The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) is a specialized accreditation entity that reviews business degree programs’ quality, outcomes-based efficacy and integrity. The ACBSP bases its standards and criteria for accreditation on the Baldrige education criteria for performance excellence by taking a holistic accreditation approach. It evaluates all aspects of the program, including leadership, educational support and whether the program content is adequate to drive students to career success.
ACBSP accreditation standards are exceptionally high, driven by the goal of promoting student-centered excellence in business program education. Its criteria help business programs identify and leverage their strengths while taking an innovative approach to any perceived weaknesses., Program directors can adopt an ongoing learning approach to improvement within the ACBSP standards and criteria.
What is ACBSP Accreditation?
ACBSP accreditation is a globally recognized stamp of approval from the accreditation council. It provides evidence for prospective students and employers that the business program offers a quality education. When granting accreditation status, the ACBSP considers the following:
- The quality of the teaching
- The academic rigor of the coursework
- Student successes
Schools must adopt a growth mindset and demonstrate teaching excellence to receive accreditation. Meeting these requirements means constantly evaluating program data and looking for ways to improve their educational excellence. ACBSP accreditation standards consider the needs of everyone involved in the business education process, from students to faculty members to program administrators. Through data and exhaustive research, the ACBSP provides a quantifiable metric to measure a business program’s quality.
ACBSP accreditation promotes high education standards and outcomes-based program management within an institution. It adds credence to the program, which in turn provides more opportunities for graduates in the workplace.
ACBSP Accreditation Requirements & Standards Include:
- Leadership
- Strategic planning
- Student and stakeholder focus
- Student learning assessment
- Faculty focus
- Curriculum
- Business unit focus
ACBSP Accreditation Requirements and Standards
Higher learning institutions’ business education programs must meet the current ACBSP standards and criteria to receive accreditation. To do so, each individual must contribute to the program’s overall success.
The ACBSP focuses on seven accreditation standards:
- Leadership: Systematic leadership processes must promote performance excellence and continuous improvement. The leadership processes should reflect the program’s values and expectations to address societal responsibilities and community involvement.
- Strategic planning: Developing a strategy geared toward continual improvement should be systematic and well-documented. It should include implementation goals and progress measures to measure program and student efficacy.
- Student and stakeholder focus: Determine the requirements and expectations of current and future students by adopting a structured approach. Program data should measure stakeholder engagement and satisfaction so the program can integrate these results into its continuous improvement practices.
- Student learning assessment: The learning outcomes assessment practices must be methodical and include continuous improvement strategies. Programs should develop and apply student learning outcomes, and communication channels must remain open to all stakeholders.
- Faculty focus: Faculty members must have up-to-date qualifications. Programs should foster teaching excellence by aligning faculty skills and credentials with program objectives. They should also ensure faculty development through professional and scholarly activity.
- Curriculum: The focus of curriculum development and program delivery is continuous improvement. The curriculum must contain educational, business and professional content to prepare graduates for success in their future workplace.
- Business unit performance: The program should track student key performance indicators (KPIs) and outcomes-based performance measures to foster continuous improvement. The institution must ensure adequate services and resources to support student programs.
How Experiential Learning Cloud (Formerly Tevera) Helps Colleges Earn and Maintain ACBSP Accreditation
Experiential Learning Cloud provides a centralized hub where administrators, students and faculty leadership can embrace a collaborative approach and streamline operational processes. All stakeholders can aim to meet the criteria required for ACBSP accreditation with effective collaboration and an understanding of shared goals. Experiential Learning Cloud can help you maximize program outcomes and student success in the following areas:
- Data-driven program outcomes: You can manage your program’s performance assessment outcomes from one place. Experiential Learning Cloud will centralize your data, helping you develop actionable insights to improve educator quality and program excellence in business education.
- Insight into program efficacy: Experiential Learning Cloud's robust reporting structures allow program administrators and other stakeholders a complete view of your program’s performance. With this information, you can identify your strengths and leverage them for continuous improvement in program excellence.
- Activity and time tracking: Experiential Learning Cloud provides a straightforward and user-friendly method to ensure students meet their time and activity requirements. The platform also helps verify they meet the standard that local and international accrediting bodies and your institution require.
- Streamlined standards management: Meeting systematic standard sets can be a challenge. With Experiential Learning Cloud, you can deliver rubrics across multiple sets of standards, including accreditation standards requirements. You can report data based on every assessment method to demonstrate your program is successfully addressing accreditation requirements.
- Student-focused accreditation: Accreditation procedures can be rigorous, but with Experiential Learning Cloud, the student body remains at the heart of the accreditation process. Program directors, faculty and field supervisors can work cooperatively toward the best possible reporting results in all academic and programmatic spheres.
ACBSP Accreditation Reporting
Your institution needs accurate and comprehensive reporting to prove you’re meeting the ACBSP accreditation benchmarks. This reporting provides a quantifiable method to measure your program’s effectiveness against the accreditation criteria.
The ACBSP requires detailed and systematic feedback to measure how well your program meets its standards and criteria. In addition to the program’s and educators’ effectiveness, ACBSP reporting must measure student achievements and satisfaction. Institutions must assess individual accredited programs’ student learning outcomes and report them to stakeholders and the accrediting body.
Institutions need robust and detailed reporting solutions to support the accreditation process. Reporting must also outline your program’s continual improvement initiatives. Your future plans should enhance the curriculum and elevate strategic planning to align with your institution’s mission and strategic objectives.
Simplify ACBSP Accreditation with Experiential Learning Cloud
Accreditation can be time-consuming and labor-intensive, but you can simplify the accreditation reporting process. Experiential Learning Cloud provides a user-friendly and centralized interface, letting you unlock previously undiscovered data and strengthen your outcomes-based program reporting.
You can use Experiential Learning Cloud for all your data tracking and reporting needs. We create an ongoing partnership from the moment the program goes live, working together to navigate changing accreditation standards. Students are at the heart of everything we do here at Experiential Learning Cloud and we’ve created process solutions for every stakeholder so students and programs can thrive.
If you would like to learn more about how Experiential Learning Cloud can help you streamline your ACBSP accreditation processes, reach out and book a demo today.