NCU business school candidate for 3rd accreditation

This may have been posted already but I did not see it.

http://www.ncu.edu/about/news/081017_news.aspx

I like this strategy, going after a variety of legitimate “pretty good” accreditations.

 

I disagree; it gives the appearance that NCU is looking for multiple fallback positions. It reminds me of when Liberty University got TRACS accreditation when their RA status was in jeopardy. Once RA was again secure, they dumped TRACS.

 

If assuming that NCU losses RA( I doubt that will happen, but I have been wrong before), the business accreditation would be meaningful, that is addition to not as a "fallback plan", if they were pursuing DETC or other National accreditation(for the whole university), then that would have been a fallback plan, but not with this one. For what it seems you have to be RA to apply for this business accreditation. Hence, this does not accredit the whole university, only the business program.

 

Calling Dr. Bear...

All of these various business accreditations are confusing! Supposedly AACSB is the premier business accrediation, but there are other business accreditations too, to include ACBSP and IACBE.

Good point!

In your opinion, what do you speculate is the future of NCU? Do you think maintaining RA status will be an issue in the near or far future? IMO it won't be an issue because so many other institutions are now starting to offer online doctoral programs, to include not-for-profits and for-profits. State universities have jumped on the online bandwagon. Will it last or is it a bubble?

I know that Dr. Bear had an issue with NCU, reportedly because of an unsavory previous encounter that he had with Dr. Hecht; but setting aside all animosities, I'd also like to know his pragmatic assessment, especially now that NCU has been sold to Rockbridge (which means that Dr. Hecht is no longer an owner).

 

Jonnie's website:

There are three accrediting agencies in USA to accredit business programs. The first one is The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), which is recognized by CHEA and more worldwidely recognized. The second one is Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), which is also recognized by CHEA and accredits both community colleges and four-year colleges. The third one is International Assembly of Collegiate Business Education (IACBE), which mainly accredits four-year colleges (US institutions are all regionally accredited).

 

Hmm, you’re certainly entitled to speculate, but I’m pretty comfortable with a school that is regionally accredited and also hold two of the three premier business school accreditations.

 

I have no idea, and I wasn't speculating on their RA status as I believe pre-existing RA is required for any of the business school accreditations. What I meant was that going for IACBE looks to be a fallback plan since it's generally considered to be the least prestigious of the business accreditors. It would be like an RA school suddenly deciding to add DETC after a couple of years, or more appropriately an AACSB school suddenly deciding to add another business school accreditation. What's the purpose?

They actually only hold one business school accreditation; they're a candidate for IACBE.

 

I have to agree with this. I'm not aware of any value that is added by seeking to obtain IACBE accreditation when the institution already holds ACBSP accreditation. The only reason that I can think of that makes any sense is if the school is, for some reason, planning on not having ACBSP accreditation in the future.

 

I can understand you rationale, but in business it is a different ballpark from other disciplines, this would apply to some individuals that hold a CPA license and then add other licenses such CIA (certified internal auditor), CMA (certified management accountant) CFE (certified fraud examiner), etc... if the CPA is the premier license, what is the point? the point is that all of the different licenses have their own grown and in different specializations. The more certifications you have the more valuable you are as an individual, same with business schools (accreditation).

 

You're comparing apples to moonrocks; we're talking about business school accreditation, not specific certfication.

I would be extremely surprised if you could name one other school that went after IACBE accreditation after already having ACBSP accreditation, and it would surprise me even more if NCU was the very first school to see any advantage to doing it.

 

You miss the boat, the analogy, and my rationale, but I understand your position, I am not trying to convince you. Whatever NCU do, it would not add or subtract to my current position. Perhaps, it would be best to ask them, why they are doing it, but that is not for me to know or to find out (I don't care). As long they keep the RA accreditation the rest is just that.

 

I tend to agree with you. The IACBE is still not CHEA recognized so what is the point?

http://www.chea.org/pdf/2008_2009_Directory_of_CHEA_Recognized_Organizations.pdf

Is there any record of a school going IACBE after achieving AACSB? I would be surprised if there were.

 

All three of these business accreditors have respectable colleges and universities that use them; and all three of these business accreditation appear to be fine. I did a quick search and found a respectable school that has a dual memberships:

Andrews University, ACBSP & IACBE

It's possible that some American schools that have an international clientile might want the IACBE accreditation to entice foreigners into enrolling.

 

Well, in the example you gave above, the CPA would still serve as the overall certification whereas those others would be more specific ones. For instance, the AICPA now has their own fraud certification to compete with the CFE.

So maybe NCU sees some distinction from these different certifications. Isn't ACSBP supposed to be directed more towards teaching colleges for instance? I'm not sure where IACBE falls in terms of their specialty.

To be frank, I think Vini is correct and that RA is the key to NCU. Other than AACSB, none of those other certifications appear to convey much utility. I bet they could drop them all and remain RA and not see much of a drop-off in either enrollment or utility.

 

I would think you should care more than I, since the status of NCU's business school accreditation is of no importance to me whatsoever; I was merely making an observation.

 

I believe this might be the main reason(not sure) due to international students.

 

I understand your position.

 

Carlosb,

It is always good to hear from you!

 

RA and ACBSP

Interesting thought - but the first requirement for ACBSP accreditation is that you are regionally accredited (if in the US). ACBSP isn't a backup for RA - RA is a pre-requisitive for ACBSP.

Regards - Andy

 

That's the main point I was trying to make; I got the feeling NCU's application to IACBE is a fallback in case they lose ACBSP. I have no idea if that's anywhere close to reality, it's just a feeling I got.