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Business School Accreditation

Image for article on MBA degrees

New article – Managing MBA Degree Offers as a Portfolio

By | Resource

Image for article on MBA degreesRead a recent article that calls for greater focus on degree connectivity when managing MBA offerings. The article has been co-authored by Ulrich Hommel (Xolas), Joanne Powell (QED) and Sarah Hardcastle (Hardcastle and Associates); and published in MBA International Review, Nr. 82, pp. 14-16.   A copy of the article is also available here.

This article focuses on the advantages of managing a portfolio of MBA degrees as a portfolio. Whilst this might sound tautological, it reflects our experience that many business schools continue to run MBA programs on a relatively stand-alone basis, which can be explained by path dependency or internal governance arrangements. More typical is what we term the traditional portfolio approach, a focus on increasing gross revenue returns via market segmentation and realizing cost economies by pooling activities across programs.

We suggest a complementary and generally overlooked viewpoint that offering MBA programs with within portfolio connectivity in mind can help to realize revenue (and additional cost) synergies that increase gross returns in the aggregate. They will “carry the day” if outweighing the opportunity cost of de-segmentation of the overall offer.

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ANZQAN Takeaways 2022

By | Conference Update, Resource

ANZQAN Takeaways

 

After the ANZQAN Conference, one attendee reached-out to us with, “all generally share the same challenges, but there are so many different ways to approach those challenges”. This is where the real benefit of these events arises – the ability to hear alternative approaches to challenges and perhaps be inspired to find more innovative approaches within our own domains.

Below are our takeaways:

Key Learning #1: There was a great Dean’s Panel discussion on managing accreditation strategies.  This covered a variety of themes but the key take-away and reminder was to “keep doing the small (everyday) stuff” and not just wait for the “big events” to happen.  This comment took place in the context of sustainability and a reminder that everyone has a role to play (and the importance of discussing and sharing good practice).  However, it resonated more widely as a reminder that change is often present in a multitude of smaller habits that take place consistently.  “We are what we repeatedly do: Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.”(Will Durant, attributed to Aristotle)

Key Learning #2: There was some great sharing of good practice related to socialising the mission. We really liked the suggestion to “embrace mission in both function and optics”.  It spoke to the importance of ensuring that an organisation’s mission needs to be front and centre of

  1. discussions, decisions and strategy (function)
  1. documents, merchandise, and other visuals (optics)

By embracing both function and optics, schools (or other organisations) are better placed to optimise the integration of the mission into every-day operations and strategy.

Key Learning #3: Internationalisation was a key topic for multiple reasons – including both general challenges arising from the Covid 19 pandemic, as well as ongoing geo-political challenges in several regions of the world.  Reference was made to EFMD’s internationalisation framework (EFMD Accredited Process Manual Annexes (Annex 10, page 61)) OR  EQUIS Standards and Criteria 2022 (last section of Chapter 8, page 73, “Further Guidance on Assessing Internationalisation” ) with one school (Curtin) illustrating how it has developed a set of parameters for each of the 12 dimensions of internationalisation (across the four categories of Policy, Content, Context and Network).  The parameters for each dimension outline what characterises low, medium and high performance, in line with the School’s own mission and strategy.  This seems like an excellent way to frame a School’s internationalisation priorities and a great example of good practice.

Finally, both EFMD and AACSB presented to the meeting.  A key takeaway from each that might be of interest:

  • EFMD: The EFMD update included the news that in certain (limited) circumstances, eligibility (for schools in the initial EQUIS process) may be extended to 48 months rather than limited to the current 24 months.  This potentially impacts the length of time available to complete the Self Assessment Report (SAR) and Peer Review Visit for schools that have significant, key areas to address and where it makes sense to delay the process.  Such situations are likely to require the approval of the EQUIS Board and Schools will be required to complete some interim reporting.  No further details are publicly available to date, but QED expects that the 2023 Process Documentation will include updated guidance.  In the interim, we suggest that any questions are submitted directly to your EFMD account manager or advisor.
  • AACSB’s session focused on reporting for positive societal impact.  There was a lot of good advice here, but the key points noted were: i) ensure the vision for positive societal impact is identified clearly in the context of a School’s mission and values;  and ii) consider using ‘counter factuals’ to help conversation (e.g. “What would happen if we didn’t do xyz?”)

For advice and further details on any of the above, please contact the QED Accreditation Team at info@QEDaccreditation.com.

 

QED Advisor nominated for LIFT Award

By | News, Resource

QED advisor,  Joanne Powell, has been nominated for a LIFT (https://liftireland.ie/) award in the leadership category of Competence. Her nomination included reference to her “love for learning and self improvement and implementing change for the betterment of the organisation” and also noted that she “is highly respected and hugely trusted because of her competency.

LIFT Ireland is a social enterprise aimed at increasing the level of positive leadership in Ireland.  All nominations are being reviewed in the coming weeks, with the shortlist being announced in early January, before the live awards ceremony (date tbc).  To learn more about the LIFT values and LIFT process, visit https://liftireland.ie/about/

Email QED to learn more

AABS Deans’ & Directors’ Forum 2022

By | Conference Update, Resource

AABS Deans’ & Directors’ Forum 2022

 

The AABS (Association of African Business Schools) forum for Deans & Directors was almost three days of learning, meeting people, amazing conversations and discovering.  While QED, specifically our Joanne, attended the conference as a speaker and below are the takeaways from the Forum:

1. Sometimes if you don’t disrupt, you may end up getting disrupted! 

In his keynote, Prof Fred Olayele (Carleton University, Canada) spoke to the need for those involved in business education to take a step back and really think about not just WHAT they do, but also HOW they do it.  A key challenge lies in policy innovation and the fact that forging a ‘more dynamic economy’ across Africa requires (in addition to research etc) more openness to experimentation, testing, piloting and prototyping – all with the focus of creating more innovative approaches to the policy development process.

Key Question: What can business schools (not just in Africa) do to ‘move the needle’ in terms of business sector innovation? 

2. Peter Diamandis’ 6D Framework 

Kevin Allen spoke around exponential organisations and the challenges therein. There was so much to digest, but it was good to be reminded of Peter Diamandis’ 6D framework to describe the basic roadmap of technical innovation.  The 6 Ds are: Digitize, Deceptive, Disruptive, Demonitize, Dematerialize, and Democratise. An explanation of each is available at https://www.diamandis.com/blog/the-6ds

Key Question: Where does the use of technology within << Test Organisation >> sit on Diamandis’ 6D Framework and what else should/could your organisation (or department) be doing to move further along the technical innovation roadmap? 

3. Fast beats Slow 

What a privilege it was to listen to both Tim Mescon and Jon Foster-Pedley on the topic of Deanship.  Our take-away was watching how both these leaders shared an incredible richness of experience and wisdom with humility, lack of ego and generosity. There was much to choose from, but we think the focus on being clear on your purpose and really working to explicate the distinctiveness of your organisation were some of the key points. We were particularly struck by Tim’s reminder that “fast beats slow” – and the need to be agile and nimble (rather than large) so that the organisation can adapt to the changing context.  Whilst the challenge was posed to deans and directors, there is a sense that this guidance is valid for all of us in some way within our own individual roles.

Key Question: What small thing could you do within your role (whativer your organisation) to improve adaptability in a changing context? 

For advice and further details on any of the above, please contact the QED Accreditation Team at info@QEDaccreditation.com.

 

 

Accreditation Fees & Costs – Nov 2022

By | Resource

Accreditation Costs

There are several facets to the costs of accreditation:
  1. Payments made to the relevant accreditation bodies and comprise a mix of membership fees, accreditation fees and other expenses etc.  These are relatively fixed and easy to estimate (see link below).
  2. Staffing and advisory costs to support accreditation.  These are harder to estimate, and depend on several factors. For example:
    • Will there be an accreditation team with sufficient time and experience to manage the full accreditation process?
    • Are there additional faculty allowances given to accreditation?
    • Will the School require some external input, to support the internal resources?
  3. Investment Costs:  These vary hugely from school to school and naturally depend on each School’s strategic priorities.  Of course, strategic investment costs are not always linked to accreditation: Some strategic decisions will be made regardless of accreditation plans.  Others may only be made as a consequence of accreditation.

QED has listed the costs and fees associated with each of the accreditation bodies (#1 above), valid as of 11 November 2022.  These can be viewed here.

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AACSB Business Accreditation Standards: Updates 2022

By | Resource

AACSB Business Accreditation Standards: Updates 2022

AACSB significantly updated its Business Accreditation Standards in 2020.  Since then it issues annual amendments and updates – usually on 1 July.

QED’s overview of the updates made as part of the 2022 publication, together with an assessment of the significance of the change can be found in this downloadable PDF file.

Many of the updates reflect clarification and additional explanation. However, there are a small number of changes which could potentially impact schools (particularly those schools that are pre-eligibility). As always, QED recommends that all schools within an AACSB accreditation process (whether initial or renewal) should review and ensure they have understood the changes and clarifications.

NB: QED’s material represents QED’s interpretation of the AACSB Updates.  We always recommend that you view the updated standards directly – which are available from AACSB’s website in the following formats: 

As above, QED’s summary of the updates across the key documents is available in this downloadable PDF file.

For advice and further details on any of the above, please contact the QED Accreditation Team at info@QEDaccreditation.com.