No surprise here considering the source: http://reference.aol.com/onlinecampus/campusarticle?id=20050828193509990001
As you said, no surprise. All AACSB schools push this as an added value or must have, and while I did choose an AACSB school (I suppose their advertising does work, lol), I have met few people (officers at work) that even know what the AACSB is. I choose an AACSB school as an additional measure of quality control as I am pursuing my MBA online. In reality, I believe you get the most utility from a school whose name is recognized and respected, as opposed to an unknown or not recognized school that is professionally accredited. In fact, my transcripts from MSU do not mention any AACSB accreditation, nor does the CHEA site, nor did the DOE's website. Is the AACSB recognized by the DOE as a professional accrediting body? If an employer actually wanted to ensure your school business program is AACSB would have to go to the AACSB's website. William
I once asked my sister-in-law (Harvard M.B.A.) if she knew what AACSB meant. She stared at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears.
Many employers have no clue what AACSB, ACBSP, or IACBE even are, although I am sure there are plenty that do and look for professionally accredited degrees. Just like there are plenty of jobs that want degrees from an IVY and others that just ask for them to be accredited by a recognized body. AACSB serves their purpose, and I imagine is much more widely recognized in academia, very similar to the difference of national and regional accreditation in the workplace (outside academia). If you don't mind me asking, what does MSU stand for? If it's Mississippi State, my uncle is an alumnus and did his degree "non-traditionally" at night while serving as a captain in the marine core.
http://www.umassonline.net/news/69.html Why UMassOnline BusinessWeek Online -- Distance Learning Closes the Gap
Bruce- I think they teach that look at Harvard. I worked in a company that had their own Harvard club on-site. I would get a look like that whenever I asked a question likely considered dubious. I also asked a guy what his MBA thesis was about, and he mumbled something about it being optional so he skipped it.
First tier schools have never had to advertise AACSB accreditation because it has little value to them. People would not stop attending Wharton or HBS due the removal of AACSB accreditation (in fact in the case of Harvard I doubt that regional accreditation matters to the students, the name recognition is that great). It is when you get to the lower tier that you see the push for AACSB because it builds value into their programs. For example if you are thinking about attending Bradley University, Abilene Christian University or Kentucky State University would you know (without looking) if they obtained AACB accreditation? (FYI the first two are AACSB, KSU is ACBSP) Of course most employers most likely will not know either but, it's better to have it and never be asked then to not have it and need it. Also something can be said for the fact that AACSB (ACBSP and IACBE, too) does require all of its accredited schools to meet certain criteria which should make a more standardized degree. Without that it may cause confusion as to what knowledge a perspective B-school student may or may not have. As far as CHEA, AACSB and ACBSP (IACBE is not)are listed as a recognized professional accrediting organization. http://www.chea.org/Directories/special.asp I have a feeling PA accreditation is not listed on the CHEA website because it is possible that large institutions may hold many accreditations and it would be difficult to maintain, especially if on occasion an institution were to lose their PA. For Example UMASS-Amherst holds APA, AACSB, ABET (and they accredit each program individually), and the list goes on.
Here is the DOE info on UMASS Amherst. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS-AMHERST OPE ID: 00222100 General Information IPEDS ID: 166629 Phone: 413-545-0111 For more information about this institution, visit www.umass.edu ACCREDITATION Regional Institutional Accrediting Agency New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education National Institutional and Specialized Accrediting Bodies American Dietetic Association, Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education Dietetics (DIETI) - Postbaccalaureate dietetic internship programs American Psychological Association, Committee on Accreditation Clinical Psychology (CLPSY) - Doctoral programs Counseling Psychology (COPSY) - Doctoral programs Professional Psychology (IPSY) - Predoctoral internship programs Professional/Scientific Psychology (PSPSY) - Doctoral programs School Psychology (SCPSY) - Doctoral programs American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Audiology (AUD) - Graduate degree programs Speech-Language Pathology (SP) - Graduate degree programs Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate and graduate degree levels Council on Education for Public Health Public Health (PH) - Graduate schools of public health National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation, Commission on Non-Degree-Granting Accreditation, Commission on Community/Junior College Accreditation Music (MUS) - Baccalaureate and graduate degree programs National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education Teacher Education (TED) - Baccalaureate and graduate programs for the preparation of teachers and other professional personnel for elementary and secondary schools Notice there is no AACSB, that is what caught my eye. William
I notice in the CHEA website both AACSB and ACBSP are listed as previously recognized by the USDE. I wonder why there has been a change? http://www.chea.org/pdf/CHEA_USDE_AllAccred.pdf
Here in South-East Asia, achieving AACSB accreditation will cause a business school to rocket from near oblivion to instant stardom ________ Graduate Diploma*, British Computer Society MBA* student, James Cook University, Australia *Not accredited by a regional accrediting body recognized by both the U.S. Department of Education and the Council of Postsecondary Accreditation.
Good to hear from SE Asia.... but that doesn't seem to be the case in Hong Kong. - Had dinner a couple of days ago, a friend of mine just did an MBA with HKUST. She has no idea on what is AACSB. - People in Hong Kong won't choose a school by checking if it is AACSB accredited. The top rivals are not marketing themselves much on the accredition issues. But seemed to be a "we are one of them" only. Perharps this is the result of intensive competitions. Having these accreditions is not enough! - City University of Hong Kong is also AACSB accredited. But with much more traditional sense, it is usually looked down compared to HKU, HKUST, and CUHK. Although educated in Hong Kong for years, I just came to know today that these schools got accredited.....