjoyed the challenge of researching AACSB etc since I decided to go for a MBA. I challenge the status quo and like to cite articles questioning the top business schools in the US. It has been a great learning experience.

Things may be wrong in one's eyes but there comes a time to recognize reality.

Although limited in scope my personal research came to the same conclusion as you did.

If someone asked my humble opinion on the route to full time business teaching at the doctorate level in the US I would STRONGLY recommend getting into the best US B&M AACSB school possible. Then work you way down to the lowest ranked US B&M AACSB school before thinking DL of any kind.

Hopefully things will change for those that want to teach business in the US full-time.

Just my opinion

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USQ intends to apply for AACSB accreditation

I don't think you can get a doctorate from Henley or Aston (not sure about Manchester, but probably) without residencies. My personal opinion is that any doctorate that has residency requirements is not really a "distance education" program. Perhaps "external" would be a better term.

If being interviewed for an academic position, if asked "is this distance education program?".... it is very easy to respond, "no, Birmingham is such a wonderful city in the fall when I am in residence... the rest of the year I'm working on my research".

Even full-time doctorates usually allow research to be conducted off-site if the coursework is complete. It is quite possible to spend 8 months in residence and then 3 or 4 years away from the school working or your thesis. It all depends on the amount of coursework you have to take.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: USQ intends to apply for AACSB accreditation

USQ uses the term external for their degrees and not distance. DL or not DL PhD? for the most part, once you teach full time it doesn't matter, it is about accomplisments and teaching quality. It is also about good connections in the business. However, AACSB is of real value as I have been asked if the school that I graduated from has this accreditation. For the most part, no one has asked about the origin of my degree (DL or not) and only once about the famous AACSB accreditation.

Besides the big names like Harvard, MIT, etc, few really know about the difference between Touro and University of Idaho, or USQ and University of Ballarat or any other unknown school.

However, AACSB accreditation is of real value as many schools requires this accreditation before being considered for a teaching job. The tendendy is of having this accreditation as the golden standard. If the degree was earned with some DL components and some residencies, who cares really, at the end is the accomplishments that talk for themselves.

I don't think that the problem with the DL schools like Phoenix or TUI is the fact that they are online schools but the fact that students graduate with none or few publications. It is also the teaching experience that matters as many full time PhDs students have 3 or 4 years of teaching experience and many publications by the time the graduate. If one sends a resume with a PhD but no peer reviewed publications and little teaching experience, guess who is going to get the job?

As for foreign schools with AACSB accreditation offering programs with distance degrees, I would think that they are better options than US schools with the lack of this accreditation as the tendency is to have more degrees offered with the help of the internet and
more jobs with the AACSB accreditation requirements.

 

I suspect the reason USQ is applying for AACSB accreditation is the ability to attract more international students. It's sort of a quality assurance to international students that USQ met a certain standard and international students know that AACSB is the gold standard for business schools.

International students are now very wary of Australian universities because the universities didn't deliver what they promise. They set up campuses in cities with nothing more than a few classrooms. There wasn't even a library. For example, the University of Ballarat's campus in Sydney is housed in a cheap hotel. What a disgrace?