Innovative accreditation practices and quality assurance across borders were topics that ACBSP Executive Director Douglas Viehland addressed at the Asia-Pacific Quality Network Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam.
During the panel discussion, Viehland described how the ACBSP Standards and Criteria and processes are structured to create a global standard that can be achieved by business schools no matter their location in the world.
At a session held the next day, Viehland described a “path to innovation” that has led ACBSP from an organization with 370 members in 2003 to one with more than 1,220 member campuses in 56 different countries in 2014.
“We have adopted an existing quality standard used by businesses, creating a system-wide accreditation process for large systems,” said Viehland. “We also have innovative processes in place that support success, such as assigning mentors, holding site team consensus calls, and sharing self-studies as best-practice examples with candidates for accreditation,” he said.
“ACBSP also established a cohort accreditation process for a group of 10 schools in Mongolia. This group is setting a standard of excellence in business education in the Asia Pacific region,” Viehland said. “The Institute of Finance and Economics (IFE) was the first school in Mongolia to achieve accreditation through ACBSP in 2012. There are now 19 member campuses in Mongolia, three of which are accredited and 15 more are in candidacy for accreditation,” he said.
The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) www.acbsp.org, is the only global accrediting body to accredit business, accounting, and business-related programs at all degree levels.
Click to read full interview of Mr. Douglas G. Viehland at Dwarka Parichay.
