Alumni Perceptions of AACSB Accreditation to the Undergraduate Program

Alumni Perceptions of AACSB Accreditation to the Undergraduate Program Juan M. Dempere, Metropolitan State College of Denver Ramon Griffin, Metropolitan State College of Denver Paul Camp, Metropolitan State College of Denver ABSTRACT A major objective of many business schools worldwide is to achieve AACSB accreditation. This distinction is considered to be among the most prestigious achievable by business schools. Metropolitan State College of Denver (Metro State), a four year undergraduate only institution, is currently in the early phases of working toward such accreditation. The major goal of this article was to provide statistical evidence about whether and how much graduates of Metro State s business program have been disadvantaged because the program is not among AACSB accredited schools. The results of this article suggest that the negative effects of the lack of AACSB accreditation on Metro s alumni are negligible. Almost ¾ of the respondents or 576 out of 770 respondents (74.81%) have not heard about the AACSB accreditation, and just 194 out of 770, or 25.19 percent have heard about this accreditation. The results provide clear evidence that the lack of AACSB accreditation had a minimum negative impact on the respondent s access to graduate programs, professional marketability, career options, earning potential, obtaining the job skills needed to be successful, obtaining the knowledge needed to succeed, or on the quality of the faculty members to whom they were exposed. Finally, our results also suggest that most respondents seems to strongly agree and simply agree in perceived potential benefits associated with the AACSB accreditation. The perceived benefits still exist in the mind of most respondents even after indicating that the Metro State's lack of AACSB accreditation had almost no impact in many aspects of their professional and academic life after graduation. INTRODUCTION A major objective of many business schools worldwide is to achieve AACSB accreditation. This distinction is considered to be among the most prestigious achievable by business schools. Metropolitan State College of Denver (Metro State), a four year undergraduate only institution, is currently in the early phases of working toward such accreditation. One of the questions frequently posed in discussions regarding this endeavor has been whether and how much graduates of Metro State s business program have been disadvantaged because the program is not among AACSB accredited schools. 1

This paper reports the results of an alumni survey of Metro State s business school. The sample was drawn from a sampling frame of some 4000 Metro State business alumni, and an online questionnaire was used to assess the degree to which the respondents believe that achieving this distinction would have been helpful to them in securing their employment or furthering their careers. The questionnaire requested various demographic, job related, and educational data as well as questions about the perceived benefits to the sample of achieving AACSB accreditation. Additional questions were designed to determine whether the lack of accreditation on the part of Metro State s School of Business has hampered respondents either in their careers or in pursuit of a graduate education. The results of this article suggest that the negative effects of the lack of AACSB accreditation on Metro s alumni are negligible. Almost ¾ of the respondents or 576 out of 770 respondents (74.81%) have not heard about the AACSB accreditation, and just 194 out of 770, or 25.19 percent have heard about this accreditation. The results provide clear evidence that the lack of AACSB accreditation had a minimum negative impact on the respondent s access to graduate programs, professional marketability, career options, earning potential, obtaining the job skills needed to be successful, obtaining the knowledge needed to succeed, or on the quality of the faculty members to whom they were exposed. Finally, our results also suggest that most respondents seems to strongly agree and simply agree in perceived potential benefits associated with the AACSB accreditation. The perceived benefits still exist in the mind of most respondents even after admitting that the Metro State's lack of AACSB accreditation had almost no impact in many aspects of their professional and academic life after graduation. The rest of this paper is organized as follows: section 1 summarizes the relevant literature review on this topic; section 2 provides an overview of the data used in this article; section 3 describes our major empirical results; section 4 summarizes the major findings; and section 5 lists the bibliographic sources mentioned in this article. LITERATURE REVIEW Daily, Farewell, and Kumar (2007) Daily, Farewell, and Kumar (2007) study the factors affecting the decision of a foreign student to select a business institution in the U.S. In particular, they analyze the impact of AACSB accreditation to this decision by the students. They find that respondents misunderstand the meaning of AACSB accreditation. However, they also find that AACSB accreditation is a critical factor for students in the choice of an educational institution. McGeel (1999) addresses some ethical problems with the accreditation standards that the AACSB requires of its accredited institutions. He mentions the monopoly represented by the AACSB in the sense that it is the only accreditation agency that has the approval of the U.S. Department of Education to accredit business schools. (McGeel, 1999, page 471). This monopolistic position results in lower quality and higher prices and prevents other accreditation agencies from entering the market. DATA Our sample was selected from the database provided by the Office of Information Services and Alumni at Metropolitan State College of Denver. Their database consisted of 14,552 records of business alumni by spring 2009, of which 5,120 have e-mail addresses and 9,432 have mailing addresses but not e-mail addresses. Due to cost constrains we decided to perform an e-mail survey, so we used the first group of 5,120 business alumni. After applying the survey, we 2

determined a total of 258 invalid e-mail addresses, so our final group of potential respondents was 4,862. This group constitutes 33.41 percent of the total business alumni universe (14,552) at Metro State. From the group, we received 770 responses, and this number represents 15.84 percent of the 4,862 alumni with valid e-mail addresses, and 5.29 percent of the total universe of 14,552 business alumni at Metro State. This small percentage means that any inferences or conclusions derived from this survey will have associated a significant margin of error. This is one of the major limitations of our results, but this is one quite common for most survey-based research efforts, particularly e-mail based surveys. RESULTS Table 1 shows summary statistics about demographic information collected with our survey. About 61% of the participants are male while just 39% are female. Most respondents studied a major in management (24.16%) and accounting (23.51%). Regarding ethnic heritage, most students identify themselves as white American (77.40%), followed by Hispanic or Latino students (10.13%). Most respondents graduated from Metro State over 60 months ago (76.75%), they are full time employed (75.19%) and have ages that range from 36 to 55 years old (47.92%). Similarly, most respondents earn an annual salary between $40K and $79,999 (42.86%), most work for large organizations (43.33% work for employers with more than 1K employees), and the most common type of function is accounting (20.34%) followed by information technology (11.44%). More than half of respondents have no academic achievements after graduation from Metro State (54.31%), and the most common academic achievement after graduation among those that decided to continue their education is professional certification (12.98%). Finally, regarding to the question about the respondents awareness of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business or AACSB accreditation, most of them (74.81%) are not aware of it, while just 25.19% are aware of it. Table 1. Summary Statistics Gender: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Male 466 60.60% Female 303 39.40% Academic Major: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Accounting 181 23.51% Comp. Info. Syst. 105 13.64% Economics 14 1.82% Finance 67 8.70% Management 186 24.16% Marketing 90 11.69% Other 127 16.49% 3

Age: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Less than 25 33 4.29% 26-35 177 22.99% 36-45 164 21.30% 46-55 205 26.62% 56 65 158 20.52% 66 or higher 30 3.90% Prefer not to report 3 0.39% Ethnic Background: Responses: Percentage: Chart: White American 596 77.40% African American 35 4.55% Asian American 17 2.21% Hispanic or Latino(a) 78 10.13% American Indian and Alaska Native 4 0.52% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 2 0.26% Prefer not to report 24 3.12% Other 14 1.82% Graduation Year: Responses: Percentage: Chart: 2008 (within the last 12 months) 69 8.96% 2007 (within the last 13 to 24 months) 14 1.82% 2006 (within the last 25 to 36 months) 24 3.12% 2005 (within the last 37 to 48 months) 38 4.94% 2004 (within the last 49 to 60 months) 34 4.42% Over 60 months ago 591 76.75% Employment Status: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Employed full-time (FT) 579 75.19% Employed part-time (PT) 43 5.58% Not employed, studying 7 0.91% Not employed, seeking employment 64 8.31% Not employed, not seeking employment 33 4.29% Retired 40 5.19% Prefer not to report 4 0.52% 4

Annual salary: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Less than $20K 46 6.77% $20K - $39,999 101 14.87% $40K - $59,999 174 25.63% $60K - $79,999 117 17.23% $80K - $99,999 106 15.61% $100K - $149,999 93 13.70% $150K - $250K 34 5.01% More than $250K 8 1.18% Type of function: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Accounting 144 20.34% Investment Management 0.28% 2 Brand/Product Management 0.85% 6 Manufacturing 0.85% 6 Consulting 3.39% 24 Marketing/Sales 9.32% 66 Financial Services 5.79% 41 General Management 7.49% 53 Operations 3.11% 22 Human Resources 2.12% 15 Information Technology 11.44% 81 Strategy/Planning 0.71% 5 Other 34.32% 243 Size of employer: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Small (less than 50) 203 29.42% Medium (between 50 and 1,000) 188 27.25% Large (more than 1,000) 299 43.33% Academic Achievements after graduation: Responses: Percentage: Chart: MBA 73 9.11% Master Degree other than an MBA 70 8.74% Ph.D./Doctorate 9 1.12% Professional Certification (CPA, CFP, CFA, etc.) 104 12.98% Another bachelor degree 27 3.37% None 435 54.31% Other 83 10.36% 5

Have you heard about the AACSB accreditation? Responses: Percentage: Chart: Yes 194 25.19% No 576 74.81% Table 2 shows summary statistics about seven aspects that may have been impaired or hurt respondents further education as a result of the Metro State's lack of AACSB accreditation. Each aspect is measured using a Likert-type scale ranging from one to five, where one is Not at all and five is Extremely. The respondents that selected Not Applicable or Unsure are treated separately. Table 2 also shows summary statistics about the mean responses of these seven aspects including the mean and standard deviation. The results of this table include exclusively the perceptions of those respondents who have heard about the AACSB accreditation (179 out of 770 respondents). Table 2. Summary & Descriptive Statistics To what extent has Metro State's lack of AACSB accreditation impaired or hurt: Your access to graduate programs. Responses: Percentage: Chart: Not at all 80 44.69% Somewhat 24 13.41% Moderately 13 7.26% Very much 12 6.70% Extremely 1 0.56% Not Applicable 21 11.73% Unsure 28 15.64% Your professional marketability. Responses: Percentage: Chart: Not at all 90 50.28% Somewhat 20 11.17% Moderately 20 11.17% Very much 6 3.35% Extremely 4 2.23% Not Applicable 10 5.59% Unsure 29 16.20% 6

Your career options. Responses: Percentage: Chart: Not at all 96 53.63% Somewhat 23 12.85% Moderately 14 7.82% Very much 10 5.59% Extremely 2 1.12% Not Applicable 8 4.47% Unsure 26 14.53% Your earning potential Responses: Percentage: Chart: Not at all 97 54.19% Somewhat 21 11.73% Moderately 19 10.61% Very much 7 3.91% Extremely 2 1.12% Not Applicable 8 4.47% Unsure 25 13.97% Obtaining the job skills you needed to be successful in your career. Responses: Percentage: Chart: Not at all 109 60.89% Somewhat 21 11.73% Moderately 6 3.35% Very much 16 8.94% Extremely 0 0% Not Applicable 7 3.91% Unsure 20 11.17% The knowledge you needed to succeed. Responses: Percentage: Chart: Not at all 109 60.89% Somewhat 21 11.73% Moderately 12 6.70% Very much 12 6.70% Extremely 0 0% Not Applicable 6 3.35% Unsure 19 10.61% 7

The quality of the faculty members to whom you were exposed at Metro State. Responses: Percentage: Chart: Not at all 89 49.72% Somewhat 21 11.73% Moderately 17 9.50% Very much 11 6.15% Extremely 4 2.23% Not Applicable 7 3.91% Unsure 30 16.76% Descriptive Statistics of each Factor Mean Std. Dev. N Your access to graduate programs. 1.692 1.033 130 Your professional marketability. 1.671 1.056 140 Your career options. 1.614 1.008 145 Your earning potential. 1.603 0.979 146 Obtaining the job skills you needed to be successful in your career. 1.533 0.983 152 The knowledge you needed to succeed. 1.526 0.937 154 The quality of the faculty members to whom you were exposed at Metro State. 1.732 1.117 142 Note: Std. Dev. stands for Standard Deviation. The descriptive statistics of Table 2 provides clear evidence that, for most respondents, the Metro State's lack of AACSB accreditation has not impaired or hurt any of the respondents aspects measured in our survey. In other words, the lack of AACSB accreditation had minimum negative impact on the respondent s access to graduate programs, professional marketability, career options, earning potential, obtaining the job skills needed to be successful, obtaining the knowledge needed to succeed, or on the quality of the faculty members to whom they were exposed at Metro State. As we mentioned before, the results of this table considers exclusively the perceptions of those respondents who have heard about the AACSB accreditation (194 out of 770 respondents). Table #3 provides the percentage over the total sample of those respondents that have heard about the AACSB accreditation and that have been extremely or very much impaired or hurt because of the Metro State s lack of accreditation. Table 3. Descriptive Statistics: Percentage of Affected Respondents over the Entire Sample Respondents that Selected Very much & Extremely Responses: Percentage: To what extent has Metro State's lack of AACSB accreditation impaired or hurt: Your access to graduate programs. 13 1.688% Your professional marketability. 10 1.299% Your career options. 12 1.558% Your earning potential 9 1.169% Obtaining the job skills you needed to be successful in your career. 16 2.078% The knowledge you needed to succeed. 12 1.558% 8

The quality of the faculty members to whom you were exposed at Metro State. 15 1.948% These results clearly suggest that in almost all the seven factors evaluated in our survey, between 1 and 2 percent of all respondents were extremely and very much impacted by the Metro State s lack of AACSB accreditation. These results suggest that the tangible benefits of the AACSB accreditation are negligible since the lack of it can only results in significant negative consequences for less than 2 percent of 770 respondents. Table 4 shows summary statistics about five statements about the AACSB accreditation. Each statement is measured using a Likert-type scale ranging from one to five, where one is Strongly Agree and five is Strongly Disagree. This table also shows summary statistics about the mean responses of these five statements including the mean and standard deviation. The descriptive statistics of Table 4 provides plain evidence that, for most respondents, the AACSB accreditation will provide benefits in terms of enhanced reputation for both the business program and its graduates, superior quality of the business faculty members, and increased academic standards. However, respondents seem to be unsure about whether the AACSB accreditation will increase the tuition costs. The results of table 4 suggest that most respondents seems to strongly agree and simply agree in perceived potential benefits associated with the AACSB accreditation. The perceived benefits still exist in the mind of most respondents even after admitting that the Metro State's lack of AACSB accreditation had almost no impact in many aspects of their professional and academic life after graduation, according to the results of the previous table 3. Table 4. Summary & Descriptive Statistics Please check the box that best expresses your personal opinion regarding the following statements. Achieving AACSB accreditation will enhance the reputation of MSCD s business program. Responses: Percentage: Chart: Strongly Agree 74 41.34% Agree 80 44.69% Unsure 24 13.41% Disagree 0 0% Strongly Disagree 1 0.56% Achieving AACSB accreditation will improve the quality of the MSCD s business faculty members. Responses: Percentage: Chart: Strongly Agree 46 25.70% Agree 52 29.05% Unsure 66 36.87% Disagree 15 8.38% Strongly Disagree 0 0% 9

Achieving AACSB accreditation will increase the tuition costs at MSCD. Responses: Percentage: Chart: Strongly Agree 17 9.50% Agree 68 37.99% Unsure 82 45.81% Disagree 11 6.15% Strongly Disagree 1 0.56% Achieving AACSB accreditation will enhance the reputation of MSCD s business graduates. Responses: Percentage: Chart: Strongly Agree 69 38.55% Agree 76 42.46% Unsure 27 15.08% Disagree 7 3.91% Strongly Disagree 0 0% Achieving AACSB accreditation will increase the academic standards of MSCD s business program. Responses: Percentage: Chart: Strongly Agree 54 30.17% Agree 74 41.34% Unsure 44 24.58% Disagree 7 3.91% Strongly Disagree 0 0% Descriptive Statistics of each statement Mean Std. Dev. N Achieving AACSB accreditation will enhance the reputation of MSCD s business program. 1.737 0.729 179 Achieving AACSB accreditation will improve the quality of the MSCD s business faculty members 2.279 0.942 179 Achieving AACSB accreditation will increase the tuition costs at MSCD. 2.503 0.774 179 Achieving AACSB accreditation will enhance the reputation of MSCD s business graduates. 1.844 0.820 179 Achieving AACSB accreditation will increase the academic standards of MSCD s business program. 2.022 0.841 179 Table 5 contains descriptive and summary statistics about five respondents factors that encouraged them to pursue their business degree at Metro State. Each factor is measured using a Likert-type scale ranging from one to five, where one is Not at all and five is Extremely. The respondents that selected Not Applicable are treated separately. The table also contains descriptive statistics about the mean responses of these seven factors including their means and standard deviations. 10

Table 5. Summary and Descriptive Statistics To what extent did the following factors encourage you to pursue your business degree at Metro State? Tuition fees Responses: Percentage: Chart: Not at all 75 10.84% Somewhat 103 14.88% Moderately 129 18.64% Very much 213 30.78% Extremely 152 21.97% Not Applicable 20 2.89% Location Responses: Percentage: Chart: Not at all 34 4.91% Somewhat 48 6.94% Moderately 94 13.58% Very much 288 41.62% Extremely 216 31.21% Not Applicable 12 1.73% Reputation of faculty members Responses: Percentage: Chart: Not at all 206 29.77% Somewhat 98 14.16% Moderately 191 27.60% Very much 133 19.22% Extremely 40 5.78% Not Applicable 24 3.47% Students Responses: Percentage: Chart: Not at all 287 41.47% Somewhat 126 18.21% Moderately 162 23.41% Very much 77 11.13% Extremely 14 2.02% Not Applicable 26 3.76% Reputation of the program/college Responses: Percentage: Chart: Not at all 115 16.62% Somewhat 109 15.75% Moderately 200 28.90% Very much 182 26.30% Extremely 65 9.39% Not Applicable 21 3.03% 11

Descriptive Statistics of each factor Mean Std. Dev. N Tuition fees 3.393 1.292 672 Location 3.888 1.085 680 Reputation of faculty members 2.555 1.274 668 Students 2.107 1.147 666 Reputation of the program/college 2.960 1.228 671 The descriptive statistics of Table 5 clearly suggest that most respondents consider Tuition fees and Location as the most important factors that encouraged them to pursue their business degree at Metro State (means of 3.393 and 3.888 respectively). The reputation of the program/college moderately explains the respondents selection of Metro State to pursue a business degree (mean of 2.960), while the reputation of the faculty members seems to have rather somewhat influence in their decision (mean of 2.5550). The Metro State s students clearly constitute the less important factor of the respondents choice (mean 2.107). Table 6 shows summary statistics about the respondents that have heard about the AACSB accreditation (referred to as Aware of AACSB henceforth and Unaware of it when the respondent has not heard about the AACSB accreditation) using the demographic variables gathered with our survey. The results are remarkably consistent among all categories, with just about ¼ aware of the ACCSB accreditation and about 25% that is unaware of it. Table 6. Summary Statistics: AACSB Accreditation Awareness by Demographic Variables Gender: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Male Aware of AACSB 124 26.61% Unaware of it 342 73.39% Female Aware of AACSB 69 22.77% Unaware of it 234 77.23% 12

Academic Major: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Accounting Aware of AACSB 52 28.73% Unaware of it 129 71.27% Computer Information System Aware of AACSB 32 30.48% Unaware of it 73 69.52% Economics Aware of AACSB 4 28.57% Unaware of it 10 71.43% Finance Aware of AACSB 16 23.88% Unaware of it 51 76.12% Management Aware of AACSB 49 26.34% Unaware of it 137 73.66% Marketing Aware of AACSB 22 24.44% Unaware of it 68 75.56% Other Aware of AACSB 19 15.08% Unaware of it 107 84.92% Size of employer: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Small (less than 50) Aware of AACSB 45 22.17% Unaware of it 158 77.83% Medium (between 50 and 1,000) Aware of AACSB 52 27.66% Unaware of it 136 72.34% Large (more than 1,000) Aware of AACSB 74 24.75% Unaware of it 225 75.25% 13

Age: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Less than 25 Aware of AACSB 10 30.30% Unaware of it 23 69.70% 26-35 Aware of AACSB 43 24.29% Unaware of it 134 75.71% 36-45 Aware of AACSB 39 23.78% Unaware of it 125 76.22% 46-55 Aware of AACSB 46 22.44% Unaware of it 159 77.56% 56 65 Aware of AACSB 48 30.38% Unaware of it 110 69.62% 66 or higher Aware of AACSB 7 23.33% Unaware of it 23 76.67% Prefer not to report Aware of AACSB 1 33.33% Unaware of it 2 66.67% Employment Status: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Employed full-time (FT) Aware of AACSB 141 24.35% Unaware of it 438 75.65% Employed part-time (PT) Aware of AACSB 10 23.26% Unaware of it 33 76.74% Not employed, studying Aware of AACSB 3 42.86% Unaware of it 4 57.14% Not employed, seeking employment Aware of AACSB 19 29.69% Unaware of it 45 70.31% Not employed, not seeking employment Aware of AACSB 9 27.27% Unaware of it 24 72.73% Retired Aware of AACSB 11 27.50% Unaware of it 29 72.50% Prefer not to report Aware of AACSB 1 25.00% 14

Unaware of it 3 75.00% Ethnic Background: Responses: Percentage: Chart: White American Aware of AACSB 152 25.50% Unaware of it 444 74.50% African American Aware of AACSB 10 28.57% Unaware of it 25 71.43% Asian American Aware of AACSB 5 29.41% Unaware of it 12 70.59% Hispanic or Latino(a) Aware of AACSB 18 23.08% Unaware of it 60 76.92% American Indian and Alaska Native Aware of AACSB 2 50.00% Unaware of it 2 50.00% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Aware of AACSB 0 0.00% Unaware of it 2 100.00% Prefer not to report Aware of AACSB 4 16.67% Unaware of it 20 83.33% Other Aware of AACSB 3 21.43% Unaware of it 11 78.57% Graduation Year: Responses: Percentage: Chart: 2008 (within the last 12 months) Aware of AACSB 25 36.23% Unaware of it 44 63.77% 2007 (within the last 13 to 24 months) Aware of AACSB 5 35.71% Unaware of it 9 64.29% 2006 (within the last 25 to 36 months) Aware of AACSB 5 20.83% Unaware of it 19 79.17% 2005 (within the last 37 to 48 months) Aware of AACSB 11 28.95% Unaware of it 27 71.05% 2004 (within the last 49 to 60 months) Aware of AACSB 9 26.47% Unaware of it 25 73.53% Over 60 months ago Aware of AACSB 139 23.52% 15

Unaware of it 452 76.48% Annual salary: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Less than $20K Aware of AACSB 14 30.43% Unaware of it 32 69.57% $20K - $39,999 Aware of AACSB 21 20.79% Unaware of it 80 79.21% $40K - $59,999 Aware of AACSB 48 27.59% Unaware of it 126 72.41% $60K - $79,999 Aware of AACSB 24 20.51% Unaware of it 93 79.49% $80K - $99,999 Aware of AACSB 29 27.36% Unaware of it 77 72.64% $100K - $149,999 Aware of AACSB 23 24.73% Unaware of it 70 75.27% $150K - $250K Aware of AACSB 8 23.53% Unaware of it 26 76.47% More than $250K Aware of AACSB 3 37.50% Unaware of it 5 62.50% Academic achievements after graduation: Responses: Percentage: Chart: MBA Aware of AACSB 30 41.10% Unaware of it 43 58.90% Master Degree other than an MBA Aware of AACSB 21 32.31% Unaware of it 44 67.69% Ph.D./Doctorate Aware of AACSB 3 42.86% Unaware of it 4 57.14% Professional Certification (CPA, CFP, CFA, etc.) Aware of AACSB 18 19.78% Unaware of it 73 80.22% Another bachelor degree Aware of AACSB 7 26.92% Unaware of it 19 73.08% None Aware of AACSB 99 22.76% Unaware of it 336 77.24% Other Aware of AACSB 16 22.54% 16

Unaware of it 55 77.46% Type of function: Responses: Percentage: Chart: Accounting Aware of AACSB 41 28.47% Unaware of it 103 71.53% Investment Management Aware of AACSB 1 50.00% Unaware of it 1 50.00% Brand/Product Management Aware of AACSB 3 50.00% Unaware of it 3 50.00% Manufacturing Aware of AACSB 0 0.00% Unaware of it 6 100.00% Consulting Aware of AACSB 5 20.83% Unaware of it 19 79.17% Marketing/Sales Aware of AACSB 19 28.79% Unaware of it 47 71.21% Financial Services Aware of AACSB 10 24.39% Unaware of it 31 75.61% General Management Aware of AACSB 16 30.19% Unaware of it 37 69.81% Operations Aware of AACSB 4 18.18% Unaware of it 18 81.82% Human Resources Aware of AACSB 8 53.33% Unaware of it 7 46.67% Information Technology Aware of AACSB 19 23.46% Unaware of it 62 76.54% Strategy/Planning Aware of AACSB 0 0.00% Unaware of it 5 100.00% Other Aware of AACSB 48 20.08% Unaware of it 191 79.92% In table 6, significant differences arise but just for those variables with a few responses. For example, 100% of all Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander have never heard about the AACSB accreditation. However, we had just 2 respondents within this category, so meaningful 17

inferences cannot be drawn from this result. We expected a higher level of AACSB awareness among those respondents with graduate studies. Nevertheless, just 30 out of 73 respondents (or 41.10%) who achieved an MBA after graduation at Metro State have heard about the AACSB accreditation. Similarly, 21 out of 65 respondents (or 32.31%) who achieved a master degree other than an MBA were aware of the AACSB accreditation. In the same way, although with just a few respondents, just 3 out of 7 respondents (or 42.86%) who achieved Ph.D./Doctorate degree were aware of the AACSB accreditation. These results are consistent with the question of employment status, where 3 out of 7 (or 42.86) of those who are not employed, but currently studying are aware of the AACSB accreditation. Finally, we also expected a higher level of AACSB awareness among those respondents working in some types of functions, particularly in functions related to human resources. However, only 8 out of 15, 53.33% of the respondents in this work category, have heard about the AACSB accreditation. Table 7 shows the results for the independent sample tests of the mean answers of two groups using the graduation year as the grouping variable. Respondents that graduated over 60 months ago are compared with those who graduated earlier than that. All the surveyed respondents factors that might be impaired or hurt as a result of the Metro State s lack of AACSB accreditation were evaluated, including the statements about the potential benefits of Metro s achievement this accreditation, and the surveyed factors that encouraged respondents to pursue their business degree at Metro State. Table 7. Independent Samples Test. Grouping Variable: Graduation Year Levene s Test for Groups N Mean Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means (Sig. 2-tailed) To what extent has Metro State's lack of AACSB accreditation impaired or hurt: Obtaining the job skills you needed to be successful in your career. > 60 months 132 2.098 F = 7.8111 t = -2.398 Sig. ( 0.0057) **** Equal variances not assumed 60 months 47 2.936 (0.0175) ** The knowledge you needed to succeed. > 60 months 132 2.076 F = 4.48211 t = -2.026 Sig. (0.03564) ** Equal variances not assumed 60 months 47 2.766 (0.0442) ** Notes: *, **, ***, and ****denote statistical significance at the 10%, 5%, 1%, and 0.1% significance levels, respectively. The first significant results were in the perceived negative impact at obtaining the job skills needed to be successful in the respondents careers. Respondents who graduated over 60 months ago consider on average that the Metro State s lack of AACSB accreditation had somewhat impaired obtaining these skills (mean of 2.098) compared to those who graduated earlier (mean of 2.936) that considered this negative impact as moderate. These results are significant at 5 percent level of confidence. The second significant results are in the perceived negative impact at obtaining the knowledge needed to succeed. Respondents who graduated over 60 months ago consider, on average, that the Metro State s lack of AACSB accreditation had somewhat impaired their obtaining the knowledge needed to succeed (mean of 2.076) compared to those who graduated earlier (mean of 2.766) that perceived this negative impact as rather moderate. The remaining factors and statements evaluated using the graduation year as the grouping 18

variable produce insignificant results that were not reported in this article. These results are also significant at 5 percent level of confidence. Table 8 shows the results for the independent sample tests of the mean answers of two groups using the academic achievements after graduation from Metro State as the grouping variable. Respondents with none academic achievement are compared with those some academic achievements after graduation. As in the previous table, all the surveyed respondents factors that might be impaired or hurt as a result of the Metro State s lack of AACSB accreditation were evaluated, including the statements about the potential benefits of Metro achieving this accreditation, and the surveyed factors that encouraged respondents to pursue their business degree at Metro State. Table 8. Independent Samples Test. Grouping Variable: Achievements after graduation from Metro State Levene s Test for Groups N Mean Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means (Sig. 2-tailed) To what extent has Metro State's lack of AACSB accreditation impaired or hurt: The quality of the faculty members to whom you were exposed at Metro State. None 91 3.088 F = 2.99479 t = 1.8265 Sig. ( 0.0853) * Equal variances not assumed Some 88 2.466 (0.0694) * Notes: *, **, ***, and ****denote statistical significance at the 10%, 5%, 1%, and 0.1% significance levels, respectively. The only significant result is about the perceived negative impact on the quality of the faculty members to whom the respondents were exposed at Metro State. Respondents with no academic achievements at all after graduation consider on average that the Metro State s lack of AACSB accreditation had moderately impaired the quality of the faculty members (mean of 3.088) compared to those with some type of academic achievement after graduation (mean of 2.466) that considered this negative impact less severe. These results are significant at 10 percent level of confidence. Table 9. Independent Samples Test. Grouping Variable: Accounting as Academic Major at MSCD Levene s Test for Groups N Mean Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means (Sig. 2-tailed) Please check the box that best expresses your personal opinion regarding the following statements: Achieving AACSB accreditation will enhance the reputation of MSCD s business program. Accounting 42 1.928 F = 6.1268 t = 1.93 Sig. ( 0.01445) ** Equal variances not assumed Other Major 107 1.692 (0.0571) * Notes: *, **, ***, and ****denote statistical significance at the 10%, 5%, 1%, and 0.1% significance levels, respectively. 19

Table 9 shows the results for the independent sample tests of the mean answers of two groups using the academic major as the grouping variable. Respondents with an academic major in accounting (accounting and management are the two largest groups of academic majors in terms of respondents, see table 2) are compared with those with an academic major in any other areas. We also analyzed students with major in management, but we find no significant results, so these results were not reported in this article. As in the previous table, all the surveyed respondents factors that might be impaired as a result of the Metro s lack of AACSB accreditation were evaluated, including the statements about the potential benefits of this accreditation, and the surveyed factors that encouraged respondents to pursue their business degree at Metro State. The only significant result is on the perception that achieving AACSB accreditation will enhance the reputation of MSCD s business program. Respondents with a major in accounting agree on this statement less than those with a major in other area (mean of 1.928 vs. 1.692). These results are significant at 10 percent level of confidence. CONCLUSIONS Metro State is currently in the early phases of working toward such accreditation. The major goal of this article was to provide statistical evidence about whether and how much graduates of Metro State s business program have been disadvantaged because the program is not among AACSB accredited schools. The results of this article suggest that the negative effects of the lack of AACSB accreditation on Metro s alumni are negligible. Almost ¾ of the respondents or 576 out of 770 respondents (74.81%) have not heard about the AACSB accreditation, and just 194 out of 770, or 25.19 percent have heard about this accreditation. The results provide clear evidence that for most respondents the Metro State's lack of AACSB accreditation has not impaired or hurt any of the seven aspects measured in our survey. In other words, the lack of AACSB accreditation had a minimum negative impact on the respondent s access to graduate programs, professional marketability, career options, earning potential, obtaining the job skills needed to be successful, obtaining the knowledge needed to succeed, or on the quality of the faculty members to whom they were exposed at Metro State. These results are based exclusively on the perceptions of those respondents who have heard about the AACSB accreditation (194 out of 770 respondents). Regarding to those respondents who have been extremely or very much impaired or hurt because of the Metro State s lack of accreditation, our results clearly suggest that in almost all the seven factors evaluated in our survey, these respondents represent between 1 and 2 percent of our survey. These results suggest that the tangible benefits of the AACSB accreditation are negligible since the lack of it only resulted in significant negative consequences for less than 2 percent of 770 respondents. Similarly, our results suggest that for most respondents, the AACSB accreditation will provide benefits in terms of enhanced reputation for both the business program and its graduates, superior quality of the business faculty members, and increased academic standards. However, respondents seem to be unsure about whether the AACSB accreditation will increase the tuition costs. Our results suggest that most respondents seems to strongly agree and simply agree in perceived potential benefits associated with the AACSB accreditation. The perceived benefits still exist in the mind of most respondents even after admitting that the Metro State's lack of AACSB accreditation had almost no impact in many aspects of their professional and academic life after graduation. 20

Regarding the five surveyed respondents factors that encouraged them to pursue their business degree at Metro State, our results suggest that most respondents consider Tuition fees and Location as the most important of these factors. The reputation of the program/college moderately explains the respondents selection of Metro State to pursue a business degree, while the reputation of the faculty members seems to have only somewhat influenced their decision. The composition of the student body clearly constituted the least important factor of the respondents choice. Finally, regarding to the respondents that have heard about the AACSB accreditation classified by demographic variables, our results are remarkably consistent among all categories, with just about 25 percent aware of the ACCSB accreditation and about 75 percent unaware of it. We find that just 41.10 percent of those who achieved an MBA after graduation at Metro State have heard about the AACSB accreditation. Similarly, 32.31 percent of those who achieved a master degree other than an MBA after graduation were aware of the AACSB accreditation. In the same way, 42.86 percent of those who achieved Ph.D./Doctorate degree after graduation were aware of the AACSB accreditation. We also find that 53.33 percent of the respondents working in human resources have heard about the AACSB accreditation. References Daily, Cynthia M.; Farewell, Stephanie; and Kumar, Gaurav (2007). Factors Influencing the Decision of International Students to Attend U.S. Business Schools Working Paper, University of Arkansas at Little Rock - College of Business Administration. McGeel, Robert W. (1999) Some Economic and Ethical Issues Involved in AACSB Accreditation. Journal of Accounting, Ethics & Public Policy, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 449-473. 21