US Accreditation as a World-Class Education Quality Indicator

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31874/2309-1606-2022-28-1-6

Keywords:

education quality, accreditation, quality management, business education, student learning outcomes assessment, teaching excellence, continuous improvement, ACBSP

Abstract

On the turning point of European and world history, it is extremely important to unveil and effectively utilize the potential of effective high-quality education to make the future better for generations to come. Higher education quality management through accreditation has a long history of development in the United States, and time-proven standards, stimulating accredited institutions to continually improve academic quality.

The concepts, systems, principles and practices of accreditation arouse in the United States out of the need to meet the demands for quality, and evolved over decades, to form a coherent set of standards and frameworks of continuous improvement in all meaningful directions of the educational institutions’ life, striving for teaching excellence and high learning outcomes. At present, accreditation principles and processes, as exemplified by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) programmatic accreditation, are implemented in the US and numerous countries of the world, to ensure high standard and continuous improvement of business education quality, to raise the competitiveness of educational institutions in response to the expectations of public (primarily, students and their families), governments, employers, universities/colleges, academics, and broader communities.

This study establishes the correlation of the quality management system via ACBSP accreditation with the continuous improvement of business education quality. This study also provides statistical evidence that the application of quality management principles at institutions of higher education with accredited business programs did result in the association with enhanced student learning outcomes.

Higher education quality management leads to higher employability of the institution’s graduates. Since the quality of education is crucial for the country’s economic growth and prosperity, the business education institutions and programs in Ukraine and other Central and Eastern European and Eurasian countries may benefit from implementing quality management through ACBSP accreditation for their undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate (doctoral) business programs, to satisfy ever-rising expectations of candidates for top managerial and leadership positions.

The research suggests that 51% of the institutions of higher education with business programs in the United States, and 93% of the institutions of higher education worldwide could benefit from implementing accreditation principles and processes to maintain and enhance their education quality and competitiveness in the world business education market, for the sake of highest recognition of their graduates’ diploma on the global job markets and significant increase of their employability.

Author Biographies

Steve Parscale, American Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)

PhD in Business Administration, Chief Accreditation Officer

Lester C. Reams, Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles

Doctor of Public Administration, Juris Doctor, Professor of Business Law, Statistics, Organizational Assessment, and Market Assessment, Business Administration Department’s ACBSP Co-Champion for accreditation

Tatiana Andrienko-Genin, Westcliff University, California

PhD, Doctor of Science, accreditation expert, Professor, Faculty Senate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee Chair

VP, Global Academic Mobility, Kyiv International University, Ukraine

References

AACSB vs. ACBSP (2015): The Importance of Finding an Accredited Business Program. https://www.aiuniv.edu/blog/2015/april/aacsb-vs-acbsp

ACBSP (n.d.) Accreditation Standards https://acbsp.org/general/custom.asp?page= accreditation-standards

Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs. (2012). ACBSP standards and criteria for demonstrating excellence in baccalaureate/graduate degree schools and programs. http://www.acbsp.org/download.php?sid=29

Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs. (2012). Quality assurance report template. http://www.acbsp.org/download.php?sid=1193

ACSC (n.d.) Higher Education Act 1965, The Great Society of Congress http://acsc.lib.udel. edu/exhibits/show/legislation/higher-education-act

Ahire, S. L., Waller, M. A., & Golhar, D. Y. (1996). Quality management in TQM versus non- TQM firms: An empirical investigation. The International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management 13(8), 8-27. http://search.proquest.com/docview/197606505?account id=28180

Aslund, A. (Oct. 4, 2012). Outdated educational system translates into lagging economy. Kyiv Post. https://www.kyivpost.com/article/opinion/op-ed/why-ukraine-keeps-falling-behind-educationally-economically-313833.html

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, AACSB International. (2021). Business school data guide 2021. retrieved from: http://www.aacsb.edu/~/media/ AACSB/Publications/data-trends-booklet/2021-business-school-data-guide.ashx

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, (2013). 2013–2014 Education criteria for performance excellence. http://www.nist.gov/baldrige/publications/criteria.cfm

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, (2012). 2011–2012 Education criteria for performance excellence. http://www.nist.gov/baldrige/publications/criteria.cfm

Bodnar, J. W. (2011). Bayesian item response theory: Statistical inference and power analysis. (Order No. 3496351, Western Michigan University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 383. http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/920881388?a ccountid=2818. (920881388)

Brown-Bulloch, L. (2011). Alignment and integration for strategy execution in Baldrige award winning organizations. (Order No. 3480392, University of Phoenix). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 594. http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/ 899229759?accountid=28180. (899229759)

Carrigan, M. D. (2010). Economic uncertainty and the role of organizational development. Journal of Business & Economics Research 8(4), 99-104. http://search.proquest.com/ docview/194950950?accountid=28180

Chattopadhyay, A., Ghosh, R., Maji, S., Ray, T., & Lahiri, S. (2012). A time motion study in the immunization clinic of a tertiary care hospital of Kolkata, West Bengal. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 37(1), 30-33. doi:10.4103/0970-0218.94019

Corporate Finance Institute. (2020). Management Theories. https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/ resources/careers/soft-skills/management-theories/

Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). (2014, June 22). Accreditation serving the public interest. [Web log post]. http://www.chea.org/pdf/chea-at-a-glance_2012.pdf

Culver, S. (2010). Educational quality, outcomes assessment, and policy change: The Virginia example. http://search.proquest.com/docview/848230496?accountid=28180

Curtis, R. S., & Wu, W. (2012). Learning and assessment: The application of ePortfolios. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice 12(3), 66–74. http://search.proquest.com/ docview/1024140287?accountid=28180

Deming, E. W. (1982). Out of the crisis. Cambridge, Massachusetts. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Educational Services.

Dierksmeier, C. (2011). The freedom-responsibility nexus in management philosophy and business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics 101(2), 263-283. doi:10.1007/s10551-010- 0721-9

Dobyns, L., & Crawford-Mason, C. (1991). Quality or else: The revolution in world business. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Duque, L. C., & Weeks, J. R. (2010). Towards a model and methodology for assessing student learning outcomes and satisfaction. Quality Assurance in Education 18(2), 84–105. doi:10.1108/09684881011035321

Eaton, J. S. (2010). Accreditation and the federal future of higher education. Academe 96(5), 21–24, 5. http://search.proquest.com/docview/757456300?accountid=28180

Elmuti, D., Kathawala, Y., & Manippallil, M. (1996). Are total quality management programmes in higher education worth the effort? The International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management 13(6), 29–44. http://search.proquest.com/docview/19761 3077?accountid=28180

Emiliani, M. L. (2005). Using kaizen to improve graduate business school degree programs. Quality Assurance in Education 13(1), 37–52. http://search.proquest.com/docview/2 13734338?accountid=28180

EFQM. The need for a model. (2014, January 15). Who does the organization work for? [Web log post]. http://www.efqm.org/efqm-model/the-need-for-a-model

Fathi, Y. (1995). Managing for total quality: From Deming to Taguchi and SPC. The Engineering Economist 40(3), 308–308. http://search.proquest.com/docview/20673 1089?accountid=28180

Fred, A. F. (2012). Impact of quality management practices on the performance and growth of small and medium sized enterprises (SMES) in Ghana. International Journal of Business and Social Science 3(13), n/a. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1022 656953?accountid=28180

Gehart, D. (2011). The core competencies and mft education: Practical aspects of transitioning to a learning-centered, outcome-based pedagogy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy 37(3), 344–54. http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview /881055505?accountid=28180

Geiger, R. L. (2014) The History of American Higher Education: Learning and Culture from the Founding to World War II. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Hanford, E. (n.d.) A Brief History of For-Profit Higher Education in the United States, American Public Media. https://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/ tomorrows-college/phoenix/history-of-for-profit-higher-education.html

Imran, M., & Mahmood, Z. (2011). Sustainable adaptation of TQM programs in higher educational institutions of Pakistan. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 3(7), 102–111. http://search.proquest.com/docview/9237868 66?accountid=28180

Kallison, J. M., & Cohen, P. (2010). A new compact for higher education: Funding and autonomy for reform and accountability. Innovative Higher Education 35(1), 37–49. doi: 10.1007/s10755-009-9123-2

Keller, G. (1992), Increasing quality on campus -- on Q: Causing quality in higher education by Daniel T. Seymour. Change 24, 48-48. http://search.proquest.com/docview/20805 9923?accountid=28180

Kelley, C., Tong, P., & Beom-Joon Choi. (2010). A review of assessment of student learning programs at AACSB schools: A dean’s perspective. Journal of Education for Business 85(5), 299–306. http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/746427728?a ccountid=28180

Klefsjö, B. (2010). Quality management: Theory and application. Quality Progress 43(10), 61–61. http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/762506615?account id=28180

Klefsjö, B. (2011). Juran’s quality handbook: The complete guide to performance excellence. Quality Progress 44(3), 68–69. http://search.proquest.com/docview/866 830230?accountid=28180

Lewis, A. M. (2011). One hundred years later: What would Frederick w. Taylor say? International Journal of Business and Social Science 2(20), n/a. http://search.proquest.com/ docview/904530688?accountid=28180

Man, M. M. K., & Kato, I. (2010). Japanese management and total quality management (TQM) -the application in higher education institutions. International Journal of Management and Innovation 2(2), 1–8. http://search.proquest.com/docview/88542 2767?accountid=28180

McNamara P (2015) Why Business Schools Exist: On the Intellectual Origins of Business Schools in Nineteenth Century France and America, Voegelinview https://voegelinview.com/business-schools-exist-intellectual-origins-business-schools-nineteenth-century-france-america/

Michael, J. T., Chris McNicholas, Chris Nicolay1, Ara Darzi1, Derek Bell and Julie E Reed (2013): Systematic review of the application of the plan–do–study–act method to improve quality in healthcare. The international journal of healthcare improvement, http://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/early/2013/09/11/bmjqs-2013-001862.full

Middaugh, M. F. (2012). Introduction to themed PHE issue on accreditation in higher education. Planning for Higher Education 40(3), 5–7. http://search.proquest.com/doc view/1021195372?accountid=28180

Muñoz, E., A., Jaime, A. M., McGriff, D. L., & Molina, A. H. (2012). Assessment of student learning: Estudios Chicana/o cultivating critical cultural thinking. Teaching Sociology 40(1), 34–49. http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/918716628?acc ountid=28180

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce. (2012). 2011- 2012 Education Criteria for Performance Excellence. http://www.nist.gov/baldrige/ publications/upload/2011_2012_Education_Criteria.pdf

NAQA (Ukraine). (2019). Strategy of The National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance to 2022. https://en.naqa.gov.ua/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Strategy-to-2020.pdf

O’Brien, C (2021)A brief history of the GI Bill, Military Times https://www.militarytimes. com/education-transition/2021/03/10/a-brief-history-of-the-gi-bill/nineteenth-century-france-america/

Ohia, U. O., PhD. (2011). A model for effectively assessing student learning outcomes. Contemporary Issues in Education Research 4(3), 25–32. http://search.proquest.com/ docview/865045144?accountid=28180

Online Education Research (n.d.) Question: Who Accredits MBA (Master’s in Business dministration) Programs? https://www.onlineeducation.com/business/faqs/who-accredits-mba-programs

Parscale, S. L., Dumont, J. F., & Plessner, V. R. (2015). The effect of quality management theory on assessing student learning outcomes. SAM Advanced Management Journal 80(4), 19–31.

Petropoulou, O., Vassilikopoulou, M., & Retalis, S. (2011). Enriched assessment rubrics: A new medium for enabling teachers to easily assess student’s performance when participating in complex interactive learning scenarios. Operational Research 11(2), 171–186. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12351-009-0047-5

Piggot-Irvine, E., & Youngs, H. (2011). Aspiring principal development programme evaluation in New Zealand. Journal of Educational Administration 49(5), 513–541. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/09578231111159520

Porter, W. R. (2011). Stability by design. Journal of Validation Technology 17(3), 82–96. http://search.proquest.com/docview/896470349?accountid=28180

Potts, D.B. (1971). American colleges in the nineteenth century: From localism to denominationalism. History of Education Quarterly: 363–380 in JSTOR

Prabhu, N. K. (2011). Human resource management at the crossroads. The International Business & Economics Research Journal 10(8), 23–34. http://search.proquest.com. proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/886545236?accountid=28180

Pryor, M. G., Humphreys, J. H., Taneja, S., & Toombs, L. A. (2011). Where are the new organization theories? evolution, development and theoretical debate. International Journal of Management 28(3), 959–978. http://search.proquest.com/docview/8886 89759?accountid=28180

Reiss, J. (2009). Causation in the Social Sciences: Evidence, Inference, and Purpose. In W. Paul Vogt (Ed.), SAGE Quantitative Research Methods. (Vol. 39, pp. 21–691). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. http://srmo.sagepub.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/view/ sage-quantitative-research-methods/SAGE.xml

Ruihley, B. J., & Greenwell, T. C. (2012). Understanding the league sport participation experience utilizing the critical incident technique. Sport Marketing Quarterly 21(1), 32–42. http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/1008913845?account id=28180

Sanjaya, M. (2006). Quality Assurance in Higher Education: An introduction.

Bangalore, India, National Printing Press

Scott, J. (2005). The concise handbook of management: A practitioner’s approach. Binghamton, New York: The Haworth Press, Inc.

Sedlock, R. (2010). TREAT your customers. Quality Progress 43(12), 80–80. http://search.proquest.com/docview/846790060?accountid=28180

Shiraz, N., Rashid, M., & Riaz, A. (2011). The impact of reward and recognition programs on employee’s motivation and satisfaction. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business 3(3), 1428–1434. http://search.proquest.com/do cview/887726475?accountid=28180

Sidney, R. C., & Chad, J. M. (2010). An analysis of student self-assessment of online, blended, and face-to-face learning environments: Implications for sustainable education delivery. International Education Studies, 3(3), 36–40. http://search.proquest.com. proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/821817327?accountid=28180

Skocpol, T (2001) Delivering for Young Families: The Resonance of the GI Bill. prospect. org. December 19, 2001. February 18, 2022. https://prospect.org/topics/theda-skocpol/

Smith, J. (2011). The lasting legacy of the modern quality giants. Quality 50(10), 40–42, 44–47. http://search.proquest.com/docview/901902150?accountid=28180

Smith, J. (2011). A tribute to Dr. Joseph M. Juran. Quality 50(3), 20–20. http://search.proquest.com/docview/855438927?accountid=28180

Smothers, J. (2011). Assumption-based leadership: A historical post-hoc conceptualization of the assumptions underlying leadership styles. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship 16(3), 44–59. http://search.proquest.com/docview/889143981?ac countid=28180

Spangehl, S. D. (2012). AQIP and accreditation: Improving quality and performance. Planning for Higher Education 40(3), 29–35. http://search.proquest.com/docview/ 1021195391?accountid=28180

U.S. Department of Education, Committee on Measures of Student Success, A Report to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. (2011).

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2002). Law on Higher Education. [In Ukrainian]. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2984-14#Text

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2014). Law on Higher Education. [In Ukrainian]. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1556-18#Text

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2017). Law on Education. [In Ukrainian]. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2145-19#Text

Wahab, N. A., & Rahman, A. R. A. (2012). Efficiency of zakat institutions in Malaysia: An application of data envelopment analysis. Journal of Economic Cooperation & Development 33(1), 95–112. http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/ 1426793097?accountid=28180

Walters, D. D. (2011). Graduate perceptions of customer service in institutions of higher learning. (Order No. 3458446, Kansas State University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 186. http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/875560065?acco untid=28180. (875560065).

Wlodarski, J (2022) College Accreditation: The Basics, Best Colleges. https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/accreditation/

Wyld, D. C. (1996). The rhythm of the saints: A generational perspective on management history. Management Research News, 19(7), 37–37. http://search.proquest.com/ docview/223541954?accountid=28180

Zikmund, W. (1994). Business Research Methods. Fort Worth, Texas: The Dryden Press.

Downloads

Abstract views: 661

Published

2022-08-25

How to Cite

Parscale, S., Reams, L. C., & Andrienko-Genin, T. (2022). US Accreditation as a World-Class Education Quality Indicator. Filosofiya Osvity. Philosophy of Education, 28(1), 86–118. https://doi.org/10.31874/2309-1606-2022-28-1-6

Issue

Section

Articles

Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.