Accreditation is becoming a widely accepted form of
program assessment in higher education. The Association to Advance Association
to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is the dominant form or
accreditation for both business programs in general and accounting programs
specifically. With high research expectations, AACSB accreditation seems to
place “teaching” institutions at a disadvantage in gaining accreditation
compared to “research” institutions.
Forcing “teaching” schools to adopt rigorous research standards may have
detrimental consequences to teaching, which is at the very heart of “teaching”
institutions.
The benefits of AACSB
accreditation need to be measured against the high cost of achieving this
accreditation. Other means of signaling accounting program credibility, such as
International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE), may be a
viable alternative to separate AACSB accounting program accreditation.
