A lot of people ask me what accreditation means and what the value is? To answer this question I started thinking about the word accreditation – what does it mean. The word accreditation is from the Latin root word “cred” which means to believe or trust. Institutions value accreditation because it represents the institution’s commitment to transparency, allowing an external party to come in to validate that the institution is doing what it represents it is doing and making results available to the public. External stakeholders value accreditation because it means that they can “trust” that the institution is doing what it represents that it is doing.
Over the past few years, higher education has lost some of the trust that it once had with the public. Congressional investigations of accreditors, Department of Education investigations into the use of Federal Financial Aid, and most recently, the “college admissions scandal” – to name a few.
With all of the recent headlines, how can an institution regain public trust? I believe, that through a rigorous accreditation process for both the institution and the programs, institutions can begin to show the public that they are open to scrutiny and willing to do what it takes to regain the public trust.
The IACBE accreditation process embraces continuous quality improvement, provides public transparency and is based on principles that look at ethics and responsibility, strategic planning, business curriculum, faculty qualifications, student learning outcomes, institutional processes, and innovation in the business curriculum.
The International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE) is a CHEA recognized (Council for Higher Education Accreditation) international accreditor.
Dr. Phyllis Okrepkie, President – IACBE
