College of Business
College of Business Accreditation
What Is Accreditation?
Accreditation is the process by which an institution voluntarily undergoes an independent appraisal of its education activities. There are two types of accreditation: (1) institutional and (2) specialized.
Institutional accreditation is typically provided by one of the six regional accrediting organizations for schools in the United States. For The University of Findlay, the regional accrediting organization that accredits the institution as a whole is the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the nations largest accrediting body. Some schools, both inside the United States and out, may have their institutional accreditation from a national organization such at the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) or the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). For schools outside the United States, recognition for the authority to award degrees is often granted by the national or regional government.
Specialized accreditation is usually provided by more discipline – specifiaccreditors. For example, ACBSP (Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs) is one of three accrediting bodies that reviews the quality and integrity of business degree programs. Accreditation by ACBSP is based on an independent evaluation of an institution’s business school or program by a group of professionals including faculty and academic administrators in the field of business. To obtain ACBSP accreditation, an institution must first be accredited by one of the six regional accrediting organizations to verify their authority to grant degrees, including business degrees.
Why Is Accreditation Important?
Often the accreditation process is not well understood by the general public. Accreditation is a means of assuring students, parents and the business community that those business schools and programs that are accredited have met rigorous criteria which indicate a high and acceptable level of educational quality. For more information about Accreditation and its value to you take a look at this video produced by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
Accreditation does not mean that every course, concentration or major in a business degree program is of comparable quality. It does mean that no concentration or major is so weak as to jeopardize the overall quality of the business unit.
For the business unit, the pursuit of accreditation reinforces a commitment to continuous improvement in the quality of student learning outcomes, innovation and scholarship. The process of seeking accreditation enhances the focus on the quality of student learning and reinforces a commitment to the educational mission of the institution. Both the self study and required reporting mechanisms provide the impetus for identifying strengths and weaknesses and a forum for review and analysis of the business unit. It brings discipline to the improvement process, provides access to ideas and encouragement from peer institutions in carrying out this process and provides support for improvement. Watch "Types of Accreditation: What's the Difference?"
