AACSB and IACBE Accreditation

What is the difference between AACSB and IACBE accreditation?

Is one better than the other or are they looked upon similarly?

 

I am going to an IACBE MBA program at Brenau University. Here's what I found out when I researched the topic before enrolling.

There are four kinds of business school accreditation: AACSB, ACBSP, IACBE and none whatsoever (no extra business accreditation). the AACSB is the gold standard and the hardest to get. I don't know so much about ACBSP, but I think it's kind of like AACSB-junior, except that it caters more to professional study and smaller colleges and universities. IACBE is unlike the other two in that it has a philosophy of being outcome-focused. The main requirement is that IACBE members test their outgoing students and monitor the results. I really don't know more about the specific standards, although I think my own university is following it by making every MBA graduate take something called the MFAT test.

AACSB is the most reputable accreditation, and the top business schools (as measured by lists like US News) are AACSB. However, the other two are just as likely to accredit the cheaper and flexible programs that adult learners and distance students generally (but not always) prefer. Getting an AACSB degree is important if you want to teach at an AACSB school in the future. This doesn't matter when it comes to IACBE and ACBSP... they are smaller and don't involve any really special advantages or disadvantages. IACBE and ACBSP might be a sign that your business school is trying harder than the business school around the corner that doesn't bother with extra accreditation at all; for-profit schools don't bother with extra accreditation. Then again, maybe the benefits of IACBE/ACBSP are just not worth much. I don't think it's at all possible to say that AACSB is 50% better than ACBSP which is 50% better than IACBE which is 50% better than none. The whole situation is pretty messy.

 

This is a great recap, I started a posting, then saw this one, so - ditto!

 

What about EQUIS or AMBA?

 

Sorry, should have specified... AACSB, ACBSP and IACBE are U.S. accreditors. AACSB accredits a few non-U.S. schools. EQUIS and AMBA are European-based.

 

Thanks for all of the responses!

Is there a distinct advantage of going with an AACSB, ACBSP or IACBE accredited program other than teaching at an AACSB, ACBSP or IACBE university?

For those of us with business/government/military jobs, I don’t see any advantages of going with an AACSB, ACBSP or IACBE accredited program. Am I correct or am I missing something?

 

You're basically right. I'm not planning to teach business -- if I was, I would have definitely gone for an AACSB degree -- but I still saw a benefit in IACBE accreditation. The fact that they had IACBE accreditation signaled to me that they weren't just going to be satisfied with the bare minimum, even if they weren't top-tier AACSB. So I saw a quality benefit ... but it's just not a very tangible benefit.

 

I think there is a major benefit in chosing a school with professional accreditation. Realize that regional accreditors don't look at program specifics to any extent and they only come around every 10 years. Professional accreditors do look at program specific aspects - and they typically show up every 7 years and require annual reports. Accreditation standards force business schools to take specific actions - measuring program outcomes, hiring quality faculty, including essential curriculum elements and the like - that they probably wouldn't take otherwise.

I believe that AACSB is the gold standard - but other things being equal, I'd choose an ACBSP (especially) or even an IACBE school over an RA only school.

Regards - Andy

 

For profit schools run like a business. Ask any business owner if they would like more government regulations\people telling them what to do and gauge their reaction. Most likely they would think you are crazy!

What tangible benefit is there to business professional accreditation? Look through Monster.com or any other job search engine. Count the number of times non-educational jobs require AACSB, ACBSP, or IACBE accredited degrees. I do not believe you will find many, esp ACBSP and IACBE. Try to find one (1) government license\certification that requires it. Just one.

It would seem to me that the job of the business school dean should be to ensure quality. Counting on a professional agency like the AACSB could be a mistake. A search here will show AACSB schools having faculty with degree mill doctorates and AACSB business schools like Florida Atlantic University getting into trouble with SACS because of unqualified instructors. From what I can see the AACSB did nothing.

You will read that all the major schools have AACSB. You will find little or no mention of the Tier 4 schools that are also AACSB and are hardly recruited by real world businesses. Call Florida A&M University and ask what is the average starting salary for their MBA graduates. FAMU is not AACSB. Then call Florida International University and ask what their average starting MBA salary is. FIU is AACSB. In fact, compare FAMU to any AACSB school in Florida. You may be very surprised!

Also keep in mind the likelihood of having full time instructors with little-no real world experience increases when attending an AACSB school. If that is considered a benefit I’ll pass.

http://bigben.blogs.com/first/2005/06/how_business_sc.html

However, if you think you will enjoy teaching at an AACSB school populated with full time researchers then you should by all means go the AACSB route. But take some time and look around the AACSB\ACBSP\ICBSE sites and see exactly what the accreditation requirements are.

Finally, read the following article when you get a chance:

http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?referral=9794&id=R0505F

How Business Schools Lost Their Way
Warren G. Bennis, James O'Toole
Harvard Business Review

Just my opinion

 

Good discussion...

I still don't see the benefit of paying $15K more for an IACBE accredited program to get a business doctorate that I don't need. I am just looking to 1) get a business doctorate to learn more about business and 2) use it to stand out from my peers for promotion purposes.

Good point Carlos, since I work for the government/military, I don't see anywhere where the government/military makes a distinction between AACSB, ACBSP, or IACBE accredited degrees versus non-AACSB, ACBSP, or IACBE accredited degrees.

 

I asked my HR Manager the other day if she knew, or cared, if a school's program was AACSB or ACBSP. Her reponse..."what's AACSB?" That told me all I needed to know for my industry anyway. She knows ACE, RA, DETC, AACRAO, NACES, and the name of many mills, though.

Since I am a hiring manager, the main things I am looking for is experience, will they fit in here, and if they have a degree. I might look a school up if I had not heard of it but I rely on HR to check out things like that for me. Even at that, I don't look up a school I might have heard of when I see it on an interesting resume. For instance, if I saw a candidate with an Auburn degree I would not look it up. So, I might not know if they were on RA probation. That's HR's job anyway. I don't do background checks.

 

Is FAMU better than UF? FSU? I seriously doubt that. (Although FAMU's business school is good.)

FAMU is a special case. It is a "top tier" among HBCUs. So it does have reputation above and beyond just being accredited.

 

In my case, cost had absolutely no positive correlation with accreditation. Here were some programs I looked at:

Georgia State University Evening MBA program (AACSB): $110 per credit

Troy State University (ACBSP): $290 per credit for MSM, $410 for MBA

Bellevue University (IACBE): $330 per credit

Brenau University (IACBE): was $383 per credit, now $400

Strayer and Keller/Devry (RA-only): $450 per credit

 

Some hiring managers know what AACSB is, some do not. Maybe 5% of hiring managers know what AACSB is today. In 5 years it might by 20%. In 10 years it might be 95%.

As more and more future hiring managers become graduates of AACSB schools, the awareness will go up. The trend is for business schools is to obtain AACSB. There will be more AACSB schools in the future, not less. Therefore there will be more AACSB graduates, not less.

It's just a matter of time before AACSB becomes to business as ABET has become to engineering.

This is my personal opinion: If you are pursuing a business degree, and you have a choice, get one from an AACSB business school. It can only help.

 

But let me take the converse - If going to a for-profit school means that I'll be taught exclusively by poorly paid part-timers with no theoretical foundation and that have no relationship with the school other than teaching (and who are highly motivated to minimize work and maximize student grades) - I'll pass.

As I've said before, the best b-school profs have both academic and professional qualifications. Great b-schools know how to blend practical and theoretical aspects of business.

As for the HBR article - keep this in perspective. HBR has been focused on publishing controversial articles. Two years ago they said "IT Doesn't Matter". Now they are taking on b-schools. They print controversial articles to challenge the status quo (not a bad thing) and build sales.

Are there problems with b-schools? Yes. Did the article make valid points on how b-schools should change? Yes. Did the article give a wholesale endorsement of practitioner only faculties? Not at all:

"Historically, business schools have emphasized the former (practice) at the expense of the latter (creating knowledge through research). In fact for the first half of the twentieth century B schools were more akin to trade schools; most professors were good ole boys dispensing war stories... We remember when MIT's Sloan School's ... production management class was taught by the manager of a nearby General Motors assembly plant. That was a useful, but hardly comprehensive and professional education."

It is easy to take sides in the "practitioner" versus "scholar" battle. The truth of the matter, IMHO, is that "balance" is the essential point.

Regards - Andy

 

I know my experience may be the exception, but my last employer only reimbursed professional degrees (graduate).

 

I think this is the best approach, Andy. I can think of people like Harvard's Clayton Christensen(DBA, scholar, former CEO, author of "Innovator's Dilemma") as a prime example of professors I would love to teach me.

Bing

 

Yet Grand Canyon University is ACBSP Accredited and they are for profit!

Hey Carlos that is not the full story! FAMU has announced their plan to become AACSB accredited. That greatly weakens that argument.

Although when you get to third tier and lower schools there may be some legitmacy in the argument if AACSB means much at all. In some cases it may be more beneficial to go with a local school with a good reputation. I know I had one professor tell, to interview my family and friends and throw out the names of the schools I was thinking of(regardless of accrediation) and see which one was recognized and considered favorable by most and that would be your best bet(of course this only works as he pointed out if these are the actual schools you are considering throw a Harvard in there and the results skew)

I also agree with andy go with AACSB if possible it CAN'T hurt, only help. If not go ACBSP(I actually like ACBSP's policies better but AACSB is considered gold standard).

 

We discussed this before but to refresh:

FAMU is not AACSB accredited at this time. If you read :

http://www.thefamuanonline.com/media/paper319/news/2005/01/14/News/Sbi-To.Become.Accredited-832952.shtml

Note it says 5-7 years. Hardly seem to be in any hurry. It only took the new school Florida Gulf Coast University three years!

Also note:

Emphasis mine. How many of the FAU, FIU, and FGC students can make the same claim?

Also notice they are being made to:

and finally:

Hardly a ringing endorsement of AACSB accreditation!

Just my opinion

 

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/121/24.0.html

Did the ACBSP happen before or after the change? Since they became for - profit only 1 1/2 years ago methinks they must have been ACBSP before the change.

I too prefer ACBSP to AACSB. But some AACSB schools can be pretty snooty about the subject:

http://www.mba.unh.edu/gmatfaq.html

No mention of the AACSB having Pacific Western University listed as an "Educational Member Institution." as we discussed elsewhere

Just my opinion