Tertiary Education Management Conference 2006

Accreditation: does it make a difference?

T Hodge

ACCREDITATION

Does it make a difference?

Toni HodgeAcademic Manager

College of Business and EconomicsAugust 2006

WHAT IS ACCREDITATION?

Accredit: To give official recognition to; sanction; authorise

To certify or guarantee as meeting required standards

Collins English Dictionary

“The act of accrediting or the state of being accredited, especially the granting of approval to an institution of

learning by an official review board after the school has met specific requirements.”

www.answers.com

WHAT IS ACCREDITATION?

Level of specificity

Organisational

Award/Course

Level of compulsion

Legislative

Voluntary

THE BEGINNINGS

“Indications are that the Roman Empire held its institutions of higher education in high esteem. … Professors were deemed

to belong to the senatorial class, paid no taxation, were exempt from jury and military service and from the obligation

to billet troops in their homes. This was set by Emperor Vespasian in AD73.

These privileges were designed to enable the professors to devote themselves completely to teaching.”

The University: From Ancient Greece to the 20th Century

Glenys Patterson

THE BEGINNINGS

“The Sophists offered, for fees, courses in a wide variety of disciplines, including mathematics, literary criticism, and

athletics. They were independent teachers, not of the priestly class, and they attracted pupils without using the authority of any political or religious institution to support their credibility.

…

They exhibited a moral and religious scepticism and their objective was persuasion.

…

They focused on the effectiveness of the argument, rather than a particular action being right or wrong.”

The University: From Ancient Greece to the 20th Century

Glenys Patterson

DO WE NEED ACCREDITATION?

We may believe we are world class…….

But how do we prove it?

BENEFITS OF ACCREDITATION

Recognition on the world stage

Possible access to funding

Increasing attractiveness as an employer

Attracting a better quality of student

Increasing student numbers

“Keeping up with the Joneses”

Continuous quality improvement to processes, practices, qualifications

Johnny Weissmuller

Event Men’s Qualifying Time

Women’s Qualifying Time

Johnny Weissmuller’s World Record time

(Year Set)

100m freestyle

51.59 s 57.19 s 57.4

(1924)

200m freestyle

1:52.89 2:03.39 2:08.0

(1927)

400m freestyle

3:59.99 4:19.39 4:57.0

(1923)

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

Six Factors used by Students to Evaluate

Service Quality:

1. Contact Personnel

2. Physical Evidence

3. Reputation

4. Responsiveness

5. Access to Facilities

6. Curriculum

IS COMMERCE A PROFESSION?

Accreditation may be relevant to lawyers, doctors, engineers and accountants.

Is it relevant to other fields of commerce?

Is commerce a profession?

FINAL THOUGHT

ACCREDITATION:

ISN’T IT SIMPLY GOOD BUSINESS PRACTICE?

Tertiary Education Management Conference 2006

Morning Tea

Please reconvene at 11.15am