Getting its accreditation affirmed from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), University of Texas Permian Basin is working toward continuous improvement.
Dean of the College of Business Steve Beach said the college has been accredited for quite some time.
“We have to get reaffirmed on our accreditation every five years, so we go through a cycle where we get accredited and start preparing for the next time they’re going to check up on us to see if we’re doing the job right,” Beach said.
Accreditations are generally good for five years.
The college is always working toward the next reaccreditation.
“… We’re already starting the process of our strategic planning for the next cycle,” Beach said. “We have to assess our programs; assess the learning of the students in the programs; and getting ourselves aligned with any changes at the university in terms of our strategy there and then making sure that we are aligned with it. We have to keep track on an ongoing basis of how we’re doing with our instruction and so our assessment of that doesn’t stop. It’s just ongoing. We just have to package everything together again every five years to show that we’re keeping on target,” Beach added.
The first accreditation is typically the most difficult.
“The first time is always special for every school; very challenging; particularly when we look at assessing student learning. That’s very important, but also generally at the outset,” Beach said.
It’s also important that the faculty are active researchers.
“… What tends to make it a little easier is that you have the faculty already on board who are accustomed to producing research that keeps them attuned to what’s happening in their disciplines and with what is needed to share with their students” to prepare them for their careers, Beach added.
He said the process gets easier over time.
“… We can look at UT Permian Basin right now and for our College of Business, we’re growing and growing considerably in our graduate program. As a result the quality and level of research that the faculty need to produce is going to be higher. The request of us from our accreditation agency is for us to keep an eye on that and ensure that our faculty are doing research that is appropriate for a school that’s doing a lot in the graduate arena,” Beach added.
He said there were about 1,500 students in the College of Business enrolled for the fall and the same for spring.
There were about 550 graduate students in the fall.
Graduate student enrollment has increased from about 400 in fall 2020 to the 550 now.
For a College of Business, Beach said accreditation is “absolutely critical” because it provides assurance to students that they are getting a “world-class education.”
“In this case for the University of Texas Permian Basin, we know students are going to get a quality degree that’s recognized and respected anywhere on the planet and so it actually drives our enrollment for our graduate programs,” Beach said.
On a connected item, Beach said UTPB has two new graduate programs in the College of Business. The first is a master of science in energy business and a master of science in finance.
That will be available for students in fall 2022.
