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1 – 10 of over 8000Andrew Chean Yang Yew, Dickson K.W. Chiu, Yuriko Nakamura and King Kwan Li
Advancements in technology have led to many changes in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS). As global communications and technology continue to become more…
Abstract
Purpose
Advancements in technology have led to many changes in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS). As global communications and technology continue to become more available and sophisticated, LIS programs need to prepare students for employment in rapidly changing and globalized LIS professions.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from a total of 63 programs from the American Library Association (ALA) and 32 programs from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) was collected through openly accessible websites of these programs. Areas explored include program name, name and level of the academic unit offering the program, credit hours, required courses, percentage of required courses and capstone measurements used within the different LIS programs.
Findings
A majority of programs still preserve the keyword “Library” in their name, but not the academic units offering them. Most programs in ALA and CILIP follow a semester-based program. Research methods, internships, practical experience, combined with traditional library core and information technology requirements were found to constitute the major subjects in general. Comprehensive exams were replaced by e-portfolios among ALA programs while a dissertation remains the preferred choice of capstone requirement for CILIP.
Originality/value
Scant studies compare accredited LIS programs worldwide, motivating the study of the similarities, differences and trends of LIS programs under the current globalized technology-driven knowledge economy. This paper seeks to fill the literature gap and promote a global discussion and understanding of LIS curricula in different regions of the world, guiding potential students to select their suitable LIS programs.
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Thomas G. Noland, Shawn Mauldin and Robert L. Braun
The purpose of this study is twofold. The first purpose is to inform faculty who are thinking of becoming a department head about the challenges they face if they choose to pursue…
Abstract
The purpose of this study is twofold. The first purpose is to inform faculty who are thinking of becoming a department head about the challenges they face if they choose to pursue a department head opportunity. The second purpose is to provide insight into the leadership of the accounting departments by looking at various workload aspects of department heads. The authors surveyed accounting department heads from programs with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accounting accreditation, AACSB business only accreditation, and non-AACSB accreditation. Surveys were sent to 918 individuals listed as the leader of an accounting program in the 2016–2017 Hasselback Accounting Directory with 144 individuals responding (15.7% response rate). In addition to the workload of the department head in the areas of teaching, research, and service, the study analyzed the major challenges and difficulties the department head faces. The study also sought responses from survey participants on additional issues such as the benefits of AACSB accreditation and compensation.
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This paper aims to examine current trends in business accreditation by describing and comparing the major international business accreditation agencies (Association to Advance…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine current trends in business accreditation by describing and comparing the major international business accreditation agencies (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, European Quality Improvement System, Association of MBAs, Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs and International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education), and analyze their recent market expansion strategies (development and penetration using Ansoff model) as they compete for the schools seeking initial or continuing accreditation.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a comparative study of the business accreditation agencies and their competitive strategies, using publically available data such as lists of accredited schools published by the agencies as main data collection method.
Findings
Business accreditation agencies have utilized the market penetration and market development strategies to expand their market share in recent years. The key growth areas are international schools, regional teaching-oriented institutions, two-year institutions and for-profit institutions.
Research limitations/implications
This study is based on publically available data published by accreditation agencies. More in-depth analysis with survey method could be utilized in future study to identify more specific strategies and their impact on business schools seeking accreditation.
Practical implications
Accreditation is no longer a luxury but a requirement for business schools, but they have to make an informed decision on which agency to pursue to assure an appropriate fit.
Social implications
The public needs to understand the value and the requirements of accreditation. Multiple agencies provide different options to fit the missions of the different types of schools.
Originality/value
This study is valuable to business school stakeholders for understanding accreditation, the need for accreditation and the options they have available.
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John F. McKenna, Chester C. Cotton and Stuart Van Auken
New AACSB accreditation standards focus on the school′s missionstatement: its emphases on teaching, research, and service to industry;and, within “research”, on basic and applied…
Abstract
New AACSB accreditation standards focus on the school′s mission statement: its emphases on teaching, research, and service to industry; and, within “research”, on basic and applied research and instructional development. Deans (n = 275) of accredited and non‐accredited business schools evaluated the change potential for their school of the new AACSB accreditation standards. They reported their schools′ current and future emphases on teaching, research, and service to industry; and on basic and applied research and instructional development. As predicted, accredited and non‐accredited schools responded differently to the revised standards.
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Leopold Bayerlein and Mel Timpson
The purpose of this paper is to assess the overall alignment of undergraduate accounting degree programmes from all Certified Practicing Accountants Australia and Chartered…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the overall alignment of undergraduate accounting degree programmes from all Certified Practicing Accountants Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand accredited higher education providers in Australia with the profession’s minimum educational expectations (MEEs).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a series of quantitative and qualitative analyses to determine whether or not the content and focus of these programmes prepares students for contemporary accounting practice.
Findings
The results of these analyses demonstrate that most accredited undergraduate accounting degrees in Australia are largely unaligned with the profession’s expectations, with 18 (out of 57) degree programmes showing no overlap between their learning outcomes and the profession’s MEEs. In addition, only two (out of 57) programmes are shown to address all of the profession’s minimum expectations. A subsequent analysis of the focus and structure of the evaluated degree-level learning outcomes revealed additional inconsistencies between the interpretation of individual MEEs by the profession and the higher education sector.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates that accredited undergraduate degrees are predominantly unable to prepare students for entry into the accounting profession, and that the prior efforts to align accounting curricula with the profession’s needs and expectation have thus far been largely unsuccessful. The findings of this paper are relevant for higher education providers and the accounting profession because they reflect the current level of alignment between the content and focus of undergraduate accounting education and the profession’s expectations. In addition, the findings of this paper highlight that the current accreditation process of the professional accounting bodies in Australia does not generate the desired alignment between academia and accounting practice.
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The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between engineering programme accreditation (EPA) and institutional performance (IP) using perceptual measures. Two IP…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between engineering programme accreditation (EPA) and institutional performance (IP) using perceptual measures. Two IP dimensions have been explored to test this relationship, namely, graduate employability and student retention and attrition.
Design/methodology/approach
This quantitative research is based on the perceptions of 211 academic staff holding a range of positions within 15 higher education institutions located in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC). Linear regression was used to test the relationships in the data.
Findings
The empirical analyses proved that EPA has a statistically significant positive relationship with the IP dimensions, namely, graduate employability, student retention and attrition.
Research limitations/implications
A few limitations were encountered while conducting this study. Most of the accredited engineering programmes are located in the United Arab Emirates and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (nearly 73%). The online survey was the only option available for the researcher to reach some universities rather than using a face-method to collect data. Another limitation is the availability of only five accredited programmes in some countries such as Oman, where the researcher is based, meaning that the researcher had to devote extra time and effort to contact the other five countries by emails, telephone calls and travel to attain a reasonable survey sample size.
Practical implications
There are many implications of these findings for the universities, employers and economies of the GCC. All GCC countries are concerned about high unemployment rates; for example, the rate of youth unemployment reached 41% in KSA. Adopting EPA for all academic programmes will eliminate the mismatch between the skills graduate students develop while they are studying and those skills required of them when they are practising their job in industry. Although the jobs market is determined by the wider economy, accredited programmes may help graduates to obtain employment because employers are more able to recruit students who graduate from accredited programmes. Universities aim to retain students until graduation and improving student retention and lowering attrition rate brings many direct and indirect benefits to universities, including saving governments’ financial resources.
Originality/value
This study is the first to examine the relationship between EPA and IP within the six GCC region as a whole.
Andrea Everard, Jennifer Edmonds and Kent St. Pierre
The main contribution of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) appears to be the credibility they add to a school that has achieved accreditation and…
Abstract
Purpose
The main contribution of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) appears to be the credibility they add to a school that has achieved accreditation and the branding they provide to an accredited school that helps the market differentiate between high quality programs and those that have not achieved that status. The authors ask a simple question in this paper – if the AACSB were a business school, would it receive accreditation?
Design/methodology/approach
The paper tests the assumptions by examining all accredited US programs to determine whether the quality of the schools accredited prior to the change to the mission-driven approach was equal to the quality of the schools accredited after the change.
Findings
The paper empirically demonstrate that since the move to a mission-driven focus in the early 1990s, the AACSB has not achieved its own mission and may have damaged its credibility in the process.
Research limitations/implications
This failure raises the question of whether the organization actually provides the necessary information for third parties to differentiate between high quality business programs and those that do not meet the same standards. This puts into question the value of the AACSB brand.
Practical implications
The AACSB has the ability and responsibility to do better in its role as the main accreditation body for business schools.
Originality/value
It is the hope that the insight provided in this paper will initiate a serious discussion about the role of the AACSB in the determination of quality in business schools and how this role can be enhanced.
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– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of AACSB accreditation on the autonomy and costs of limited resource institutions whose missions are primarily teaching.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of AACSB accreditation on the autonomy and costs of limited resource institutions whose missions are primarily teaching.
Design/methodology/approach
To evaluate the research questions, a content analysis of all publications in the EBSCO Business Source Premier Database for the period January 1, 1990 through December 15, 2012 was conducted.
Findings
The findings indicate that in the process of becoming AACSB accredited, faculty members of the subject institutions shift their focus more toward research and less toward teaching activities, and that the institutions become less autonomous and more like their benchmark AACSB institutions. In addition, the costs of AACSB accreditation are likely to be significant for the subject institutions.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of the study point to the need for additional theoretical and empirical research related to the research questions. First, there is a need to formulate a conceptual framework for clearly identifying and measuring the implicit and explicit costs, including all of the opportunity costs, associated with accreditation. In addition, there is a compelling need to develop a conceptual framework and measurement system that will allow business schools to better assess their quality and productivity. For limited resource institutions whose missions are primarily teaching this system should comport with the schools’ teaching missions.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that the subject institutions seeking AACSB accreditation should carefully consider a number of questions before pursing accreditation. First, is the institution's mission congruent with AACSB standards or will its mission have to be changed? If AACSB accreditation is deemed to be appropriate, how will the associated changes in resource needs and resource allocation serve to further the institution's mission? And, what are the incremental costs of accreditation, and does the institution have the resource base to sustain accreditation?
Originality/value
The study is the first to conduct a detailed content analysis to evaluate some of the costs and benefits of AACSB accreditation for limited resource institutions whose missions are primarily teaching.
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The aim of this paper is to present the findings of a comprehensive study of enterprise and entrepreneurship education provision in England's 131 Higher Education Institutions…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to present the findings of a comprehensive study of enterprise and entrepreneurship education provision in England's 131 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The paper is based upon the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE) mapping study of formal and informal activity conducted in 2006.
Design/methodology/approach
All HEIs in England were invited to complete an online institutional mapping template seeking data on enterprise and entrepreneurship accredited programmes/modules, non‐accredited enterprise and entrepreneurship provision and other institutional characteristics that support enterprise and entrepreneurship development. The research team maintained regular contact with all HEIs to maximise participation and to provide support where requested. A number of institutional visits were made by the research team both to introduce the study and to assist data entry where there was limited resource. The approach led to the collection of a unique and robust data set.
Findings
The results illuminate the scale and scope of dedicated provision for enterprise and entrepreneurship across the HE sector in England. Of all institutions, 94 per cent participated, ensuring that these results are analogous to a census report. The results further highlight the penetration of the student population and in particular the nature of their engagement.
Originality/value
This is the first time such an approach has been taken in England and the results are illuminating for academics, policy‐makers (particularly regional development agencies) and enterprise educators. The data provide an evidence base for supporting further development needs across the HE sector and offer opportunities for benchmarking and the exchange of practice, knowledge and experience.
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This paper aims to highlight the unique characteristics and homogeneity of the Canadian accredited programs in library and information studies compared with those programs in the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to highlight the unique characteristics and homogeneity of the Canadian accredited programs in library and information studies compared with those programs in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
Each year the Association for Library and Information Science (ALISE) collects statistics from accredited graduate programs. By disaggregating the American and Canadian information and limiting the data to the accredited degree program only, comparisons could be drawn between the two data sets. The generalizations and themes were then validated by comparison with the recent history of development of Canadian schools.
Findings
The history of development of Canadian graduate programs and the national context has resulted in programs that are more homogenous than diverse. The programs are housed in public research institutions, with competition for spaces. The students are full‐time, studying a curriculum with more required courses. Faculty have more time for research. Access is an issue. The profession is generally satisfied, but points to inadequacies in education for management and favors more internships.
Research limitations/implications
While commenting on developments and trends the report relies primarily on three secondary sources, thus creating a snapshot.
Practical implications
The separation of Canadian and American models allows for greater attention to national approaches providing a beginning point for discussion, analysis and suggestions for further study.
Originality/value
This paper is based on a presentation to the ALA President's Forum on International Library Education in June, 2006. Both American and Canadian participants demonstrated limited knowledge of the subject and urged publication. No such explication has appeared previously.
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