Can the SBI Program Survive: An Examination of the Relationship of the AACSB and the SBI

Abstract

This research began as the result of an article arguing that because much of the SBI’s benefits were intangible, less quantifiable, and harder to justify, then the SBI program would not survive. A short explanation of the SBI’s environment finds that higher education as a whole is being criticized.  To meet these criticisms, one trend that emerged from accreditation agencies was to require more empirical and therefore quantifiable evidence. The AACSB’s 2003 standards provided some relief by requiring schools to be mission based.  Further enhancement came with the 2013 standards’ requirement of impact, innovation, and engagement that provide a unique opportunity for SBI programs to justify their existence by showing how this program can meet all three of the new standards.