Faculty of Economics

Bologna doctoral program

Kardeljeva pl. 17

1000 Ljubljana

Slovenia

Dissertation Proposal

by Istileulova Yelena, 2nd year student (Management track)

International Accreditation of Business schools in CIS and CEE: Pros and Cons of Quality Assurance

September, 2011

International Accreditation of Business schools in CIS and CEE: Pros and Cons of Quality Assurance

Abstract:

The purpose of this thesis is to measure the impact of an international accreditation on business

schools` environment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Central and Eastern

Europe (CEE) and to define the differences that exist in specific needs of business schools between

these regions. The main research question is how business schools in CIS and CEE make decision

about pursuing the international accreditation and what their priorities towards accreditation

schemes?

The statement of the problem is to see how much requirements of international accreditations from

AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS and AMBA are tailored to the specific needs of business schools in terms of

quality assurance. The following research questions are considered in this exploratory research:

What are the main reasons of business schools in the CIS and European countries to apply

for the international accreditation?

The main factors that influence business schools not pursuing international accreditation

What are the preferences towards the international accreditation schemes?

Who makes the final decision about international accreditation?

What are the main changes needed for B-schools to gain international accreditation?

Which advantages and shortcomings of international accreditation are perceived by Business schools in these countries?

Which trends can be observed between the CIS and CEE and within their regions?

Two different samples of business schools are considered in this thesis: with an international

accreditation and without an international accreditation. Besides quantitative survey with

Questionnaire developed for business schools, processed using ANOVA technique (to test for

differences between business schools) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis, a qualitative method is

employed with a semi-structured interview for business schools.

1. A description of the dissertation topic area and the issues that the dissertation addresses,

including the definition of the issues

Introduction

Today business schools reconsider their role in society. “Business as usual” is not working any

longer – new challenges require new approaches and make people search for new business

paradigms and new business philosophies. The market is forcing business schools to look for

innovation much more than they usually do (Lamming, 2010; Myasoedov, 2010), set up a joint

venture between the business schools and the corporation and measure business education

effectiveness from the viewpoint of corporate clients (Harackiewicz, 2010).

Among these changes, the accreditation process is considered as a vehicle for the introduction of

institutional change, because it provides a balanced assessment of their strengths and improvement

opportunities.

Over the last decade, national authorities have set up both institutional and programme accreditation

procedures, and an accreditation is increasingly becoming the most dominant form of quality

assurance of higher education in Europe following national adaptations to the Bologna-declaration

with its added value in the governance of higher education, and the possible effects of an emerging

„accreditation market (Stensaker & Harvey 2006). Compared to the United States, accreditation is a

rather new phenomenon on the political agenda of European higher education institutions

(Lindstrom, 2005 in Helmig et al, 2009).

According to Helmig et al (2010), in Europe accreditation became obvious in the late 1990s, and

the over the last few years accreditation as the quality improvement instrument has become an

important subject on the political agenda of European higher education institutions thanks to

appearance of the Bologna Declaration. However, it is argued that the Central and Eastern

accreditation systems appeared in a different context, not in a context with Bologna process, but as a

reaction to the transformation of study programmes and simultaneous rise of new providers of

higher education (Westerheijden, 2001 in Westerhijden, 2003).

There are two general types of accreditation a university/business school can receive:

“institutional” accreditation (by EQUIS, AACSB) or an overall review of the entire university,

typically done by a country‟s national or regional accrediting bodies (such as the six regional

accrediting bodies in the United States), and once institutional accreditation is earned, most

universities seek “specialized” or “professional” accreditations for each of their disciplines (by

EPAS, AMBA).

International accreditation of business schools in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is the topic which has not been well studied in terms of

changes needed for business schools in quality assurance. Prior to the break-up of socialism,

business and management schools did not exist in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, and

links between actors of CEE and their connections in the West resulted in establishing the

knowledge-based network which enhanced the legitimacy of business schools in post-socialist

Europe and provided the mechanism of market-knowledge transfer (Bandelj & Purg, 2006).

At the same time, Central and Eastern European schools are more focused on accreditation and see

less relevance in the rankings (Ellert, 2010; Kross, 2010), but according to Abel (2006),

accreditation which is used in the Western Europe is not exactly applicable in the Eastern Europe:

“They use different standards and yet their schools do useful things for their markets”.

The first business schools were established just after the announcement of «perestroika», during

1886 and 1887 in CEE. In the former Soviet Union, the first local business schools emerged one

year later, in 1988 in Russia, and in Kazakhstan (CIS). The business school of western-type with its

MBA programme appeared in 1992 in CIS, Kazakhstan (region of Central Asia). There were no

previous research on the issue of international accreditation in this region so far, because these

processes just emerged in 2009-2010, whereas the leading business schools in Russia either already

attained the international accreditations or in the processes of pursuing accreditation from AMBA,

EPAS, EQUIS and thus, they are the leading schools among the countries of the former Soviet

Union.

The purpose of thesis is to measure the perceived impact of an international accreditation on

business schools`s environment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Central and

Eastern Europe (CEE) and to compare whether the differences in specific needs of Business schools

exist within their regions and between these countries.

The main research question is to what extent the international accreditations correspond to the

needs of business schools in CIS and CEE? The dissertation also addresses the issues of advantages

and shortcomings of international accreditation, their assessment of preferences in accrediting

bodies, the main changes which schools need to make in order to gain accreditation, how these

changes are reflected in the organizational structures of schools and who makes the final decision

about accreditation. By addressing these questions we can see what the main trends exist in the

different regions.

Critical literature review:

The environment that business schools are facing presents results within the framework of a time

structured (past, present, future) model connected to five objectives (Palmquist, 2009): the main

impact factors of accreditation, the development of internationalization within the school; the view

on internationalization; the characteristics of decision making and implementation processes; and

the expectations of major future challenges. The main reasons are identified that lie behind business

schools´ motivation to seek an international accreditation, which are, in particular, institutional

isomorphism, bandwagons, as well as information asymmetry, and some similarities and differences

found between the groups of European, US and New Zealand´s schools (Hodge, 2010). Loss-

aversion (Kahneman & Tversky, 2002) is also revealed from a minority of deans as a strong

motivator to retain accreditation, but has not been explored further.

Helmig (2010) focuses on business schools in Europe which are investing much time, effort, and

money into accreditation and concludes that with the fast growing number of Executive MBA

programs offered on the higher education market and the increased competition for students,

accreditation has become an important issue to business schools, and not only private institutions but

also private organisations apply this quality improvement instrument. The conclusion is that it will

become increasingly important from which accrediting organisation a program/institution holds

accreditation because a) students will be better informed, b) managers of programs will need to seek

second if not even third accreditations which leads to the competition among accrediting

organizations.

It is considered that accreditation also reflects an institutional autonomy, academic freedom and peer

and professional review that are the core values of higher education. The value added by

accreditation systems stems from three main areas – assessment of the quality of the school based on

several criteria (Urgel, 2007); enhanced brand recognition from being granted a distinctive

accreditation label; and contributions to the actual improvement of the school.

However, there are some negative consequences of accreditation‟s political role as a key

intermediary due to the increasing involvement of the U.S. federal government in accreditation. An

important role of faculty members´ (Eaton, 2010) is shown due to the erosion of academic freedom

and the loss of appropriate authority for the key academic decisions - about curriculum, academic

standards, and general education. Among the potential consequences of the shift for faculty

members are decline of economic freedom and loss of authority for academic decisions.

The stamp of accreditation is often misperceived and misinterpreted as "quality inherent" in many

schools, colleges, and universities. However, this is far from the fact because accreditation like any

modern industries caught in the grip of Capitalism is just another profit maximizing and monetarily-

engaged industry. The lack of a clear line between institutional and specialized accreditation is

where most of the issues and conflicts surrounding accreditation as a process which creates

disadvantage to many who pay for degrees and education emerge.

For specialized accreditations, Leif (2001) lists not only advantages (recruitment and retention of

students may be improved, accreditation may benefit curriculum assessment, high reputation,

students may benefit since faculty meet the standards, integrity of business in programs,

attractiveness for recruitment, quality assurance for potential donors, no substantial additional cost,

push other universities to explore accreditations), but also disadvantages (may be too prescriptive

and limit the number of students, involve potential loss of accreditation and high-cost, standards

may not be incongruence with programs, and programs can use the standards as leverage to

influence curriculum changes and funding) and outlines some obstacles (limited pool of resources,

required reassignment time, coordination of all departments and a long range process). Ranking and

accreditation are petrifying existing standards rather than promoting and rewarding dynamic

development (Noorda, 2011)

The list of benefits (Hedrick et al (2010); Barilla et al (2008)) is such that faculty in accredited

business schools by AACSB are paid more, publish more, and teach less than their peers at non-

accredited schools, and (Lejeune et al, 2009) estimates EQUIS accreditation‟ benefits as a positive

impact on performance with "programs development and quality of the faculty", the "social

openness and community interaction" and the "ability to acquire resources" with two cultural

dimensions that are strongly correlated to effectiveness: adhocracy and market. Business schools

often attain accreditation to demonstrate program efficacy (Marts J. A. et al, 1988).

Differential conceptions of quality and expectations of educational standards, costs, perceived

benefits, lack of centralization in accreditation and school approval, traditional versus online

schooling, education, and studies, is a big problem affecting millions of students, thousands of

educators, and thousand of schools, colleges, and universities worldwide”, (Donovan A.; McFarlane

(2010)) with the reveal that this big problem can be called "Accreditation Discrimination”.

It is referred to discrimination resulting for individuals because their educational credentials or

academic qualifications are accredited or not accredited by agency. Thus, the greatest weakness in

accreditation as a regulatory practice is that it is a private enterprise and a decentralized activity

takes on any shape or form that yields the highest returns in terms of money and profits.

There are two gaps identified in the literature in terms of how decisions are made in business

schools and what are the changes that the business schools should undergo to meet the requirements

of international accreditation. These gaps will be covered by this thesis. Some of the future lines of

inquiry might be identified at this stage already and should be related to individual decisions at each

business schools with the following characteristics of Attitude, Motivation, Expectation, Intention

and Preferences to measure these concepts and providing metrics to benchmark the current level of

entrepreneurship in business schools.

Definition of the issues:

Accreditation by AACSB International1 - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of

Business promotes continuous quality improvement in management education.

AACSB International2 - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business is a global,

nonprofit membership organization of educational institutions, businesses, and other entities devoted

to the advancement of management education.

AACSB is a not-for-profit corporation of educational institutions, corporations and other

organizations devoted to the promotion and improvement of higher education in business

administration and accounting.

EFMD3 - The Management Development Network

EQUIS4 assesses institutions as a whole. The fundamental objective of EQUIS, linked to the

mission of EFMD, is to raise the standard of management education worldwide. It assesses not just

degree programmes but all the activities and sub-units of the institution, including research, e-

learning units, executive education provision and community outreach. Institutions must be

primarily devoted to management education.

EPAS5 is an international programme accreditation system operated by EFMD. It aims to evaluate

the quality of any business and/or management programme that has an international perspective and,

where of an appropriately high quality, to accredit it.

AMBA6 The Association of MBAs is the international impartial authority on postgraduate business

education

Assurance of quality in higher education7 is the collections of policies, procedures, systems and

practices internal or external to the organisation designed to achieve, maintain and enhance quality.

A business school8 is a school or college which teaches business subjects such as economics and

management.

1 http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/standards-2011-revised-jan2011-final.pdf 2 http://www.aacsb.edu/about/ 3 http://www.efmd.org/index.php/what-is-efmd 4 http://www.efmd.org/index.php/accreditation-main/equis 5 http://www.efmd.org/index.php/accreditation-main/epas 6 http://www.mbaworld.com/ 7 Harvey, L., 2004–11, Analytic Quality Glossary, Quality Research International

http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/glossary/assurance.htm 8 http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/business%20school

2. The research topic, research questions, and an assessment of the dissertation’s contribution to the field of knowledge

The research topic is about the international accreditation of business schools in CIS and CEE with

the purpose to measure the impact of an international accreditation on business schools`

environment and to define the differences that exist in specific needs of business schools between

these regions. The main research question is how business schools in CIS and CEE make decision

about pursuing the international accreditation and what their priorities towards accreditation

schemes?

The statement of the problem is to see how much requirements of international accreditations from

AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS and AMBA are tailored to the specific needs of business schools in terms of

quality assurance. The following research questions are considered in this exploratory research:

What are the main reasons of business schools in the CIS and European countries to apply for the international accreditation?

The main factors that influence business schools not pursuing international accreditation

What are the preferences towards the international accreditation schemes?

Who makes the final decision about international accreditation?

What are the main changes needed for B-schools to gain international accreditation?

Which advantages and shortcomings of international accreditation are perceived by Business schools in these countries?

Which trends can be observed between the CIS and CEE and within their regions?

Based on the Questionnaire, this study will show the priorities of business schools in accreditation

schemes, the perceived advantages and shortcomings of international accreditation, and whether

there are any differences and trends that exist in these regions.

Semi-structured interview with the deans of schools will provide a more deep inside how these

processes are taking place within each school from the motivation and general expectations for

public and private business schools. Additional questions whether the national strategy and other

actors (government, NGO, non-commercial groups) play any role? What is the role of Bologna

process in the higher education sector of these countries and its impact on business schools?

PESTLE analysis would be included for different regions and the possible existing schemes of

internal quality assurance.

Based on the quantitative and qualitative technique, Questionnaire and semi-structured interview,

this study brings more understanding for perceived advantages and shortcomings for international

accreditation in CIS and Central and Eastern Europe. The benefits of this study are important in

theory and practice because it helps both actors, business schools and accredited bodies to see how

this process is progressing in these regions and analyze the changes that take place in the

evnironment of business schools.

The study is the exploratory research for business schools of CEE and CIS which provide a

significant theoretical and practical contribution for the field of knowledge in Business schools´

management in the processes of attaining accreditation for business schools´ quality improvement.

The accreditation brings a certain institutional change, and therefore, based on the results of our

study we can measure the impact of accreditation and analyze how this process is progressing in

different regions of CIS and CEE, whether the differences exist between regions and conditions, and

forecast how business schools will be changing in the near future. We can also identify the different

models of signalling strategies: whether the schools prefer to send a signal outside (as a “window

dressing” model) or towards internal environment (a “commitment model” for human capital).

3. A description of methodology that the student will use to produce the dissertation

A scientific methodology is a system of explicit rules and procedures, and it provides the foundation

for conducting research and evaluating claims for knowledge. Methodology has been described as a

“plan of actions”. (Crotty, 2003, p.7). In defining methodology perhaps the fist distinction to make is

that between methodology and methods.

The term methods describes the techniques or procedures used to gather data related to research

question or hypothesis (Mark O`Hara et al, 2011), where methodology is the ”framework and

rationale around which your project is structured”, and among other things methodology determines

the relationship between literature review, the data collected and subsequent analysis: thus,

methodology should underpin every aspect of dissertation and choice of methodological approach

which will be “determined by your views first on the nature of reality”.

Triangulation is the idea that more technique than just one research method in a study should be

done in order to look at the same topic from different angles. Talking about triangulation, Mayers

(2009) shows the value: “it allows you to gain a “fuller” picture of what is happening. It allows you

to triangulate data from interviews with data from documents, or data from two different research

methods” (a qualitative case study with quantitative data from a survey).

In this study, I am planning to use both quantitative and qualitative methods, a cross-sectional

survey with developed Questionnaire (which translate the research objectives into specific questions

and answer to these questions will provide the necessary data), and semi-structured interview

process. The cross-sectional design is perhaps the most predominant design employed. This design

is often identified with survey research, a method of data collection common in many social science

fields (O` Hara et al, 2011).

Qualitative research differs from quantitative research in significant ways (Becker, 1996).

According to Denzin&Lincoln (2009), these points of difference involve different ways of

addressing the same set of issues. The differences in these approaces are summarised in Table 1.

Table 1. Differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches to methodology

Qualitative Quantitative

The aim is a complete, detailed description The aim is to classify features, count them,

and construct statistical models in an attempt

to explain what is observed

You may know roughly in advance what you

are looking for

You know clearly in advance what you are

looking for

The design emerges as the study unfolds All aspects of the study are carefully

designed before data is collected

You are the data gathering instrument You use tools, such as questionnaires or

equipment to collect numerical data

Data is in the form of words, pictures or

objects.

Data is in the form of numbers and statistics

This approach is more “rich”, time

consuming , and generally not intended to be

generalized

This approach is more efficient and able to

test hypotheses. You are trying to find things

that are generalizable

Since both approaches are used in this study, it helps to provide a clearer picture for business

schools´s accreditation processes.

Questionnaire is developed for the business schools with accreditation and without accreditation and

submitted to a sample of 130 business schools. The developed Questionnaire asks about

experiences with and plans of business schools towards international accreditations with the

indicated aim of this research to see how much are they tailored to the specific needs of business

schools in Central and Eastern Europe as well as Commonwealth of Independent States.

Questionnaire will be processed using ANOVA technique (to test for differences between business

schools) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis.

In choosing the appropriate scales, there are two characteristics: reliability and validity, and both of

these factors can influence the quality of the data obtained. Reliability of the scale indicates how

free it is from random error (Pallant, 2007). According to Myers (2009), one of the key benefits of

qualitative research is that it allows a researcher to see and understand the context within which

decisions and actions take place.

Additional data in this research are obtained from a sample of semi-structured interview processes

with the Deans of schools, qualitative research method which is designed to help researcher

understand the different contexts within which people live and make their decisions.

Limitation:

The expected limitation of this study is the sample of the business schools which coveres the

population of all business schools (about 130 business schools in CEE and CIS), which may not be

fully covered due to non-response from e-mailed Questionnaire. According to Gujarati (2003),

analysis based on partial response may not truly reflect the behaviour of the percent who did not

respond, thereby leading to what is known as (sample) selectivity bias.“ The further problem that

those who respond to the questionnaire may not answer all the questions, thus leading to additional

selectivity bias.

Due to the absence of any travelling funds, it is also difficult to cover the interview in each country

of CEE and CIS. The interview process with Deans will be taking place in the leading business

schools of Kazakhstan, Russia (CIS), Slovenia (CEE) and some other selected countries.

Annex 1.

QUESTIONNAIRE: INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATIONS FOR BUSINESS SCHOOLS In this questionnaire we ask you about plans and experience of your business school towards international accreditations AACSB,

EQUIS, EPAS and AMBA. The aim of our research is to see how much they fit to the specific needs of business schools in Eastern

Europe as well as CIS. We would kindly like to ask you to be realistic and objective in assessing your organization.

We ensure complete anonymity of the gathered data, which will only be presented on an aggregate level.

Please provide answers to all questions even if you feel that they repeat themselves occasionally. If you feel that a certain statement is irrelevant, circle the letter “X” (do not know).

A. General data

Name of the school: _______________________________________________ Programs offered at your school: Multiple responses are possible. A Undergraduate B Masters C MBA D Doctoral E: EMBA

Ownership of the school: Please circle one. A State ownership B Private domestic ownership C Mixed, but predominantly domestic D Mixed, but predominantly foreign E Foreign ownership

Student enrollment in the 2010/11 academic year: Undergraduate____MBA_____DBA/PhD______EMBA____

B. International accreditations for business schools

Are you acquainted with the requirements of the following international accreditations?

Please tick the appropriate box.

AACSB EQUIS EPAS AMBA other

Yes, we know its' requirements quite well.

We are aware of the main requirements of this accreditation but not of the details.

No, we are not familiar with it at all.

The final decision about pursuing one of these international accreditations is made (or would be made) by: Please circle one.

A Management of the school, together with Faculty Members. B Rector. C Owner(s) of the school. D Board of Directors. E Board of Trustees. F Steering Committee. G Is initiated by the Ministry of Education H Other: _________________________

Our business school: Please circle at least one.

A Is considering pursuing one (or more) of these accreditations (AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS, and/or AMBA). B Has included the decision to start with the process of one of these accreditations in its strategic plan. C Has considered to pursue them in the past, but decided not to go ahead with it. D Is already in the process of pursuing one of these accreditations. If so, please continue with module C. E Is not yet interested in pursuing international accreditation. F Is in the process of applying for the national accreditation. G Is in the process of applying for one of the other international and/or regional accreditations. If so, please indicate which: __________________________________________ H. Is not yet at a stage to consider the following international accreditation (AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS, AMBA) Specify________.

Are international accreditation issues (pertaining to AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS, AMBA) reflected in your organisational structure? Please tick the appropriate box. AACSB EQUIS EPAS AMBA

Yes, one of our employees works on the following accreditation(s).

Yes, we have a unit that employs more than one person and works on the following accreditation(s).

We are planning to hire a person who will work on the following accreditation(s).

No, we don’t have staff employed just for the purpose of the accreditation.

If somebody is working on these accreditations, how many employees devote more than 20 % of their time to these activities: _________

C. ADVANTAGES OF INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATIONS: Your view of advantages of

international accreditations (AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS, AMBA)

(ESTIMATED) ADVANTAGES OF INTERNATIONAL ACRREDITATIONS

Please rank them by importance (1 = the most important, 7= the least important) Ranking:

1. Improved reputation of the school on the domestic markets.

2. Improved reputation of the school on the international markets of higher education.

3. To increase the value of our assets and brand (nationally and internationally).

4. The competition on the markets on which we offer study programs is strong and international accreditation would distinguish (distinguishes) our school from the competitors.

5. Having an international accreditation is a signaling strategy for the students that the school is of high quality, thereby attracting students.

6. Having an international accreditation is a signaling strategy for the faculty members that the school is of high quality, thereby attracting highly qualified staff.

7. Pursuing an international accreditation is a way to introduce a quality improving strategy to the school, making it a better business school (in terms of research, teaching and other processes).

If you are in the process of pursuing accreditation, which stage you are in (please, tick the appropriate) - at the beginning _____________________________________________________ - in the middle of this process___________________________________________ - the process of gaining an accreditation is coming to the end________________ - in the process of re-accreditation _____________________________________

D. SHORTCOMINGS OF INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATIONS: Your view of shortcomings of

international accreditations (AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS)

(ESTIMATED) SHORTCOMINGS OF INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATIONS

Please circle one choice for each of the following statements.

(1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither disagree nor agree, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree; X = do not know)

1. The process of pursuing the accreditation is very time-consuming. 1 2 3 4 5 X

2. The process requires considerable human resources to be involved. 1 2 3 4 5 X

3. The process requires a considerable investment. 1 2 3 4 5 X

4. Accreditations require very high standards of internationally recognized academic research which exceed the expectations of the school’s stakeholders (students, businesses, government).

1 2 3 4 5 X

5 The preparation stage of international accreditations slows down the pursuit of other goals of the school. 1 2 3 4 5 X

6 The process requires additional investments connected to technological process and changes in organizational structure.

1 2 3 4 5 X

7 The process is long, but the outcome is uncertain. 1 2 3 4 5 X

8 Other: 1 2 3 4 5 X

E. FOR SCHOOLS THAT DO NOT PURSUE ANY OF THE RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL

ACCREDITATIONS (AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS) AT THIS STAGE

Indicate the degree of agreement or disagreement that fits the situation in your school best.

REASONS FOR NOT PURSUING INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATIONS

Please circle one choice for each of the following statements.

(1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither disagree nor agree, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree; X = do not know)

1. We are not aware of benefits of these accreditations well enough. 1 2 3 4 5 X

2. Our enrollment of students is large enough without having international accreditations. 1 2 3 4 5 X

3. We feel our target markets do not feel the necessity of it 1 2 3 4 5 X

4. Cost of pursuing the accreditation is too high for our budgets. 1 2 3 4 5 X

5. Cost of pursuing the accreditation is too high compared to potential benefits. 1 2 3 4 5 X

6. The requirements of national accreditations are too different to those of international accreditations therefore the burden of pursuing both would be too large.

1 2 3 4 5 X

7. We should first get the national accreditation, and then we will pursue international accreditations. 1 2 3 4 5 X

8. Because of the recession, our business school decided to postpone process of international accreditation(s). 1 2 3 4 5 X

9. The requirements of international accreditations are too high for our school to meet at this phase. 1 2 3 4 5 X

10. Pursuing international accreditation requires efforts over a certain period (e.g. 5 years) whereas the management of the school is appointed for a period shorter than that (problem of continuity).

1 2 3 4 5 X

If our school would consider applying for an international accreditation, we would first consider:

Please rank them by importance (1 = the most important, 4 = the least important)

Ranking:

A AACSB ________ B EQUIS ________ C EPAS ________ D AMBA ________

F. FOR SCHOOLS THAT ALREADY HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH ONE OF THE RELEVANT

ACCREDITATIONS (AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS, AMBA)

Our school has experience with the following accreditation(s): More than one answer is possible.

A. AACSB B. EQUIS C. EPAS D. AMBA E. Other (add which?)

Currently we are in the following phase of the accreditation process:

Please tick the appropriate box.

AACSB EQUIS EPAS AMBA

We are getting acquainted with the accreditation.

We are a candidate for the accreditation and are in the process of pursuing it.

We have finished with the process and have obtained the accreditation.

Other:

With which of these accreditations have you moved forward the most? ___________ In the questions that follow, please have

this particular accreditation in mind.

THE NECESSARY CHANGES NEEDED IN YOUR SCHOOL IN ORDER TO GAIN INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATION

Please circle one choice for each of the following statements.

(A = These changes are not necessary, B = We still need to do this, C = We have already implemented this; X = do not know)

1. A review of the school’s mission statement. A B C X

2. Including input from the school’s stakeholders (faculty members, students, employers) into the mission statement.

A B C X

3. A substantial increase in the quality of publications of our faculty members. A B C X

4. Share of full-time employees needs to be increased. A B C X

7. Student-faculty ratio is too high to assure the quality of teaching. A B C X

8. Our entrance requirements need to become stricter or progression rates lower so that only high quality graduates will be produced.

A B C X

9. Internationalization of our student body. A B C X

10. Internationalization of our faculty members. A B C X

11. Determining the learning goals of the programs. A B C X

12. Introducing the measurement whether the learning goals of the programs are achieved. A B C X

13. Introducing systematic process in curriculum management in order to incorporate feedback into improvements of courses and programs (“closing the loop”).

A B C X

14. Improving the connections with the business community. A B C X

15. Strengthen our financial resources in order to be able to carry out planned activities and improvement efforts that are needed to reach the accreditations’ standards.

A B C X

G. OTHER GENERAL (DEMOGRAPHIC DATA)

Number of faculty members (teaching and research staff) employed:

- Full time (working primarily at our school): ______

- Part time (working also at other schools): _______

Number of support staff employed: - Total number: ______

Personal data: Your function (position) within the organization: __________________________________________

Internationalization of the school: - Are any of your programs run in English? YES NO

- International faculty members:

(use average of the last 3 years) o Visiting: YES NO (Number: ______)

o Permanent: YES NO (Number: ______)

- Number of international students:______________

(use average of the last 3 years)

o Short-term exchange students (up to 1 semester): ________

o International students (more than 1 semester): _________

If you would like to receive the results of the questionnaire in an aggregated form, please list your contact data: Your name and surname: _________________________________________ Your e-mail: _______________________________________

Thank you very much for cooperation!

5. The structure of the dissertation

TABLE of CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

Background

Problem statement

Significance of this problem

Research Questions

Nature of this study

Limitations

Definition of terms

Conceptual Background

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Quality Management Systems in Higher Education

Accreditation: external Quality measurement instrument and internal Quality control

International accreditation as a quality assurance process – meta analysis of literature

History of international accreditation: AACSB, EQUIS, EPAS, AMBA

Standards of international accreditation

Advantages and Disadvantages of international accreditation

Higher education in CEE & CIS: PESTLE analysis, impact of Bologna process

Business schools´ in CEE & CIS: types of schools, difference, challenges

Accreditation of B-schools in CEE and CIS

3. METHODOLOGY

Research Questions

Population

Sampling frame

Questionnaire

Interview

Geographic location

Data collection

Data analysis

Validity and Reliability

Findings

Limitation

Summary

4. RESULTS

Discussion

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusion

Implications

Recommendations

REFERENCES

Appendixes

6. A bibliography of the relevant literature that will be used for the dissertation.

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Borrowed Approach for a More Effective Business Education Journal of Management Education 2009 33:

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process. International Journal of Electrical Engineering Education; Apr.2007, Vol. 44 Issue 2, p109-225, 117p.

Donovan A.; McFarlane (2010). Accreditation Discrimination: Impact on School Choice, Costs, and

Professional Prospects in Academia. Academic Leadership online journal, Volume 8 Issue 4 Fall.

Eaton, Judith S. (2010). Accreditation and the Federal Future of Higher Education. Academe, Sep/Oct 2010,

Vol. 96 Issue 5, p21-24, 5p

Ghava Frankfort-Nachmias. David Nachmias. Research methods in the Social sciences, Seventh edition, 2008

p.12

Gunarati N. Damodar „Basic Econometrics“, 4th edition Mc Grow Hill, page 30

Gundersen D.; Jennings S.; Dunn D.; Fisher W.; Mikhail Kouliavtsev, Rogers V. (2011) A Pillar For Successful

Business School Accreditation: Conducting The Curriculum Review Process – A systematic Approach

American Journal of Business Education; May 2011; 4, 5; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 39

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Accreditation on Faculty Salaries and Productivity. Journal of Education for Business, 85: 284–291, Taylor &

Francis Group, LLC

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Motivations. University of Canterbury, 132 pages

Howard Thomas, Eric Cornuel, (2011) "Business school futures: evaluation and perspectives", Journal of

Management Development, Vol. 30 Iss: 5, pp.444 – 450

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Management Learning & Education, Vol. 7, No. 2, 244.

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CEOs Journal of Applied Business Research; May/Jun 2011; 27, 3; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 93

Julian S., Ofori-Dankwa J.; (2006) Is Accreditation Good for the Strategic Decision Making of Traditional

Business Schools? Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2006, Vol. 5, No. 2, 225–233.

Julie Pallant. A Step by Step Guide by Data Analysis Using SPSS Analysis for Windows. Open University

Press, p.20: 2007

Leif, Douglas (2001). IS Program Issues: from Origin to Accreditation. IRMA International Conference p.49-57

Lejeune, Christophe; Vas, Alain (2009). Organizational culture and effectiveness in business schools: a test of

the accreditation impact. The Journal of Management Development, Volume 28, Number 8, pp. 728-741(14)

Leslie W. Weisenfeld and Ida B. Robinson-Backmon (2007) ISSUES IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION Vol. 22,

No. 3 Accounting Faculty Perception Regarding Diversity Issues and Academic Environment pp. 429–445

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Business Education: The Vacuum in AACSB Standard Management Learning,

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New Legitimacy of Canadian Business SchoolsCanadian Joumal of Administrative Sciences

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tool, in Lynnette B. Erickson, Nancy Wentworth (ed.) Tensions in Teacher Preparation: Accountability,

Assessment, and Accreditation (Advances in Research on Teaching, Volume 12), Emerald Group Publishing

Limited, pp.11-33

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Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC: Sage.

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Education, Childhood and early child hood studies students, 2011: Continuum P.80

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the Road to Success? Umeå School of Business, Spring semester, 161 pages

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Education for Business, March-April, 202-211

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EQUIS accreditation reports. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education; Dec.2004, Vol. 29 Issue 6, p735-

750, 16p, 2 Revue canadienne des sciences de l'administration 22(4), 288-301

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Alternative costs, Benefits, and Motivation Journal for Education in Business, Ebsco publishing, March-April,

197-204

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Education, 2008, Vol. 7, No. 2, 245–255.

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Preparation: Accountability, Assessment, and Accreditation (Advances in Research on Teaching, Volume 12),

Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.105-121

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Analysis Academy of Management Learning & Education, Vol. 9, No. 3, 520–531.

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http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/overview.asp

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