In my summer experiences, I had the opportunity of working as a visiting faculty member at one of the reputable universities--North South University in Bangladesh, which provided me with insight into the ever-changing world of business education in the country. Even while making sure I do not make much noise about myself, I found something quite interesting: while some universities are proud of being accredited by ACBSP, others consider AACSB accreditation more prestigious.These observations raised a fundamental question: What does international accreditation mean for the quality, scholarship, global standing, and future of business education in Bangladesh? Against this backdropand with the intention of encouraging a constructive rather than promotional debate, I offer this analysis.
Business education in Bangladesh has expanded dramatically over the past three decades. Public and private universities now produce thousands of graduates annually in business administration, accounting, finance, marketing, management, human resources and international business. Yet this numerical expansion raises another question: How should the quality of Bangladesh's business schools be measured against international standards? International accreditation offers external scrutiny, accountability and continuous assessment. But should ACBSP represent the ultimate benchmark for Bangladesh's leading business schools, or should established, resourceful and research-oriented institutions aspire to AACSB International? It is unfair to regard one process as better while treating another as worse, because both serve important functions in their own ways, according to their respective institutions' priorities. The problem is that accreditation has become a marketing tool.
ACBSP AND AACSB: The difference between the two needs to be made clear. ACBSP (Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs) is not only for community colleges. It has accredited a wide range of business programs from associate degree to bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs. This broad scope of business education makes it highly applicable to teaching-oriented institutions, such as community colleges in America. On the other hand, AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) mandates that an institution applying for business accreditation must offer at least a baccalaureate degree program in business or a related field. Thus, although both serve higher education, they should not automatically be regarded as interchangeable measures of institutional mission, scholarly orientation, or academic ambition. This distinction matters especially for research-oriented universities in Bangladesh.
WHAT ACBSP BRINGS TO BUSINESS EDUCATION: The ACBSP organization was formed in 1988 and concentrates on teaching effectiveness, learner outcomes, assessment, engagement, and improvement. The evaluation covers such aspects as leadership, strategic planning, learner/stakeholder emphasis, assessment of learning, faculty, curriculum, and institutional performance. This orientation is highly relevant to Bangladesh.
Universities sometimes focus too much on input buildings, faculty numbers, courses, and enrolment while paying too little attention to measurable learning outcomes. ACBSP shifts attention toward a more consequential question: What have students actually learned? This method involves defining learning outcomes, assessing achievement, analysing results, and using the data to make changes. If done correctly, it could create a culture in the organization where assessment promotes learning, not merely documents it.
As institutions in Bangladesh that have already joined ACBSP show, another advantage is that external assessment helps identify weaknesses the institution's internal culture might normalise.
Thus, ACBSP can strengthen business schools in Bangladesh by establishing a culture of assessment, continually improving curricula, developing faculty, involving employers and other stakeholders, and increasing international recognition. These are substantial benefits. ACBSP is certainly not bad for Bangladesh. Properly used, it can be highly valuable. The more important question is whether the destination or one stage should be considered in a longer journey.
AACSB BRINGS A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF INSTITUTIONAL AMBITION: AACSB International has a rich history and was founded in 1916; it is one of the world's best-known business school accrediting bodies. AACSB International's structure ties together education quality, quality improvement, strategic management, learning effectiveness, faculty scholarship, innovation, and social impact.
While ACBSP has developed a particularly strong identity around teaching and student learning, AACSB expects business schools to demonstrate a broader academic ecosystem involving faculty qualifications, intellectual contributions, strategic direction, educational quality, engagement, and impact. That distinction makes AACSB particularly relevant to Bangladesh's more ambitious research-oriented universities. A business school principally focused on delivering strong undergraduate and MBA education may find ACBSP entirely appropriate. An institution seeking to become a research-intensive and internationally influential business school competing for distinguished faculty, high-quality students, research recognition and partnerships with leading universities should seriously consider whether AACSB better reflects its ambitions.
TEACHING VERSUS RESEARCH IS A FALSE CHOICE: However, Bangladesh should be careful not to oversimplify the difference between ACBSP and AACSB as "ACBSP refers to teaching" and "AACSB refers to research." ACBSP includes scholarships, faculty credentials, and research-based teaching. Similarly, AACSB does not see research as something separate from teaching. AACSB sees a connection between faculty expertise, intellectual contribution, education, student success, and impact on society. The real difference is not between teaching and research but in mission, faculty ecosystem, intellectual contribution, resource base, impact, and the business school's level of competitiveness. Bangladesh needs both excellent teaching and consequential scholarship. In other words, a university that produces hundreds of MBAs but makes little contribution to knowledge on Bangladesh's banking sector, entrepreneurship, ready-made garments industry, logistics, digital economy, corporate governance, social business, sustainability, and new technologies fulfil its obligations only to a limited extent. Conversely, faculty may publish extensively, but if graduates leave without analytical, communication, technological, and managerial competencies, the institution has also failed. World-class business education requires teaching, scholarship, relevance and impact simultaneously.
WHEN ACCREDITATION BECOMES A MARKETING LABEL: The greatest threat to accreditation might be its transformation into a branding process. Colleges will focus on the documentation process- committees producing reports, faculty drafting outcomes, administrators developing matrices, and consultants supporting the accreditation team. Accreditation must ask more basic questions.
Are students' critical thinking skills improving? Do graduates have professional communication skills and the ability to analyze complex information? Are graduates well-versed in artificial intelligence and digital transformation? Do graduates have good decision-making skills and problem-solving abilities to solve practical business problems in Bangladesh? Are the faculty members generating relevant knowledge? Are employers satisfied with the performance of graduates? Most importantly, does business school contribute intellectually to national development? If the answers remain weak, an international accreditation logo cannot transform the institution into a world-class business school. Accreditation should be evidence of quality; it should never replace quality.
IS AACSB THE NEXT FRONTIER: Bangladesh has reached a stage where its strongest business schools should consider more ambitious international benchmarks. AACSB accreditation is rigorous, and much of its value comes from that. It requires organizations to assess the entire academic environment, including mission, faculty adequacy, intellectual contribution, strategic investment, student achievement, innovation, and impact. Meeting these standards can be difficult in institutions where faculty members bear huge teaching loads, where adjuncts do most of the teaching, where research infrastructure is poor, where doctoral preparation is weak, and where incentives encourage quantity over quality and impact. But these challenges are arguments for raising institutional capacity not lowering academic aspirations.
DIFFERENT INSTITUTIONS NEED DIFFERENT PATHWAYS: Bangladesh should therefore resist framing the debate simply as ACBSP versus AACSB. For emerging and teaching-oriented business schools seeking stronger quality assurance, learning-outcome assessment, faculty development and continuous improvement, ACBSP can provide an excellent framework. For established institutions with mature teaching systems, it remains a meaningful international accreditation.
But Bangladesh's leading, well-resourced and research-oriented business schools should consider AACSB as a strategic frontier if their aspirations include stronger research recognition, global academic partnerships, internationally competitive faculty and graduate education.
The appropriate question is therefore not: Which accreditation logo can we obtain? It is: What kind of business school do we want to become?
BANGLADESH NEEDS ITS OWN QUALITY CULTURE: Neither ACBSP nor AACSB can substitute for Bangladesh developing its own robust culture of academic quality. International accreditation must support, not dictate, national policy. Universities in Bangladesh operate in a unique economic and social setting. Therefore, business schools in these universities must prepare graduates and research to address problems related to export diversification, banking governance, SMEs, entrepreneurship, social businesses, remittance flows, financial inclusion, climate resilience, logistics, AI, e-commerce, business ethics, and regional economic integration.
International standards should therefore be localised without being diluted. A Bangladeshi business school should not seek merely to imitate an American institution. It should aspire to become a globally credible Bangladeshi business school international in standards, yet national in relevance.
Ultimately, it is not just about accreditation; instead, there are other aspects such as faculty excellence, intellectual output, research performance, instructional capability, employer satisfaction, employment of graduates, curriculum relevancy, international connections, and social contributions that define good business schools. A mediocre institution does not become excellent simply by acquiring international accreditation. Equally, a genuinely excellent institution should never fear rigorous external evaluation.
THE REAL TEST OF EXCELLENCE: The judgment must be made, then, in balanced terms. While the ACBSP could be useful and credible for Bangladeshi business schools in its role as an instrument for genuine academic improvement, there is no doubt that, in its teaching-centred focus, it does not represent the best possible strategic target for research-based universities aspiring to enhance their international scholarly reputation. In this case, AACSB should be considered a more ambitious strategic goal for the most mature and wealthy institutions seeking deeper embedding within the worldwide community of research-based business schools. However, this is not an attempt to undermine the importance of the ACBSP; rather, it recognizes that institutions have different functions. While one institution may consider the ACBSP appropriate for changing its processes of learning, assessment, and quality, another may prefer the AACSB. Bangladesh does not need every business school to pursue the same accreditation. It needs every institution to pursue standards that genuinely improve it. The country needs more than BBA and MBA degrees. It needs graduates capable of leading banks responsibly, modernising industries, creating enterprises, managing technological disruption, understanding global markets, communicating across cultures, making ethical decisions, and generating employment. It also needs scholars capable of producing internationally respected knowledge from Bangladesh and the wider Global South.
AACSB could help in this process. If the institution has the capacity and willingness to make the required effort and changes, then perhaps AACSB could be a more ambitious target. This target should shift from accreditation to competitiveness, from compliance to continuous improvement, and from recognition to transformation. The critical issue that needs to be addressed by the business schools in Bangladesh is not simply: If the accreditation logo disappeared from the university website tomorrow, would the quality of its faculty, scholarship, students, graduates, and societal impact still demonstrate that it is a world-class business school? That is the ultimate standard. Accreditation's value lies not in the emblem that hangs in the hallway, but in the excellence created, the knowledge generated, and the graduates produced who will change the world.
Dr Serajul I Bhuiyan is Professor and Former Chair Department of Journalism and Mass Communications, Savannah State University, USA.
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