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Faculty of Economics
Bologna doctoral program
Kardeljeva pl. 17
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
Dissertation Proposal
by Istileulova Yelena, 2nd year student (Management track)
International Accreditation of Business schools in CIS and CEE: Pros and Cons of Quality Assurance
September, 2011
International Accreditation of Business schools in CIS and CEE: Pros and Cons of Quality Assurance
Abstract:
The purpose of this thesis is to measure the impact of an international accreditation on business
schools` environment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Central and Eastern
Europe (CEE) and to define the differences that exist in specific needs of business schools between
these regions. The main research question is how business schools in CIS and CEE make decision
about pursuing the international accreditation and what their priorities towards accreditation
schemes?
The statement of the problem is to see how much requirements of international accreditations from
AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS and AMBA are tailored to the specific needs of business schools in terms of
quality assurance. The following research questions are considered in this exploratory research:
What are the main reasons of business schools in the CIS and European countries to apply
for the international accreditation?
The main factors that influence business schools not pursuing international accreditation
What are the preferences towards the international accreditation schemes?
Who makes the final decision about international accreditation?
What are the main changes needed for B-schools to gain international accreditation?
Which advantages and shortcomings of international accreditation are perceived by Business schools in these countries?
Which trends can be observed between the CIS and CEE and within their regions?
Two different samples of business schools are considered in this thesis: with an international
accreditation and without an international accreditation. Besides quantitative survey with
Questionnaire developed for business schools, processed using ANOVA technique (to test for
differences between business schools) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis, a qualitative method is
employed with a semi-structured interview for business schools.
1. A description of the dissertation topic area and the issues that the dissertation addresses,
including the definition of the issues
Introduction
Today business schools reconsider their role in society. “Business as usual” is not working any
longer – new challenges require new approaches and make people search for new business
paradigms and new business philosophies. The market is forcing business schools to look for
innovation much more than they usually do (Lamming, 2010; Myasoedov, 2010), set up a joint
venture between the business schools and the corporation and measure business education
effectiveness from the viewpoint of corporate clients (Harackiewicz, 2010).
Among these changes, the accreditation process is considered as a vehicle for the introduction of
institutional change, because it provides a balanced assessment of their strengths and improvement
opportunities.
Over the last decade, national authorities have set up both institutional and programme accreditation
procedures, and an accreditation is increasingly becoming the most dominant form of quality
assurance of higher education in Europe following national adaptations to the Bologna-declaration
with its added value in the governance of higher education, and the possible effects of an emerging
„accreditation market (Stensaker & Harvey 2006). Compared to the United States, accreditation is a
rather new phenomenon on the political agenda of European higher education institutions
(Lindstrom, 2005 in Helmig et al, 2009).
According to Helmig et al (2010), in Europe accreditation became obvious in the late 1990s, and
the over the last few years accreditation as the quality improvement instrument has become an
important subject on the political agenda of European higher education institutions thanks to
appearance of the Bologna Declaration. However, it is argued that the Central and Eastern
accreditation systems appeared in a different context, not in a context with Bologna process, but as a
reaction to the transformation of study programmes and simultaneous rise of new providers of
higher education (Westerheijden, 2001 in Westerhijden, 2003).
There are two general types of accreditation a university/business school can receive:
“institutional” accreditation (by EQUIS, AACSB) or an overall review of the entire university,
typically done by a country‟s national or regional accrediting bodies (such as the six regional
accrediting bodies in the United States), and once institutional accreditation is earned, most
universities seek “specialized” or “professional” accreditations for each of their disciplines (by
EPAS, AMBA).
International accreditation of business schools in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is the topic which has not been well studied in terms of
changes needed for business schools in quality assurance. Prior to the break-up of socialism,
business and management schools did not exist in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, and
links between actors of CEE and their connections in the West resulted in establishing the
knowledge-based network which enhanced the legitimacy of business schools in post-socialist
Europe and provided the mechanism of market-knowledge transfer (Bandelj & Purg, 2006).
At the same time, Central and Eastern European schools are more focused on accreditation and see
less relevance in the rankings (Ellert, 2010; Kross, 2010), but according to Abel (2006),
accreditation which is used in the Western Europe is not exactly applicable in the Eastern Europe:
“They use different standards and yet their schools do useful things for their markets”.
The first business schools were established just after the announcement of «perestroika», during
1886 and 1887 in CEE. In the former Soviet Union, the first local business schools emerged one
year later, in 1988 in Russia, and in Kazakhstan (CIS). The business school of western-type with its
MBA programme appeared in 1992 in CIS, Kazakhstan (region of Central Asia). There were no
previous research on the issue of international accreditation in this region so far, because these
processes just emerged in 2009-2010, whereas the leading business schools in Russia either already
attained the international accreditations or in the processes of pursuing accreditation from AMBA,
EPAS, EQUIS and thus, they are the leading schools among the countries of the former Soviet
Union.
The purpose of thesis is to measure the perceived impact of an international accreditation on
business schools`s environment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Central and
Eastern Europe (CEE) and to compare whether the differences in specific needs of Business schools
exist within their regions and between these countries.
The main research question is to what extent the international accreditations correspond to the
needs of business schools in CIS and CEE? The dissertation also addresses the issues of advantages
and shortcomings of international accreditation, their assessment of preferences in accrediting
bodies, the main changes which schools need to make in order to gain accreditation, how these
changes are reflected in the organizational structures of schools and who makes the final decision
about accreditation. By addressing these questions we can see what the main trends exist in the
different regions.
Critical literature review:
The environment that business schools are facing presents results within the framework of a time
structured (past, present, future) model connected to five objectives (Palmquist, 2009): the main
impact factors of accreditation, the development of internationalization within the school; the view
on internationalization; the characteristics of decision making and implementation processes; and
the expectations of major future challenges. The main reasons are identified that lie behind business
schools´ motivation to seek an international accreditation, which are, in particular, institutional
isomorphism, bandwagons, as well as information asymmetry, and some similarities and differences
found between the groups of European, US and New Zealand´s schools (Hodge, 2010). Loss-
aversion (Kahneman & Tversky, 2002) is also revealed from a minority of deans as a strong
motivator to retain accreditation, but has not been explored further.
Helmig (2010) focuses on business schools in Europe which are investing much time, effort, and
money into accreditation and concludes that with the fast growing number of Executive MBA
programs offered on the higher education market and the increased competition for students,
accreditation has become an important issue to business schools, and not only private institutions but
also private organisations apply this quality improvement instrument. The conclusion is that it will
become increasingly important from which accrediting organisation a program/institution holds
accreditation because a) students will be better informed, b) managers of programs will need to seek
second if not even third accreditations which leads to the competition among accrediting
organizations.
It is considered that accreditation also reflects an institutional autonomy, academic freedom and peer
and professional review that are the core values of higher education. The value added by
accreditation systems stems from three main areas – assessment of the quality of the school based on
several criteria (Urgel, 2007); enhanced brand recognition from being granted a distinctive
accreditation label; and contributions to the actual improvement of the school.
However, there are some negative consequences of accreditation‟s political role as a key
intermediary due to the increasing involvement of the U.S. federal government in accreditation. An
important role of faculty members´ (Eaton, 2010) is shown due to the erosion of academic freedom
and the loss of appropriate authority for the key academic decisions - about curriculum, academic
standards, and general education. Among the potential consequences of the shift for faculty
members are decline of economic freedom and loss of authority for academic decisions.
The stamp of accreditation is often misperceived and misinterpreted as "quality inherent" in many
schools, colleges, and universities. However, this is far from the fact because accreditation like any
modern industries caught in the grip of Capitalism is just another profit maximizing and monetarily-
engaged industry. The lack of a clear line between institutional and specialized accreditation is
where most of the issues and conflicts surrounding accreditation as a process which creates
disadvantage to many who pay for degrees and education emerge.
For specialized accreditations, Leif (2001) lists not only advantages (recruitment and retention of
students may be improved, accreditation may benefit curriculum assessment, high reputation,
students may benefit since faculty meet the standards, integrity of business in programs,
attractiveness for recruitment, quality assurance for potential donors, no substantial additional cost,
push other universities to explore accreditations), but also disadvantages (may be too prescriptive
and limit the number of students, involve potential loss of accreditation and high-cost, standards
may not be incongruence with programs, and programs can use the standards as leverage to
influence curriculum changes and funding) and outlines some obstacles (limited pool of resources,
required reassignment time, coordination of all departments and a long range process). Ranking and
accreditation are petrifying existing standards rather than promoting and rewarding dynamic
development (Noorda, 2011)
The list of benefits (Hedrick et al (2010); Barilla et al (2008)) is such that faculty in accredited
business schools by AACSB are paid more, publish more, and teach less than their peers at non-
accredited schools, and (Lejeune et al, 2009) estimates EQUIS accreditation‟ benefits as a positive
impact on performance with "programs development and quality of the faculty", the "social
openness and community interaction" and the "ability to acquire resources" with two cultural
dimensions that are strongly correlated to effectiveness: adhocracy and market. Business schools
often attain accreditation to demonstrate program efficacy (Marts J. A. et al, 1988).
Differential conceptions of quality and expectations of educational standards, costs, perceived
benefits, lack of centralization in accreditation and school approval, traditional versus online
schooling, education, and studies, is a big problem affecting millions of students, thousands of
educators, and thousand of schools, colleges, and universities worldwide”, (Donovan A.; McFarlane
(2010)) with the reveal that this big problem can be called "Accreditation Discrimination”.
It is referred to discrimination resulting for individuals because their educational credentials or
academic qualifications are accredited or not accredited by agency. Thus, the greatest weakness in
accreditation as a regulatory practice is that it is a private enterprise and a decentralized activity
takes on any shape or form that yields the highest returns in terms of money and profits.
There are two gaps identified in the literature in terms of how decisions are made in business
schools and what are the changes that the business schools should undergo to meet the requirements
of international accreditation. These gaps will be covered by this thesis. Some of the future lines of
inquiry might be identified at this stage already and should be related to individual decisions at each
business schools with the following characteristics of Attitude, Motivation, Expectation, Intention
and Preferences to measure these concepts and providing metrics to benchmark the current level of
entrepreneurship in business schools.
Definition of the issues:
Accreditation by AACSB International1 - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business promotes continuous quality improvement in management education.
AACSB International2 - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business is a global,
nonprofit membership organization of educational institutions, businesses, and other entities devoted
to the advancement of management education.
AACSB is a not-for-profit corporation of educational institutions, corporations and other
organizations devoted to the promotion and improvement of higher education in business
administration and accounting.
EFMD3 - The Management Development Network
EQUIS4 assesses institutions as a whole. The fundamental objective of EQUIS, linked to the
mission of EFMD, is to raise the standard of management education worldwide. It assesses not just
degree programmes but all the activities and sub-units of the institution, including research, e-
learning units, executive education provision and community outreach. Institutions must be
primarily devoted to management education.
EPAS5 is an international programme accreditation system operated by EFMD. It aims to evaluate
the quality of any business and/or management programme that has an international perspective and,
where of an appropriately high quality, to accredit it.
AMBA6 The Association of MBAs is the international impartial authority on postgraduate business
education
Assurance of quality in higher education7 is the collections of policies, procedures, systems and
practices internal or external to the organisation designed to achieve, maintain and enhance quality.
A business school8 is a school or college which teaches business subjects such as economics and
management.
1 http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/standards-2011-revised-jan2011-final.pdf 2 http://www.aacsb.edu/about/ 3 http://www.efmd.org/index.php/what-is-efmd 4 http://www.efmd.org/index.php/accreditation-main/equis 5 http://www.efmd.org/index.php/accreditation-main/epas 6 http://www.mbaworld.com/ 7 Harvey, L., 2004–11, Analytic Quality Glossary, Quality Research International
http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/glossary/assurance.htm 8 http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/business%20school
2. The research topic, research questions, and an assessment of the dissertation’s contribution to the field of knowledge
The research topic is about the international accreditation of business schools in CIS and CEE with
the purpose to measure the impact of an international accreditation on business schools`
environment and to define the differences that exist in specific needs of business schools between
these regions. The main research question is how business schools in CIS and CEE make decision
about pursuing the international accreditation and what their priorities towards accreditation
schemes?
The statement of the problem is to see how much requirements of international accreditations from
AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS and AMBA are tailored to the specific needs of business schools in terms of
quality assurance. The following research questions are considered in this exploratory research:
What are the main reasons of business schools in the CIS and European countries to apply for the international accreditation?
The main factors that influence business schools not pursuing international accreditation
What are the preferences towards the international accreditation schemes?
Who makes the final decision about international accreditation?
What are the main changes needed for B-schools to gain international accreditation?
Which advantages and shortcomings of international accreditation are perceived by Business schools in these countries?
Which trends can be observed between the CIS and CEE and within their regions?
Based on the Questionnaire, this study will show the priorities of business schools in accreditation
schemes, the perceived advantages and shortcomings of international accreditation, and whether
there are any differences and trends that exist in these regions.
Semi-structured interview with the deans of schools will provide a more deep inside how these
processes are taking place within each school from the motivation and general expectations for
public and private business schools. Additional questions whether the national strategy and other
actors (government, NGO, non-commercial groups) play any role? What is the role of Bologna
process in the higher education sector of these countries and its impact on business schools?
PESTLE analysis would be included for different regions and the possible existing schemes of
internal quality assurance.
Based on the quantitative and qualitative technique, Questionnaire and semi-structured interview,
this study brings more understanding for perceived advantages and shortcomings for international
accreditation in CIS and Central and Eastern Europe. The benefits of this study are important in
theory and practice because it helps both actors, business schools and accredited bodies to see how
this process is progressing in these regions and analyze the changes that take place in the
evnironment of business schools.
The study is the exploratory research for business schools of CEE and CIS which provide a
significant theoretical and practical contribution for the field of knowledge in Business schools´
management in the processes of attaining accreditation for business schools´ quality improvement.
The accreditation brings a certain institutional change, and therefore, based on the results of our
study we can measure the impact of accreditation and analyze how this process is progressing in
different regions of CIS and CEE, whether the differences exist between regions and conditions, and
forecast how business schools will be changing in the near future. We can also identify the different
models of signalling strategies: whether the schools prefer to send a signal outside (as a “window
dressing” model) or towards internal environment (a “commitment model” for human capital).
3. A description of methodology that the student will use to produce the dissertation
A scientific methodology is a system of explicit rules and procedures, and it provides the foundation
for conducting research and evaluating claims for knowledge. Methodology has been described as a
“plan of actions”. (Crotty, 2003, p.7). In defining methodology perhaps the fist distinction to make is
that between methodology and methods.
The term methods describes the techniques or procedures used to gather data related to research
question or hypothesis (Mark O`Hara et al, 2011), where methodology is the ”framework and
rationale around which your project is structured”, and among other things methodology determines
the relationship between literature review, the data collected and subsequent analysis: thus,
methodology should underpin every aspect of dissertation and choice of methodological approach
which will be “determined by your views first on the nature of reality”.
Triangulation is the idea that more technique than just one research method in a study should be
done in order to look at the same topic from different angles. Talking about triangulation, Mayers
(2009) shows the value: “it allows you to gain a “fuller” picture of what is happening. It allows you
to triangulate data from interviews with data from documents, or data from two different research
methods” (a qualitative case study with quantitative data from a survey).
In this study, I am planning to use both quantitative and qualitative methods, a cross-sectional
survey with developed Questionnaire (which translate the research objectives into specific questions
and answer to these questions will provide the necessary data), and semi-structured interview
process. The cross-sectional design is perhaps the most predominant design employed. This design
is often identified with survey research, a method of data collection common in many social science
fields (O` Hara et al, 2011).
Qualitative research differs from quantitative research in significant ways (Becker, 1996).
According to Denzin&Lincoln (2009), these points of difference involve different ways of
addressing the same set of issues. The differences in these approaces are summarised in Table 1.
Table 1. Differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches to methodology
Qualitative Quantitative
The aim is a complete, detailed description The aim is to classify features, count them,
and construct statistical models in an attempt
to explain what is observed
You may know roughly in advance what you
are looking for
You know clearly in advance what you are
looking for
The design emerges as the study unfolds All aspects of the study are carefully
designed before data is collected
You are the data gathering instrument You use tools, such as questionnaires or
equipment to collect numerical data
Data is in the form of words, pictures or
objects.
Data is in the form of numbers and statistics
This approach is more “rich”, time
consuming , and generally not intended to be
generalized
This approach is more efficient and able to
test hypotheses. You are trying to find things
that are generalizable
Since both approaches are used in this study, it helps to provide a clearer picture for business
schools´s accreditation processes.
Questionnaire is developed for the business schools with accreditation and without accreditation and
submitted to a sample of 130 business schools. The developed Questionnaire asks about
experiences with and plans of business schools towards international accreditations with the
indicated aim of this research to see how much are they tailored to the specific needs of business
schools in Central and Eastern Europe as well as Commonwealth of Independent States.
Questionnaire will be processed using ANOVA technique (to test for differences between business
schools) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis.
In choosing the appropriate scales, there are two characteristics: reliability and validity, and both of
these factors can influence the quality of the data obtained. Reliability of the scale indicates how
free it is from random error (Pallant, 2007). According to Myers (2009), one of the key benefits of
qualitative research is that it allows a researcher to see and understand the context within which
decisions and actions take place.
Additional data in this research are obtained from a sample of semi-structured interview processes
with the Deans of schools, qualitative research method which is designed to help researcher
understand the different contexts within which people live and make their decisions.
Limitation:
The expected limitation of this study is the sample of the business schools which coveres the
population of all business schools (about 130 business schools in CEE and CIS), which may not be
fully covered due to non-response from e-mailed Questionnaire. According to Gujarati (2003),
analysis based on partial response may not truly reflect the behaviour of the percent who did not
respond, thereby leading to what is known as (sample) selectivity bias.“ The further problem that
those who respond to the questionnaire may not answer all the questions, thus leading to additional
selectivity bias.
Due to the absence of any travelling funds, it is also difficult to cover the interview in each country
of CEE and CIS. The interview process with Deans will be taking place in the leading business
schools of Kazakhstan, Russia (CIS), Slovenia (CEE) and some other selected countries.
Annex 1.
QUESTIONNAIRE: INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATIONS FOR BUSINESS SCHOOLS In this questionnaire we ask you about plans and experience of your business school towards international accreditations AACSB,
EQUIS, EPAS and AMBA. The aim of our research is to see how much they fit to the specific needs of business schools in Eastern
Europe as well as CIS. We would kindly like to ask you to be realistic and objective in assessing your organization.
We ensure complete anonymity of the gathered data, which will only be presented on an aggregate level.
Please provide answers to all questions even if you feel that they repeat themselves occasionally. If you feel that a certain statement is irrelevant, circle the letter “X” (do not know).
A. General data
Name of the school: _______________________________________________ Programs offered at your school: Multiple responses are possible. A Undergraduate B Masters C MBA D Doctoral E: EMBA
Ownership of the school: Please circle one. A State ownership B Private domestic ownership C Mixed, but predominantly domestic D Mixed, but predominantly foreign E Foreign ownership
Student enrollment in the 2010/11 academic year: Undergraduate____MBA_____DBA/PhD______EMBA____
B. International accreditations for business schools
Are you acquainted with the requirements of the following international accreditations?
Please tick the appropriate box.
AACSB EQUIS EPAS AMBA other
Yes, we know its' requirements quite well.
We are aware of the main requirements of this accreditation but not of the details.
No, we are not familiar with it at all.
The final decision about pursuing one of these international accreditations is made (or would be made) by: Please circle one.
A Management of the school, together with Faculty Members. B Rector. C Owner(s) of the school. D Board of Directors. E Board of Trustees. F Steering Committee. G Is initiated by the Ministry of Education H Other: _________________________
Our business school: Please circle at least one.
A Is considering pursuing one (or more) of these accreditations (AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS, and/or AMBA). B Has included the decision to start with the process of one of these accreditations in its strategic plan. C Has considered to pursue them in the past, but decided not to go ahead with it. D Is already in the process of pursuing one of these accreditations. If so, please continue with module C. E Is not yet interested in pursuing international accreditation. F Is in the process of applying for the national accreditation. G Is in the process of applying for one of the other international and/or regional accreditations. If so, please indicate which: __________________________________________ H. Is not yet at a stage to consider the following international accreditation (AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS, AMBA) Specify________.
Are international accreditation issues (pertaining to AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS, AMBA) reflected in your organisational structure? Please tick the appropriate box. AACSB EQUIS EPAS AMBA
Yes, one of our employees works on the following accreditation(s).
Yes, we have a unit that employs more than one person and works on the following accreditation(s).
We are planning to hire a person who will work on the following accreditation(s).
No, we don’t have staff employed just for the purpose of the accreditation.
If somebody is working on these accreditations, how many employees devote more than 20 % of their time to these activities: _________
C. ADVANTAGES OF INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATIONS: Your view of advantages of
international accreditations (AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS, AMBA)
(ESTIMATED) ADVANTAGES OF INTERNATIONAL ACRREDITATIONS
Please rank them by importance (1 = the most important, 7= the least important) Ranking:
1. Improved reputation of the school on the domestic markets.
2. Improved reputation of the school on the international markets of higher education.
3. To increase the value of our assets and brand (nationally and internationally).
4. The competition on the markets on which we offer study programs is strong and international accreditation would distinguish (distinguishes) our school from the competitors.
5. Having an international accreditation is a signaling strategy for the students that the school is of high quality, thereby attracting students.
6. Having an international accreditation is a signaling strategy for the faculty members that the school is of high quality, thereby attracting highly qualified staff.
7. Pursuing an international accreditation is a way to introduce a quality improving strategy to the school, making it a better business school (in terms of research, teaching and other processes).
If you are in the process of pursuing accreditation, which stage you are in (please, tick the appropriate) - at the beginning _____________________________________________________ - in the middle of this process___________________________________________ - the process of gaining an accreditation is coming to the end________________ - in the process of re-accreditation _____________________________________
D. SHORTCOMINGS OF INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATIONS: Your view of shortcomings of
international accreditations (AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS)
(ESTIMATED) SHORTCOMINGS OF INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATIONS
Please circle one choice for each of the following statements.
(1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither disagree nor agree, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree; X = do not know)
1. The process of pursuing the accreditation is very time-consuming. 1 2 3 4 5 X
2. The process requires considerable human resources to be involved. 1 2 3 4 5 X
3. The process requires a considerable investment. 1 2 3 4 5 X
4. Accreditations require very high standards of internationally recognized academic research which exceed the expectations of the school’s stakeholders (students, businesses, government).
1 2 3 4 5 X
5 The preparation stage of international accreditations slows down the pursuit of other goals of the school. 1 2 3 4 5 X
6 The process requires additional investments connected to technological process and changes in organizational structure.
1 2 3 4 5 X
7 The process is long, but the outcome is uncertain. 1 2 3 4 5 X
8 Other: 1 2 3 4 5 X
E. FOR SCHOOLS THAT DO NOT PURSUE ANY OF THE RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL
ACCREDITATIONS (AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS) AT THIS STAGE
Indicate the degree of agreement or disagreement that fits the situation in your school best.
REASONS FOR NOT PURSUING INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATIONS
Please circle one choice for each of the following statements.
(1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither disagree nor agree, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree; X = do not know)
1. We are not aware of benefits of these accreditations well enough. 1 2 3 4 5 X
2. Our enrollment of students is large enough without having international accreditations. 1 2 3 4 5 X
3. We feel our target markets do not feel the necessity of it 1 2 3 4 5 X
4. Cost of pursuing the accreditation is too high for our budgets. 1 2 3 4 5 X
5. Cost of pursuing the accreditation is too high compared to potential benefits. 1 2 3 4 5 X
6. The requirements of national accreditations are too different to those of international accreditations therefore the burden of pursuing both would be too large.
1 2 3 4 5 X
7. We should first get the national accreditation, and then we will pursue international accreditations. 1 2 3 4 5 X
8. Because of the recession, our business school decided to postpone process of international accreditation(s). 1 2 3 4 5 X
9. The requirements of international accreditations are too high for our school to meet at this phase. 1 2 3 4 5 X
10. Pursuing international accreditation requires efforts over a certain period (e.g. 5 years) whereas the management of the school is appointed for a period shorter than that (problem of continuity).
1 2 3 4 5 X
If our school would consider applying for an international accreditation, we would first consider:
Please rank them by importance (1 = the most important, 4 = the least important)
Ranking:
A AACSB ________ B EQUIS ________ C EPAS ________ D AMBA ________
F. FOR SCHOOLS THAT ALREADY HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH ONE OF THE RELEVANT
ACCREDITATIONS (AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS, AMBA)
Our school has experience with the following accreditation(s): More than one answer is possible.
A. AACSB B. EQUIS C. EPAS D. AMBA E. Other (add which?)
Currently we are in the following phase of the accreditation process:
Please tick the appropriate box.
AACSB EQUIS EPAS AMBA
We are getting acquainted with the accreditation.
We are a candidate for the accreditation and are in the process of pursuing it.
We have finished with the process and have obtained the accreditation.
Other:
With which of these accreditations have you moved forward the most? ___________ In the questions that follow, please have
this particular accreditation in mind.
THE NECESSARY CHANGES NEEDED IN YOUR SCHOOL IN ORDER TO GAIN INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATION
Please circle one choice for each of the following statements.
(A = These changes are not necessary, B = We still need to do this, C = We have already implemented this; X = do not know)
1. A review of the school’s mission statement. A B C X
2. Including input from the school’s stakeholders (faculty members, students, employers) into the mission statement.
A B C X
3. A substantial increase in the quality of publications of our faculty members. A B C X
4. Share of full-time employees needs to be increased. A B C X
7. Student-faculty ratio is too high to assure the quality of teaching. A B C X
8. Our entrance requirements need to become stricter or progression rates lower so that only high quality graduates will be produced.
A B C X
9. Internationalization of our student body. A B C X
10. Internationalization of our faculty members. A B C X
11. Determining the learning goals of the programs. A B C X
12. Introducing the measurement whether the learning goals of the programs are achieved. A B C X
13. Introducing systematic process in curriculum management in order to incorporate feedback into improvements of courses and programs (“closing the loop”).
A B C X
14. Improving the connections with the business community. A B C X
15. Strengthen our financial resources in order to be able to carry out planned activities and improvement efforts that are needed to reach the accreditations’ standards.
A B C X
G. OTHER GENERAL (DEMOGRAPHIC DATA)
Number of faculty members (teaching and research staff) employed:
- Full time (working primarily at our school): ______
- Part time (working also at other schools): _______
Number of support staff employed: - Total number: ______
Personal data: Your function (position) within the organization: __________________________________________
Internationalization of the school: - Are any of your programs run in English? YES NO
- International faculty members:
(use average of the last 3 years) o Visiting: YES NO (Number: ______)
o Permanent: YES NO (Number: ______)
- Number of international students:______________
(use average of the last 3 years)
o Short-term exchange students (up to 1 semester): ________
o International students (more than 1 semester): _________
If you would like to receive the results of the questionnaire in an aggregated form, please list your contact data: Your name and surname: _________________________________________ Your e-mail: _______________________________________
Thank you very much for cooperation!
5. The structure of the dissertation
TABLE of CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
Background
Problem statement
Significance of this problem
Research Questions
Nature of this study
Limitations
Definition of terms
Conceptual Background
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Quality Management Systems in Higher Education
Accreditation: external Quality measurement instrument and internal Quality control
International accreditation as a quality assurance process – meta analysis of literature
History of international accreditation: AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS, AMBA
Standards of international accreditation
Advantages and Disadvantages of international accreditation
Higher education in CEE & CIS: PESTLE analysis, impact of Bologna process
Business schools´ in CEE & CIS: types of schools, difference, challenges
Accreditation of B-schools in CEE and CIS
3. METHODOLOGY
Research Questions
Population
Sampling frame
Questionnaire
Interview
Geographic location
Data collection
Data analysis
Validity and Reliability
Findings
Limitation
Summary
4. RESULTS
Discussion
5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion
Implications
Recommendations
REFERENCES
Appendixes
6. A bibliography of the relevant literature that will be used for the dissertation.
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Vol. 96 Issue 5, p21-24, 5p
Ghava Frankfort-Nachmias. David Nachmias. Research methods in the Social sciences, Seventh edition, 2008
p.12
Gunarati N. Damodar „Basic Econometrics“, 4th edition Mc Grow Hill, page 30
Gundersen D.; Jennings S.; Dunn D.; Fisher W.; Mikhail Kouliavtsev, Rogers V. (2011) A Pillar For Successful
Business School Accreditation: Conducting The Curriculum Review Process – A systematic Approach
American Journal of Business Education; May 2011; 4, 5; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 39
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Accreditation on Faculty Salaries and Productivity. Journal of Education for Business, 85: 284–291, Taylor &
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Motivations. University of Canterbury, 132 pages
Howard Thomas, Eric Cornuel, (2011) "Business school futures: evaluation and perspectives", Journal of
Management Development, Vol. 30 Iss: 5, pp.444 – 450
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Management Learning & Education, Vol. 7, No. 2, 244.
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CEOs Journal of Applied Business Research; May/Jun 2011; 27, 3; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 93
Julian S., Ofori-Dankwa J.; (2006) Is Accreditation Good for the Strategic Decision Making of Traditional
Business Schools? Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2006, Vol. 5, No. 2, 225–233.
Julie Pallant. A Step by Step Guide by Data Analysis Using SPSS Analysis for Windows. Open University
Press, p.20: 2007
Leif, Douglas (2001). IS Program Issues: from Origin to Accreditation. IRMA International Conference p.49-57
Lejeune, Christophe; Vas, Alain (2009). Organizational culture and effectiveness in business schools: a test of
the accreditation impact. The Journal of Management Development, Volume 28, Number 8, pp. 728-741(14)
Leslie W. Weisenfeld and Ida B. Robinson-Backmon (2007) ISSUES IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION Vol. 22,
No. 3 Accounting Faculty Perception Regarding Diversity Issues and Academic Environment pp. 429–445
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Business Education: The Vacuum in AACSB Standard Management Learning,
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New Legitimacy of Canadian Business SchoolsCanadian Joumal of Administrative Sciences
Monroe-Baillargeon A. (2010), Chapter 2 Educating the educators: Accreditation as a teaching and learning
tool, in Lynnette B. Erickson, Nancy Wentworth (ed.) Tensions in Teacher Preparation: Accountability,
Assessment, and Accreditation (Advances in Research on Teaching, Volume 12), Emerald Group Publishing
Limited, pp.11-33
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Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC: Sage.
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Education, Childhood and early child hood studies students, 2011: Continuum P.80
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the Road to Success? Umeå School of Business, Spring semester, 161 pages
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Education for Business, March-April, 202-211
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EQUIS accreditation reports. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education; Dec.2004, Vol. 29 Issue 6, p735-
750, 16p, 2 Revue canadienne des sciences de l'administration 22(4), 288-301
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Alternative costs, Benefits, and Motivation Journal for Education in Business, Ebsco publishing, March-April,
197-204
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Education, 2008, Vol. 7, No. 2, 245–255.
Sam Hausfather, Nancy Williams (2010), Chapter 7 Is this data useful? The impact of accreditation on the
development of assessments, in Lynnette B. Erickson, Nancy Wentworth (ed.) Tensions in Teacher
Preparation: Accountability, Assessment, and Accreditation (Advances in Research on Teaching, Volume 12),
Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.105-121
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University of Central Oklahoma, Sep-Oct, 2007. Heldref Publications Volume, 83 Issue 1, p45-51, 7p
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Analysis Academy of Management Learning & Education, Vol. 9, No. 3, 520–531.
Zummito R. (2008) Accreditation and theGlobalization of Business Academy of Management Learning &
Education, 2008, Vol. 7, No. 2, 256–268.
http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/overview.asp
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