Impact and the 2013 AACSB
Standards
MAACBA Annual Meeting
October 15-17, 2014
Impact and the
2013 AACSB Standards
• Presenters:
– John M. Beehler, Dean, School of Business,
Robert Morris University
– Shawn P. Daly, Dean, College of Business
Administration, Niagara University
– Joyce Strawser, Dean, Stillman School of
Business, Seton Hall University
AACSB Impact Studies
Impact of Research Task Force
• Reaffirmed
business schools’
commitment to
research and
made
recommendations
to help maximize
value & visibility of
business school
research.
Key recommendations:
• Require schools to
demonstrate impact for ICs
• Provide incentives for
greater diversity in ICs
based on mission
• Create greater linkages
between research and
practice
Impact of Research Guide
• Ten school exploratory study
• Explores the challenges and insights of
the schools in determining the impact of
research
• Focused on three main categories:
– Defining research expectations
– Exploring possible measures of impact
– Using and communicating what was learned
Impact of Research Guide
Revelations
• Align research expectations with mission and
identify target beneficiaries
• Both qualitative and quantitative measures
• Not easily comparable across institutions
• Do cost/benefit analysis of measures
• Be reflective of results & communicate results
effectively to stakeholders (tell your story!)
• Show impact on teaching & outreach activities
• Align with faculty evaluation & rewards
2013 Standards Preamble
• AACSB demands
evidence of
continuous quality
improvement in
management
education through
innovation, impact
and engagement.
2013 Standards Preamble
• The fundamental purpose of AACSB
accreditation is to encourage business schools
to hold themselves accountable for improving
business practice through scholarly education
and impactful intellectual contributions.
• In the context of a profoundly changing business
environment, the same factors impacting
business also are changing higher education.
2013 Standards Preamble
• Given today’s increasingly dynamic
environment, standards and processes for
accreditation must be designed not only to
validate quality management education
and impactful research, but also to provide
leadership, encouragement and support
for change in business schools.
Impact Mandate
• Context: given increasing accountability,
business schools must focus on
appropriate high-quality inputs and the
outcomes of these inputs within the
context of the business school’s mission
and supporting strategies.
• Mandate: business schools must
document how they are making a
difference and having impact.
Impact Defined
• Business schools must produce intellectual
contributions that make a positive impact on
business theory, teaching, or practice.
• Impact – broader meaning – the business
school, through the articulation and execution of
its mission, should make a difference in
business and society as well as in the global
community of business schools and
management educators.
Impact - Key Points
• Impact is defined in terms of the stated
mission of the business school.
• Business schools need to identify,
measure and document the types of
impact for all key areas within the mission:
research, teaching and service.
• The types and degrees of impact deemed
important may vary between business
schools based on stated missions.
AACSB Table 2-1
Research: Quality vs. Impact
• Table 2-1 contains Part C covering the “quality”
of the portfolio of ICs and Part D covering the
“impact” of ICs.
• This implies that there is a difference between
quality and impact.
• Both sections require “qualitative descriptions
and quantitative metrics”
Issue: Can quality be an indicator of impact?
Issue: If an IC is high quality can we assume that
it is high impact?
Standards Appendix
• A non-exhaustive list of categories of
impact and examples of metrics that
schools may use to assess the impact of
their activities.
• It should be emphasized that not all
activities may have impacts currently or at
all while others may have multiple impacts.
• May have to wait until future years to see
and measure the impact of activities.
Appendix Impact Categories
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mission Alignment Impact
Academic Impact
Teaching/Instructional Impact
Bachelor’s/Master’s Level Impact
Doctoral Education Impact
Practice/Community Impact
Executive Education Impact
Research Center Impact
Metrics: Stakeholder Impact
• Impact Metrics: Outcomes/impressions of stakeholders
• Research
• Mission Alignment: outcomes directed toward key institutional
stakeholders (community, industry, government, sponsors, etc.)
• Academic Impact: outcomes for scholarly community
• Teaching
• Teaching/Instructional Impact: instructors & students
• Bachelors/Masters Impact: students & industry
• Doctoral Impact: instructors & students
• Service (proposing a more parallel structure)
• Practice/Exec. Ed./Centers: activities (AACSB Standards)
• Student/Business/Public/Academic: stakeholders
CBA August 2013 Workshop -- 17
Research: Mission Alignment
• Alignment of intellectual contribution outcomes with themes or
focus areas valued by the business school's mission
• Percentage of intellectual contribution outcomes that align with
one or more "mission-related" focus areas for research
• Percentage of faculty with one or more intellectual contribution
outcomes that align with one or more mission-related focus areas
• Research awards and recognition that document alignment with
one or more "mission-related" focus areas for research
• Substantive impact and carry-forward of mission as stated in
Standard 1 and as referenced throughout the remaining
accreditation standards
• Linkage between mission as stated in Standard 1 and financial
history and strategies as stated in Standard 3
CBA August 2013 Workshop -- 18
Research: Academic Impact
•
•
•
•
•
•
Publications in highly recognized, leading peer-review
journals
Citation counts
Download counts for electronic journals
Editorships, associate editorships, editorial board
memberships, and/or invitations to act as journal reviewers
for recognized, leading peer-review journals
Elections or appointments to leadership positions in
academic and/or professional associations and societies
Recognitions for research (e.g., Best Paper Award), Fellow
Status in an academic society, and other recognition by
professional and/or academic societies for intellectual
contribution outcomes
CBA August 2013 Workshop -- 19
Research: Academic Impact
• Invitations to participate in research conferences,
scholarly programs, and/or international, national, or
regional research forums
• Inclusion of academic work in the syllabi of other
professors' courses
• Use of academic work in doctoral seminars
• Competitive grants awarded by major national and
international agencies (e.g., NSF and NIH) or third-party
funding for research projects
• Patents awarded
• Appointments as visiting professors or scholars in other
schools or a set of schools
CBA August 2013 Workshop -- 20
Teaching: Instructional Impact
• Grants for research that influence teaching/pedagogical
practices, materials, etc.
• Case studies of research leading to the adoption of new
teaching/learning practices
• Textbooks, teaching manuals, etc., that are widely
adopted (by number of editions, number of downloads,
number of views, use in teaching, sales volume, etc.)
• Publications that focus on research methods & teaching
• Research-based learning projects with companies,
institutions, and/or non-profit organizations
• Instructional software (# programs developed, users, etc.)
• Case study development (# studies developed, users,
etc.)
CBA August 2013 Workshop -- 21
Teaching: Educational Impact
(B/M)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mentorship of student research (# student papers
produced under faculty supervision that lead to
publication/presentation at acad./prof. conferences
Documented improvements in learning outcomes that
result from teaching innovations that incorporate research
methods from pedagogical research projects
Hiring/placement of students
Career success of graduates beyond initial placement
Placement of students in research-based grad. programs
Direct input from organizations that hire graduates
regarding graduates' preparedness for jobs
Movement of graduates into positions of leadership in forprofit, non-profit, and professional and service
organizations
CBA August 2013 Workshop -- 22
Teaching: Educational Impact (D)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hiring/placement of doctoral students, junior faculty, and
post-doctoral research assistants
Publications of doctoral students and graduates
Invited conference attendance, as well as
awards/nominations for doctoral students/graduates
Research fellowships awarded to doc. students/graduates
Funding for students related to doctoral research
Case studies that document results of doctoral research
training activities, such as the transfer of knowledge to
industry and impact on corporate or community practices
Research outputs of junior faculty members that have been
influenced by their mentors/supervisors
CBA August 2013 Workshop -- 23
Service: Student Community
• Employment opportunities, graduate school
admissions/scholarship outcomes
• Student awards, presentations, board meetings,
conferences, competitions
• Internships, co-/extra-curricular projects, publications,
capstone projects, study abroad
• Contracted hours or projects, research assistants,
student workers
• Students, faculty, and staff involved in discipline,
organization, and project activities
• Course enrollments, concentration headcounts,
programs/activities
• Tuition from regular/alternative educational sources
CBA August 2013 Workshop -- 24
Service: Business Community
• Attendance of external constituents at disciplines’
Boards and other meetings
• Individual, company, or institutional involvement in
discipline educational activities
• Management of and participation in business
associations, task forces, and the like
• Partnerships, joint ventures, and affiliations
• Direct reputational measures, such as surveys or focus
groups
• Grants, contract research awards
• Seminar, workshop, development, training revenue
• Donations, gifts-in-kind, financial support of all kinds
CBA August 2013 Workshop -- 25
Service: Public Community
• Books, articles, and interviews in the popular press and
other media
• Readership in traditional/electronic/social media
• Awards and other public recognition of service
• Public attendance for discipline speakers, presentations,
events, speaking engagements
• Organization and involvement on church/community
boards, task forces, etc.
• Pro bono service projects and activities
• Direct reputational measures, such as surveys or focus
groups
• Economic development impact of activities
CBA August 2013 Workshop -- 26
Service: Academic Community
• Academic/professional journal management and
operation
• Management of and participation in academic
associations, accreditation, other groups
• Awards & keynote addresses
• Conference development & organization
• Scholarly publications, books, and presentations
• Partnerships, joint ventures, and affiliations
CBA August 2013 Workshop -- 27
Encouraging Impact
• Incorporate Impact in Performance
Standards
– AACSB Faculty Qualification Standards
• Academic Engagement
• Practice Engagement
– Standards for Promotion and Tenure
• School-Wide
• Departmental
Encouraging Impact
• Incorporate Impact in Performance
Standards (continued)
– Annual Performance Reporting Standards
• Teaching
• Research
• Service
• Incorporate Impact in Reward Systems
– Faculty/Staff
– Student
Encouraging Impact
• Prioritize Impactful Activities in the
Curriculum Management Process
– Curriculum Requirements
– New Course Approvals
– Examples:
• Faculty-student research projects
• In-class consulting projects
• Case development
Collecting Impact Data
• Faculty Reporting
– Initial collection is challenging
– An iterative process is helpful
– Matrix/Table
• Stakeholder Surveys
• University Partners
– Career Center
– Alumni Relations
Impact
• Thanks for your participation in this
session on “Impact and the 2013 AACSB
Standards”
• Continue to have an substantial impact on
management education!