Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/111663
1 28 March/April 2013 BizEd about the content and implementation of the proposed standards. This article examines how the BRC has responded���and how the association hopes the standards will shape the future of business education. FAQs for the BRC The proposed standards still emphasize quality and assurance of learning, but they also place increased emphasis on three other areas: innovation, impact, and engagement. Under this framework, schools pursuing accreditation should be prepared to demonstrate to their peer review teams not only how well their programs support their stated missions, but also how their programs have achieved innovation, impact, and engagement through their teaching, research, and service. All of the BRC���s recommendations have generated lively discussion and debate. However, four areas have garnered the most attention. They include the BRC���s proposed standards pertaining to mission, impact, and innovation (Standard 1); intellectual contributions, impact, and alignment with mission (Standard 2); executive education (Standard 14); and faculty quali���cations and engagement (Standard 15). Here are the BRC���s responses to members��� most frequently asked questions: In general, what are the biggest changes that the BRC is proposing? Perhaps the biggest change is that the BRC has reduced the number of standards from 21 to 15. They did so by eliminating redundancies that required schools to address issues such as curriculum management and faculty quali���cations in multiple standards. In addition, the proposed standards place an even greater emphasis on mission. Under proposed Standard 1, each school must articulate ���a clear and distinctive mission.��� A school���s responses to all 15 proposed standards should then demonstrate how its programs and activities support that mission. Finally, these standards ask schools to demonstrate how their curricula, intellectual activity, and ���nancial models promote innovation, make an impact on the communities they serve, and engage with their stakeholders. How will AACSB ensure that peer review team members are trained to apply the standards consistently, particularly related to subjective concepts such as innovation and impact? Peer review team members will receive rigorous training, which will focus on the mission-based philosophy of accreditation and the application of the standards. The association will deliver this training in both face-to-face and online formats. This will ensure that peer review team members apply the standards consistently, even as they interpret the standards against the different models and missions of different schools, explains Bob Reid, AACSB���s chief accreditation of���cer. Reid adds, ���We won���t be saying, ���Here���s the standard and here���s what it means.��� Instead, we���ll be saying, ���Here are some examples, and here are these situations. Let���s discuss how you might interpret the standards in these cases.������ He emphasizes that teams will be trained to look beyond whether schools have ���met the minimums,��� and instead evaluate whether schools have ful���lled their stated missions; achieved KUTAY TAN I R /G ETTY I MAG ES F lip through any issue of BizEd from 2003, and you���ll get a quick snapshot of the issues that business schools were grappling with ten years ago. Business schools were replacing their chalkboards with whiteboards, forging global ���super alliances,��� and taking note of the growing markets for business education in Asia and Africa. In 2003, members of AACSB International also approved new accreditation standards, drafted by the association���s Blue Ribbon Committee on Accreditation Quality (BRC). Those 21 standards, still in place today, were developed to be more inclusive of global models for business education and place greater emphasis on a business school���s mission and assurance of learning practices. Fast forward to 2013, when business schools have tackled the assurance of learning challenge, adopted massive open online courses, and opened globally distributed campuses. Given the dramatic changes in the industry, members of the BRC have spent nearly two years once again re-evaluating the market and drafting a new set of standards. AACSB members will vote on these standards at the association���s International Conference and Annual Meeting on April 8. The BRC released the draft of its recommended standards in Fall 2012. (See ���The Proposed Standards at a Glance��� on page 29.) Since the draft���s release, BRC members have moderated plenaries and breakout sessions about the proposed standards at conferences worldwide, including AACSB���s Annual Accreditation Conference in Atlanta last September. Not surprisingly, members have asked many questions