AACSB vs IACBE

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by tigerhead, Jan 30, 2007.

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  1. tigerhead

    tigerhead New Member

    As I am winding down the final stages of my B.S., my thoughts are now turning to graduate work, and the following question has me curious. Is there a significant difference (from the eyes of potential employers) between AACSB and IACBE accredited MBA programs?

    Any thoughts or feeback would be appreciated.
     
  2. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    AACSB is a very prestigious accreditation. I have never heard of IACBE but by looking at the type of institutions they accredit, it doesn't look prestigious as I see many business academies or private training programs accredited by this institution (not even colleges or Universities).
     
  3. RobbCD

    RobbCD New Member

    IACBE accredits a local B&M school here in CT (Albertus Magnus College), so they can't be bad. They also accredit Baker College and City College (the one in WA). In fact, they accredit a TON of business programs at colleges and universities here in the states, so I'm not sure what RFValve means by "not even colleges or Universities".


    Look for yourself:
    http://www.iacbe.org/html/accredited_members_-_alphabeti.html

    IACBE is not yet recognized by the US DoE and is certainly not prestigious like the AACSB, so degrees with IACBE accreditation will not have the utility of an AACSB accredited program, but it seems to me that IACBE would be better than, or as least as good as, a program from an accredited school with no futher business accreditation.
     
  4. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member


    My concern was that they accredit schools like the alliance business school academy in India http://www.abaindia.org/ that is more of a training institute.


    In addition, the requirements for accreditation are not exactly rigorous http://www.iacbe.org/Procedures_for_Applying_for_IACBE_Membership-Intl.pdf


    Is IACBE better than nothing? may be, but not something that would be even worth mentioning on a resume.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 30, 2007
  5. Vincey37

    Vincey37 New Member

  6. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    There are three major professional accreditation agencies for MBA programs: AACSB, ACBSP, and IACBE. AACSB and ACBSP are CHEA-recognized, while IACBE is not.

    MBA degrees are not subject to state regulation (unlike, say, engineering or law degrees), so there is no legal difference between the different forms of accreditation. In fact, there is no legal requirement that MBA programs have any professional accreditation at all, and some don't.

    In general, most employers probably aren't familiar with the different MBA accreditation agencies. However, they typically do have a sense for prestige and name recognition. In practice, employers probably favor AACSB MBA degrees over IACBE MBA degrees, simply because AACSB-accredited schools are generally much more prestigious and better known than IACBE-accredited schools.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 30, 2007
  7. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    I AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  8. Scott Henley

    Scott Henley New Member

    AACSB is the gold standard for business accreditation. It is to business accreditation what ABET is to engineering accreditation. These other accrediting "agencies" are filling a niche for schools that are unable or unwilling to go all the way and be accredited by an association that (along with EQUIS and AMBA) is recognised internationally and is of high repute.
     
  9. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    No. Potential employers are most likely to look at the name of the school and possibly the ranking against other schools, if where you earned your MBA is important to their selection process.

    Dave
     
  10. Scott Henley

    Scott Henley New Member

    True. However, you will not find any highly ranked schools that hold IACBE accreditation. In fact, the only IACBE-accredited schools will be unranked or fourth tier regional colleges (at best) or online "virtual" schools.

    Even if your school is not highly ranked, having an AACSB-accredited MBA is a selling feature.
     
  11. tigerhead

    tigerhead New Member

    Thanks for the feedback everyone -

    Now does the same standard apply to undergraduate degrees? Does this mean the B.S. that I am about to complete, (which is RA only), is substandard?

    Thanks,
    Brian
     
  12. RobbCD

    RobbCD New Member

    WOW! You are so wrong. Albertus Magnus (IACBE accredited) college is ranked 24th on US News' comprehensive colleges for bachelor's degrees (North). Here's a link.

    http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1ccbach_n_brief.php

    I now find your opinion suspect.
     
  13. Scott Henley

    Scott Henley New Member

  14. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    Most RA BS degrees are RA-only. Specialized professional accreditation is not normally a factor at the undergraduate level.

    Exceptions do exist in state-regulated fields like engineering or nursing, where the BS can be a qualifying degree for professional licensure. In such cases, professional accreditation could be more important than RA, and so an RA-only degree could be substandard. But RA schools normally have appropriate professional accreditation for their professional degree programs, so this is rarely an issue.

    In general, RA is the most widely recognized standard for bachelor's degrees. So an RA BS degree from Bellevue will probably not be regarded as "substandard" by anyone. Of course, it may not have as much prestige as an RA BS degree from (say) Yale, but that doesn't make it substandard.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 31, 2007
  15. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    US News ranks Connecticut colleges in four separate categories: National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Master's Universities - Northern, and Comprehensive Colleges - Northern. Albertus Magnus ranks well within its category, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it ranks as highly compared to other local schools in other categories.

    For example, consider this US News link, which rates Albertus Magnus as "less selective".

    For comparison, the AACSB-accredited schools in CT are all rated as "most selective" (Yale), "more selective" (Coast Guard, Quinnipiac, Fairfield, UConn), or "selective" (Hartford, Sacred Heart).

    The only ABSCP-accredited school in CT is Bridgeport, which is "less selective".

    So AACSB appears to accredit the more selective schools in CT, as determined by US News. ABSCP and IACBE split the rest.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 31, 2007
  16. RobbCD

    RobbCD New Member

    Charleston Southern University is third tier, according to US News, as is the College of St. Mary (NE). In fact, several other third tier schools are on the alphebetized list of members on the IACBE website. Not top of the line, but not the "unranked or fourth tier regional colleges (at best) or online "virtual" schools" that you described.

    Of course, it only took one example to show how poorly researched and unsupported your post about IACBE and "4th tier" schools was.
     
  17. RobbCD

    RobbCD New Member

    Well researched. I'd suggest that the number of top tier private universities in Connecticut makes the other schools, like Albertus Magnus, Southern CSU and University of New Haven, which are all very good schools, look bad by comparison. Other than that, you are right on.
     
  18. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Yes, AACSB accreditation is nice to flaunt (and it has served me well), but I was trying to answer the question relative to the term "significant difference." My belief is that most hiring managers are more concerned with school name and ranking, and not even vaguely aware of programmatic accreditation, so to discuss AACSB one almost has to be prepared to explain what it means. The original poster should probably consider school name and ranking in selecting schools to which they want to apply. I presume that the best known and most expensive schools will have AACSB accreditation, but there are a few bargains in online AACSB MBA programs as well (i.e., Western Kentucky and Colorado State).

    As a side comment, I've noticed that some job postings require a "top-tier" MBA, yet the salary range isn't aligned with what those individuals would command; that belies some ignorance about how MBAs are trained and what they are prepared to do beyond the board room and executive chairs...

    Dave
     
  19. sanjeevtomar.1981

    sanjeevtomar.1981 New Member

    Alliance Business School, Bangalore

    Alliance Business School, Bangalore is acredited by IACBE, but thier quality is worst, they offer distance degree by name of abscdl also, it is Illegal Business School in Bangalore, owner are very influncial, so they are selling PGPM ( Certificate ), It is not Post Gradual Degree, Fees is 11 Lakhs, out of 180 students batch, only 34 students got placement, mostly in BPO. 2010 batch size is 360, only one students, Poonam Karkaria got PPO. It is one of the worst Institute of India. Buyer Aware.........

    Ex Student-
    Got certficate at cost of 12 lakhs, working in BPO at the salary of 20000 p.m.

    I do;nt have trust on IACBE degree acredition, after seeing alliance. IACBE people have given accrediton to distance learning courses also, see website of abscdl
     
  20. dl_mba

    dl_mba Member

    I feel sorry for you. For Rupees 12 Lakh ($25,820.33), You could have gotten a AACSB accredited DL MBA or MSM from USA.

     

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