An Evaluation of the South African Model of MBA Accreditation

The South African Council on Higher Education (CHE) withdrew its accreditation of 15 Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees in May 2004. MBAs for which accreditation was withdrawn include those offered in South Africa by Bond University (Australia) and De Montfort University (UK). CHEs decisions have significant implications for students, graduates, the labour market, the international credibility of national higher education quality assurance systems and for international trade in higher education. CHE regulates "fitness of purpose" by specifying major dimensions of the MBA programme mission, as well as regulating important aspects of teaching and learning, provider governance structures and procedures, employment matters and research. The particular research method, for example, to be used by universities in MBA programmes is prescribed by CHE. In general CHE closely regulates various decisions historically made by universities. The CHE model embraces aspects of MBA provision but it does not require an independent, scientific analysis of the efficacy of the assessments of student skills, knowledge and reasoning ability that are conducted by providers. Neither is it concerned with conceptualising or measuring labour market judgements of MBA quality. This paper argues that these are significant deficiencies and that potential students and other stakeholders in South African MBA programmes will thus be seriously misled if they rely on the results of the CHE MBA review to make MBA programme choices, employment, recruitment, remuneration and promotion decisions or to formulate public policy.