Accountability and Accreditation: Putting Information Systems Accreditation into Perspective

Higher education in the United States has recently come under pressure from federal and state legislatures for failing to provide “value for money” because of an alleged lack of accountability and quality [U.S. Department of Education 2006]. This article will argue that, contrary to this view, institutes of higher learning have a rigorous quality assurance and accountability mechanism in place, namely accreditation, and that, moreover, the recent shift in accreditation from an input-based approach to an outcomes-based approach has resulted in improved programs that prepare graduates better than ever before for the workforce and/or further studies. These measures in fact are well applied in the field of information systems. The paper focuses on accreditation and the role of accreditation in ensuring quality in education. The work of agencies that are of most interest to information systems programs, namely the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET Inc (ABET CAC) is reviewed. The paper also describes a process to aid those interested in improving educational quality.