Byrd Business Review E-letter

BENEFITS OF AACSB ACCREDITATION

AACSB accreditation has done more to improve the quality of collegiate education for business than any other organization. Important constituencies benefit from AACSB International accreditation. The following value propositions are made during various accreditation seminars, conferences and meetings:

Students

Joining an accredited business school raises your probability of achieving success.
AACSB accreditation helps you narrow the set by providing a decision making criteria.
The accredited school has an appropriate mission achieved through relevant curriculum, qualified faculty, and effective policies and practice.
The degrees programs offered by the school have undergone a rigorous self-evaluation and peer review.
An AACSB accredited business school provides you with access to great educational resources and future employment opportunities.
Students desiring further education will be considered more favorably for admission to top graduate programs.
Alumni can be proud of earning a degree from a recognized leader in business education.

Employers

Employers want to recruit the best talent that will make a positive difference in the organization.
AACSB accreditation allows employers to narrow the consideration set.
AACSB accreditation provides decision-making criteria for selecting schools for the pipeline of talented managers.
The program offered is current and reflects knowledge and practices generally accepted in the business education community.
Graduates come from a program where the content and quality have been evaluated and satisfy established standards.

Faculty

AACSB accreditation is important as recognition of the quality of the institution with which you want to be associated.
AACSB accreditation supports your goals for success as a teacher/scholar.
Employers, students and faculty are attracted to AACSB accredited business schools.
AACSB accreditation strengthens your attractiveness by validating the high standards the business school imposes on itself and on my performance.

School

AACSB accreditation is important to students, employers and faculty, attracting them to the school.
AACSB accreditation validates the high standards the business school imposes on itself.
The accreditation process affirms the school’s responsibility for the quality of education offered and demonstrates its commitment to continuous improvement.
The school’s self-evaluation and the peer-review process helps to identify strengths, limitations, and opportunities, with the ultimate purpose of improving educational effectiveness; in addition, peer review provides consultative advice and counsel and offers new perspectives on the school’s operation.
Various stakeholders of the school are brought together for continuous improvement purposes.


Vol.3 No. 1	"Success Stories Start Here"	January 2007
Dr. Cal Allen, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Shenandoah University, has charged me publicly as well as privately about my inability to enter into a long conversation without bringing up the subject of AACSB International accreditation. My response to him has always been that I am guilty, totally and completely guilty. As I reflected on Cal's observation and my strong belief in the importance of business school accreditation (I serve on the board of directors of AACSB International), the theme of this issue of the Byrd Business Review was solidified. Other than the final item reported below (the annual economic update by Dr. Clifford Thies), this e-letter will focus on accreditation and its overall value to multiple constituent groups. Stakeholders closely associated with Shenandoah know the pursuit of accreditation by the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business began over nine years ago. It has been a long and difficult journey, but it has also been beneficial and rewarding to all those who have been involved. As part of the requirements for a candidate school pursuing initial accreditation of its business programs, a peer-review team will visit campus March 4 through 7. My staff and I are implementing final visitation plans. I hope you will maintain regular contact with the faculty and staff of the business school, desire to know what is going on and visit us often. The doors of Henkel Hall are always open to prospective students, parents, recruiters, employers and citizens of our community.		W. Randy Boxx Dean and Professor of Management rboxx@su.edu
*THE ACCREDITATION JOURNEY: IT'S NOT COMPLETED, BUT IT HAS* RESULTED IN A STRONGER ACADEMIC ENTERPRISE** As an avid hiker who has had the opportunity to explore scenic areas all over the world, I always seek a final destination - one that is challenging and rugged, yet enjoyable and satisfying. I want to know where I am going and what I am likely to encounter along the way. For the last several years, it has been no different for the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business. The ultimate goal function for the school has always been to build a high-quality business program through continuous improvement. When that goal is achieved, acknowledgement can flow to the institution through various forms of recognition. One such type of recognition is being acknowledged by peers as an accredited business program by AACSB International. Many issues had to be addressed during the pre-candidacy and candidacy years to build a high-quality business program and to prepare for a peer-review examination: a mission-focused strategic plan, appropriate faculty size along with faculty teaching loads, qualification status of the faculty, intellectual contribution portfolio of the faculty, deployment of the faculty, formalizing the assessment program of the school, and structuring the operating processes, policies and procedures of the school. It would be fair to say that one group whose professional work life has been significantly changed during the accreditation process is the faculty. While still emphasizing quality teaching and discharging important service responsibilities, scholarship took center stage through a differing set of faculty performance expectations. Institutional support from the central administration along with faculty determination resulted in a changed faculty culture, one today where there is obvious faculty pride in their significant accomplishments. Hardly a day goes by that we are not reminded of the cultural theme that has enabled us to reach this stage of our school's development - "productivity through collegiality." Inner joy comes when I observe faculty working together in the classroom, co-authoring papers together and developing research and service projects with our students. Teaming up results in positive outcomes, and it can be fun as well.
WHY AACSB INTERNATIONAL? Earned Excellence. The Best Business Schools in the World. That is the tag line used by AACSB International, and it says it all. AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business is the world's premier accrediting agency for bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programs in business administration and accounting. Founded 90 years ago and based in Tampa, Fla., AACSB is a nonprofit organization with a mission "to advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation and thought leadership." With only 540 (450 in the U.S. and 90 outside the U.S.) accredited institutions worldwide as of February 2007, this number represents less than seven percent of all business schools. As stated on the AACSB Web site, accreditation is a process of voluntary, non-governmental review of educational institutions and programs. Institutional accreditation reviews entire colleges and universities. AACSB International accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. Institutions that earn accreditation confirm their commitment to quality and continuous improvement through a rigorous and comprehensive peer review. AACSB International accreditation is the hallmark of excellence in management and business administration education. Further, the Web site states that AACSB International accreditation assures stakeholders that business schools: Manage resources to achieve a vibrant and relevant mission Advance business and management knowledge through faculty scholarship Provide high-caliber teaching of quality and current curricula Cultivate meaningful interaction between students and a qualified faculty, and Produce graduates who have achieved specified learning goals.
BENEFITS OF AACSB ACCREDITATION AACSB accreditation has done more to improve the quality of collegiate education for business than any other organization. Important constituencies benefit from AACSB International accreditation. The following value propositions are made during various accreditation seminars, conferences and meetings: Students Joining an accredited business school raises your probability of achieving success. AACSB accreditation helps you narrow the set by providing a decision making criteria. The accredited school has an appropriate mission achieved through relevant curriculum, qualified faculty, and effective policies and practice. The degrees programs offered by the school have undergone a rigorous self-evaluation and peer review. An AACSB accredited business school provides you with access to great educational resources and future employment opportunities. Students desiring further education will be considered more favorably for admission to top graduate programs. Alumni can be proud of earning a degree from a recognized leader in business education. Employers Employers want to recruit the best talent that will make a positive difference in the organization. AACSB accreditation allows employers to narrow the consideration set. AACSB accreditation provides decision-making criteria for selecting schools for the pipeline of talented managers. The program offered is current and reflects knowledge and practices generally accepted in the business education community. Graduates come from a program where the content and quality have been evaluated and satisfy established standards. Faculty AACSB accreditation is important as recognition of the quality of the institution with which you want to be associated. AACSB accreditation supports your goals for success as a teacher/scholar. Employers, students and faculty are attracted to AACSB accredited business schools. AACSB accreditation strengthens your attractiveness by validating the high standards the business school imposes on itself and on my performance. School AACSB accreditation is important to students, employers and faculty, attracting them to the school. AACSB accreditation validates the high standards the business school imposes on itself. The accreditation process affirms the school’s responsibility for the quality of education offered and demonstrates its commitment to continuous improvement. The school’s self-evaluation and the peer-review process helps to identify strengths, limitations, and opportunities, with the ultimate purpose of improving educational effectiveness; in addition, peer review provides consultative advice and counsel and offers new perspectives on the school’s operation. Various stakeholders of the school are brought together for continuous improvement purposes.
IMPORTANCE OF AACSB ACCREDITATION: COMMENTS FROM OTHER DEANS Testimonies are recorded in the AACSB International Business Accreditation Seminar Notebook about the value of accreditation to individual schools. Below are samples of what other deans have said. “The single greatest benefit of the AACSB International accreditation process to our College of Business Administration was the collaboration and unity required to achieve this goal. With a common purpose and an exceptional dedication to the myriad of tasks involved, our stakeholders raised communications and cooperation to new levels. Faculty, students, staff, central administration, alumni, advisory board, community members, and many other constituencies all joined in with an enthusiastic spirit and ‘can do’ attitude. Certainly we are proud of the outcome, but I can’t emphasize enough the importance of the process. We became a different college in moving toward accreditation, yet preserved the underlying values upon which our academic unit had originally been created.” Terry Maris, Dean College of Business Administration Ohio Northern University “Our team members were extremely helpful. They were staffed by very experienced deans who took a consultative approach. They did not come to us to find fault, but they came to make us better; and they did. As the dean at Saginaw Valley, I respected the years of experience these deans had accumulated. They knew what they were talking about. There is a lot in ‘deaning’ that can’t be reduced to ‘things in books,’ or simple rules, or even accreditation standards. Judgment, acumen, and astuteness arise through experience, making mistakes, surviving, and ‘learning.’ These deans had all ‘earned their spurs,’ and it showed. I’ve been in this business awhile, not easily impressed, but I was! These folks knew what they were talking about. They shared this knowledge, they were helpful, and we benefited from their individual and collective judgment and experience. John Maynard Keynes once said, ‘It is incredible the amount of foolishness one is capable of thinking if one thinks too long alone.’ With groups like this, this process and the spirit of accreditation as I experienced it here at SVSU, means that deans don’t have to ‘think alone.’ The accreditation process for us was like a support network. We needed it, and I suspect a number of schools like ours do as well. If anybody has any doubts, let me talk to them. I am very appreciative for what AACSB International did for us. We needed to undergo a transformation, a culture change, and we got the help we needed.” Paul J. Uselding, Dean College of Business and Management Saginaw Valley State University “AACSB International accreditation is highly sought after by schools of business throughout the world. It is a brand name that renders recognition and enhances business program reputation. It is an affirmation of high-quality business education programs and ensures that graduates receive the best-quality business education. The main beneficiaries are the graduates and their employers. The business community as well as the community at large benefit by having a well-trained managerial workforce that becomes the catalyst for job creation and economic prosperity. The College of Business Administration at California State University, Stanislaus benefited from engaging in a continuous improvement process as a result of satisfying AACSB International accreditation standards. First, the College determined its mission and vision and then established plans, polices and processes to ensure the achievement of the mission and goals. An important element of that process was the assessment of the educational programs, student learning, services and activities. The process enabled the faculty to learn from the results of the assessment of its programs and activities by analyzing the assessment information, proposing alternative actions to improve, and implementing the appropriate actions to ensure continuous improvement. Achieving AACSB International accreditation provides assurance to internal as well as external constituents that the college offers high quality programs. The faculty benefited from the advice and recommendations made by the team and are in the process of implementing these recommendations. The accreditation process enables the college to articulate further its strategic initiatives for the future and to plan ahead for the maintenance of accreditation.” Amil A. Elmallah, Dean College of Business Administration California State University, Stanislaus
MAKING A DIFFERENCE Those of us who teach and research in Henkel Hall (Halpin-Harrison Hall in the future) want to make a difference. We want to make a positive difference in the lives of our students, alumni, employers, community and society. We want our graduates to be prepared for careers and for life. Our desire is to continually enhance the value of the Shenandoah University degree for present graduates and for those yet to matriculate into our programs.
ESSAY: Dr. Clifford Thies Forecasts Economic Outlook A Look at the Economic Expansion in its 62nd Month By Clifford F. Thies, Eldon R. Lindsay Professor of Economics and Finance January 2007 is a 62nd month. It’s the 62nd month of the current economic expansion. Considering that the average economic expansion from 1945 to 2001 has lasted 52 months, and that we are now in the 62nd month of the current expansion, the economy must be considered to be doing well. And, most Americans now recognize that we are no longer in recession. In the December 2006 survey of the American Research Group, 53 percent of the public said we are not in a recession. MORE>>>