PURSUING AUPHA PROGRAM CERTIFICATION IN AN AACSB-ACCREDITED BUSINESS COLLEGE.

Pursuing AUPHA certification of undergraduate healthcare management (HCM) degrees housed in AACSB-accredited business schools can be difficult. This paper is a study of the factors involved in accomplishing this outcome based on certification initiatives in two business schools. The method involved a side-by-side comparison of AACSB accreditation standards with AUPHA certification criteria. This review demonstrates that a significant degree of complementarity exists between the two assessment approaches. Thus, the discipline-specific nature of AUPHA program certification criteria does not conflict with or challenge AACSB's business college's nine sets of accreditation standards. The discussion identifies the collective benefits of AUPHA HCM program certification housed under a business college's AACSB accreditation umbrella. The comparison identified a few AUPHA criteria not having an AACSB-equivalent standard. Tactics for traversing this limited disconnect are defined. Experience with these two sets of assessment requirements is posed as a model for pursuing other discipline-specific accreditation within AACSB-accredited business schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]