The IACBE's Value Proposition
The IACBE offers a unique value proposition for academic business units around the world with respect to advancing academic quality in their business programs and operations. This value proposition is central and fundamental to the IACBE's accreditation process. Furthermore, it applies to any economic, educational, cultural, and legal/regulatory environmental setting, and is independent of organizational and program structure, and instructional delivery mode.
The IACBE's Value Proposition:
- Mission-Driven and Outcomes-Based Philosophy of Accreditation
- Developmental Accreditation Process Emphasizing Continuous Improvement
- Collaborative and Cooperative Approach to Quality Assurance
Mission-Driven and Outcomes-Based Philosophy of Accreditation
The IACBE's definition of academic quality focuses on the “outputs” of the educational process instead of the “inputs” into the process, i.e., on the overall level of performance of the academic business unit in the context of its mission. Therefore, the IACBE evaluates academic quality in terms of educational outcomes instead of prescriptive standards relating to resources. Consequently, the IACBE's quality assurance process focuses on the value of academic resources to the institution’s stakeholders in terms of their ability to generate measurable results or outcomes pertaining to student learning and operational effectiveness. In other words, the IACBE's accreditation process examines whether students learned what they were supposed to have learned, whether the academic business unit is functioning effectively, and whether the academic business unit is accomplishing its mission and goals.
Developmental Accreditation Process Emphasizing Continuous Improvement
The IACBE recognizes and appreciates the fact that no school achieves all of its goals, all of its objectives, and all of its intended outcomes all of the time. In addition, the IACBE believes that there can be a continuum of accomplishment of goals, objectives, and intended outcomes. Therefore, the IACBE implements a developmental accreditation process that emphasizes efforts to improve the overall effectiveness of the academic business unit.. Furthermore, the growing complexity of the global business environment requires an academic business unit to prepare itself and its students for the future. Consequently, the quality of an academic business unit’s performance depends on its continuous improvement efforts to meet future challenges. The IACBE’s accreditation process fosters and advances academic quality, and promotes continuous improvement in the overall performance of an academic business unit.
Collaborative and Cooperative Approach to Quality Assurance
The IACBE views the accreditation process as a partnership in which we work together with our members in the pursuit of excellence in business education. In that spirit, the IACBE and its members function in a collaborative and cooperative manner to advance academic quality in business education. An important aspect of this partnership is the IACBE's mentoring program, through which we assist our members with all phases of the accreditation process. The IACBE is dedicated to helping our members become better at what they do and is committed to "assisting colleges and universities in preparing today’s business students for tomorrow’s workplace."
