Note: This blog entry is not to be an endorsement for or against any agency. I am just expressing my concerns and writing about my findings.
Something that I’ve been concerned about in regards to my search for a quality MBA is accreditation. There are currently two agencies that provide accreditation. They are the
AACSB and the
ACBSP. Here’s what I found out:
The AASCB is the “gold standard” for MBA and business school accreditation. I actually knew this before I did any research, but I needed to find out more information about them. If you take the time to look at all the major schools, most of their business programs will be accredited by this agency. There are even some schools that offer the online MBA that holds the same accreditation as the brick and mortar facility. Schools that I’ve seen that fall into this category include
Arizona State,
University of Houston and others.
The second (and newest agency) is the
ACBSP. These guys have only been around since the late 1990’s. Being the “new guy on the block”, I do have a concern about the acceptance factor of a degree accredited by this agency.
You can see the list of schools they represent. It’s not like the schools on this list are a bunch of diploma mills. But you also might notice that the schools on this list are not “A” list schools. I am seeing a pattern here, but I am not exactly sure that I can pinpoint it or put it into words yet.
One thing is clear, however.
The list of schools accredited by the AACSB are indeed “A” list schools.
When I found the online MBA program at the University of Dallas, I was excited. I had (incorrectly) assumed that they were accredited by the AACSB. In looking into the program further, I see that they are accredited by the ACBSP. If I were to get my MBA here, I am not sure what (if any) impact this would have when presenting it on my resume. But I do have concerns.
In order to find out some additional information, I sent a quick note to the people at ACBSP. My email is as follows:
I am considering several business schools. One of which is the University of Dallas (ACBSP accredited) and Arizona State University (AACSB accredited). I have read a lot of the literature on your site, but still do not have some questions answered.
Other than AACSB being looked upon as the “standard” by much of our society, what sets your organization apart from them? I would like to know what benefits I might get by picking an institution that you’ve accredited over one that is accredited by AACSB.
The reply I received was simply
a link to their brochure in PDF format. The brochure doesn’t address my original questions mentioned above. It just outlines what they perceive are benefits of their program.
Furthermore, I was doing some additional research and found out that the ACBSP also accredits the
University of Phoenix MBA programs. Then, I found an article in which Intel, one of the world’s largest and best employers has eliminated the University of Phoenix from its tuition reimbursement program
because the school “lacked top-notch accreditation”.
If Intel thinks this way, how much longer will it be before other large corporations adopt the same line of thinking? Is this a knock on the university, or on ACBSP? I can't tell yet. I will continue to look into these issues. If anyone has any feedback, please let me know.
The bottom line is that the value of your MBA is not only how much you learn with it, but whether or not your employer or future employer will accept it and pay you accordingly. If you get an MBA from an institution that is looked upon by influential major employers as one that does not provide adequate accreditation, then you might as well have no degree at all.