International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education
Summary Outline of the IACBE’s Expectations and Requirements
for Quality Assurance and Outcomes Assessment
Revised: May 2015
Contents
 Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
 The IACBE’s Requirements for Outcomes Assessment Plans
 Outcomes Assessment Resources
Summary Outline of the IACBE’s Expectations and Requirements
for Quality Assurance and Outcomes Assessment
Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
Advancing Academic Quality in
Business Education Worldwide
Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
 The IACBE exists to foster and advance academic quality
in business education in student-centered colleges and
universities throughout the world
Before
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and advancing academic quality
in business
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management
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education,
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we havequality.’
to know what we mean by ‘academic quality.’
 Rather than prescriptive standards for academic inputs/resources, the IACBE
defines academic quality in terms of the results that the academic business
unit produces for its stakeholders, i.e., the outcomes of the educational
process in the context of the business unit’s mission.
Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
Academic Quality
The overall level of performance of the
academic business unit in the context of its mission as
measured by the extent of accomplishment of the unit’s
intended student learning and operational outcomes and its
mission and broad-based goals
In other words, academic quality is defined in terms of the results of the educational process
rather than the inputs into it.
Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
Evaluating
Academic
Quality
Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
 Measuring and advancing academic quality is accomplished
by engaging in a comprehensive program of outcomes
assessment.
 Consequently, the IACBE requires the academic business unit to develop a
process of outcomes assessment for evaluating student learning in its
business programs and the degree of its operational effectiveness.
 This process of outcomes assessment is essential in determining the extent
to which the academic business unit is achieving its mission, goals, intended
outcomes, and performance objectives, i.e., for assessing academic quality.
Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
What is outcomes assessment?
The systematic collection, analysis, evaluation, and
interpretation of information pertaining to student learning
and institutional operations in order to inform decision
making about the ways in which to improve learning,
teaching, and overall institutional effectiveness
The process of outcomes assessment is your system for academic quality management.
Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
 The outcomes assessment process may be developed and implemented in a
variety of different ways.
 However, in whatever approach is employed, the academic business unit
must develop ways to assess student learning in its business programs and
the degree of its operational effectiveness.
 Furthermore, this process must be driven by the mission and goals of the
academic business unit and must be linked to the strategic planning
processes of both the business unit and the institution.
 The framework for this process is laid out in the academic business unit’s
outcomes assessment plan.
Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
What is an outcomes assessment plan?
A document that outlines, summarizes, and establishes
the methods and processes employed by the academic
business unit for assessing and advancing quality in its
business programs, operations, and educational activities
Your Quality Management System
Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
 An outcomes assessment plan specifies:
 the business programs and operational areas to be evaluated.
 goals/intended outcomes/performance objectives in each program and
operational area.
 the assessment tools and methods that will be employed.
 the structures and processes that will be used to link identified changes and
improvements with planning and budgeting.
Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
 Goals/Intended Outcomes/Performance Objectives: Specify what the
academic business unit wants to accomplish
 Assessment Tools: The measurement instruments, techniques, and methods
that will be used to assess student learning and the organizational and
functional performance of the academic business unit, and to determine the
extent to which the goals, intended outcomes, and performance objectives
in these areas are being accomplished
 Linkage with Strategic Planning and Budgeting: Important for the purpose
of continuous quality improvement
Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
 The IACBE and the Board of Commissioners have recently strengthened their
expectations and requirements for quality assurance and outcomes
assessment.
 These changes relate to the following areas:

The definition of a business program for the purpose of inclusion in
outcomes assessment plans and accreditation reviews

Statements of intended student learning outcomes, and the measurement
instruments and evaluation rubrics used to assess those outcomes

The performance objectives associated with the learning assessment
measures
Academic Quality and Outcomes Assessment
 Reasons for the Changes: These expectations and requirements were
instituted for the following purposes:
 To ensure that, when a business program is evaluated for accreditation, the
entire program – not just part of it – is reviewed and assessed
 To ensure that academic business units are actually assessing the intended
student learning outcomes in their business programs that they indicate
they are assessing in their outcomes assessment plans
 To ensure that the statements of intended student learning outcomes and
their associated measurement tools can be used to identify areas for
changes and improvements
Summary Outline of the IACBE’s Expectations and Requirements
for Quality Assurance and Outcomes Assessment
The IACBE’s Requirements for Outcomes Assessment Plans
Advancing Academic Quality in
Business Education Worldwide
Key Content Areas of an Outcomes Assessment Plan
 Outcomes assessment is a process for measuring and improving the overall
performance and effectiveness of an academic business unit in its entire
range of activities and operations.
 Therefore, the academic business unit’s outcomes assessment plan must be
comprehensive and must encompass five key content areas.
 Academic business units must use the template form developed by the
IACBE, which contains sections corresponding to these five content areas.
 Academic business units must complete all five sections in the template.
Key Content Areas of an Outcomes Assessment Plan
 Key Content Areas of an Outcomes Assessment Plan: Academic business
units must ensure that their plans contain the following key content areas:
 Section I: Mission and Broad-Based Goals
 Section II: Student Learning Assessment
 Section III: Operational Assessment
 Section IV: Linkage of Outcomes Assessment with Strategic Planning and
Budgeting
 Section V: Appendices of Supporting Documentation
Section I: Mission and Broad-Based Goals
 Outcomes assessment should be driven and guided by the academic
business unit’s mission; the outcomes assessment plan must contain a
mission statement for the academic business unit.
 Broad-Based Goals:
 General aims or aspirations of the academic business unit; flow directly from its
mission; each goal is associated with/mapped to some aspect of the mission

Instrumental in the accomplishment of its mission

Link broadly-stated mission and specific measurable outcomes and performance
objectives (student learning and operational assessment)

Include both student learning goals and operational goals
Section I: Mission and Broad-Based Goals
 Student Learning Goals:
 Must be stated from the students’ perspective (and not in terms of what the academic
business unit will do, will provide, or intends to accomplish).
 Must clearly describe what students are expected to learn, know, understand,
appreciate, or value as a result of completing their programs of study.
 Must encompass the intended student learning outcomes for all business programs as
described in Student Learning Assessment, and should be broad, general aggregates of
those outcomes (i.e., each learning goal should have multiple intended learning
outcomes associated with it).
 Must be directly related or mapped to some aspect of the academic business unit’s
mission.
Section I: Mission and Broad-Based Goals
 Operational Goals:
 Must clearly describe what the academic business unit will do, will provide, or intends
to accomplish in terms of its overall organizational and functional performance.
 Must encompass the intended operational outcomes as described in Operational
Assessment, and should be broad, general aggregates of those outcomes (i.e., each
operational goal should have multiple intended operational outcomes associated
with it).
 Must be directly related or mapped to some aspect of the academic business unit’s
mission.
Section II: Student Learning Assessment
 Student learning assessment must be addressed for each
business program to be included in the accreditation
review.
 For the purposes of inclusion in outcomes assessment plans, self-studies,
and accreditation reviews, we need to specify exactly what constitutes a
business program.
 Business Program: A program of study consisting of an organized set of
courses, modules, subjects, etc. that satisfies all of the following three
criteria:
Section II: Student Learning Assessment
1. The program leads to the awarding of a degree, diploma, or other equivalent
credential at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral level;
2. The credit hours (or contact hours as applicable) in the traditional areas of
business education in the courses, modules, subjects, etc. comprising the
program constitute 20 percent or more of the total hours required for an
undergraduate degree, diploma, or other equivalent credential, or 50
percent or more of the total hours required for a graduate degree, diploma,
or other equivalent credential;
3. The program appears on a student’s official transcript, diploma supplement,
or other equivalent record of program completion.
Section II: Student Learning Assessment
 Furthermore, all majors, concentrations, specializations, emphases, options,
and tracks comprising any portion of the program will also be included in
accreditation reviews, self-studies, and outcomes assessment plans if they
satisfy the following two criteria:
1. Fifty percent or more of the credit hours (or contact hours as applicable)
required for any major, concentration, specialization, emphasis, option, or
track are in the traditional areas of business education.
2. The majors, concentrations, specializations, emphases, options, and tracks
appear on a student’s official transcript, diploma supplement, or other
official record of program completion.
Section II: Student Learning Assessment
 For each business program included in the accreditation review:
 The outcomes assessment (O/A) plan must articulate intended student learning
outcomes for the program; these must include intended learning outcomes for all
majors, concentrations, specializations, emphases, options, and tracks in the
program.
 For each intended student learning outcome in the program (including outcomes for
majors, concentrations, specializations, emphases, options, and tracks comprising
any portion of the program), the O/A plan must identify the broad-based student
learning goals that are associated with that outcome.
 Each intended student learning outcome in the program must map to some broad-
based student learning goal.
Section II: Student Learning Assessment
 For each business program included in the accreditation review:
 Each broad-based student learning goal must have at least one intended student
learning outcome in the program mapped to it.
 The intended student learning outcomes must be program-level outcomes, not
course-level outcomes (i.e., they must clearly describe what students are expected to
know and be able to do at the conclusion of each degree program).
 The intended student learning outcomes must be appropriate to the degree level
with which they are associated (i.e., they must reflect higher-order knowledge and
skills development at each successively-higher degree level).
Section II: Student Learning Assessment
 For each business program included in the accreditation review:
 The intended student learning outcomes must be measurable, must be stated using
active verbs (e.g., according to Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives), and
must clearly describe the knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies, attitudes, and
values that students are expected to acquire as a result of completing their programs
of study.
 The O/A plan must identify at least two direct and two indirect measures of student
learning for the overall program that will be used to assess the program’s student
learning outcomes.
Section II: Student Learning Assessment
 For each business program included in the accreditation review:
 None of the direct measures of student learning can be course-level assessments
(i.e., they cannot be exams, assignments, or other tasks in individual courses,
modules, or classes except in the case of those instruments used in an end-ofprogram, capstone course, module, or class).
 For each direct and indirect measure of student learning, the O/A plan must identify
the intended student learning outcomes that are assessed by that measure.
 The direct and indirect learning assessment measures must provide for the
assessment of the intended student learning outcomes in each major, concentration,
specialization, emphasis, option, and track comprising any portion of the program.
Section II: Student Learning Assessment
 For each business program included in the accreditation review:
 All direct learning assessment measures must actually assess the intended student
learning outcomes that they are designed to measure as specified in the student
learning assessment tables (i.e., they must contain required student performance
components or tasks that students are required to complete that are directly related
to the intended learning outcomes).
 Except in the case of objective-type comprehensive examinations, the direct learning
assessment measures must be accompanied by evaluation rubrics that contain
performance criteria that are directly and explicitly tied back, related, or mapped to
the intended student learning outcomes in the program that the instruments are
designed to measure as specified in the student learning assessment tables.
Section II: Student Learning Assessment
 For each business program included in the accreditation review:
 In the case of objective-type comprehensive examinations that are being used as
direct learning assessment measures, the exams must contain subsets of questions
that are directly and explicitly tied back, related, or mapped to the intended learning
outcomes that the exams are designed to measure as specified in the student
learning assessment tables.
 All indirect measures of student learning must contain items, questions, or
components that are directly and explicitly tied back, related, or mapped to the
intended student learning outcomes that they are designed to measure as specified
in the student learning assessment tables.
Section II: Student Learning Assessment
 For each business program included in the accreditation review:
 Each intended student learning outcome (including those in each major,
concentration, specialization, emphasis, option, and track) must be assessed by at
least one direct measure and at least one indirect measure of student learning.
 For each direct and indirect measure of student learning, the O/A plan must specify
the performance objectives (measurable performance targets/criteria) that will be
used by the academic business unit to determine the extent to which the intended
student learning outcomes are being achieved.
 The performance objectives for each non-exam direct measure of student learning
must be expressed in terms of desired performance ratings on learning-outcomerelated evaluation criteria in the evaluation rubrics associated with that measure.
Section II: Student Learning Assessment
 For each business program included in the accreditation review:
 In the case of objective-type comprehensive examinations, the performance
objectives must be expressed in terms of desired performance levels on each subset
of exam questions associated with each intended learning outcome that it is
designed to measure.
 No overall grades, percentage scores, or marks on any learning assessment
instrument can be used as direct measures of student learning; in addition, the
“completion of a task or assignment” cannot be used as a direct measure of student
learning.
Section II: Student Learning Assessment
 For each business program included in the accreditation review:
 The performance objectives (measurable performance targets/criteria) for each
indirect measure of student learning must be expressed in terms of desired results on
learning-outcome-related items, questions, or components in the instruments.
 The performance objectives (measurable performance targets/criteria) for each
indirect measure of student learning cannot be expressed in terms of student
satisfaction with instructors, teaching, courses, etc.
Section III: Operational Assessment
 The IACBE requires the development of a quality management system – an outcomes
assessment plan – that provides the framework for evaluating not only student
learning but also the extent of the business unit’s operational effectiveness.
 Operational Effectiveness: The degree to which an academic business unit’s
resources and educational processes are managed efficiently and effectively; the
extent to which resources and processes are effectively developed, organized,
coordinated, and deployed to achieve the academic business unit’s goals, intended
outcomes, and performance objectives
 Operational effectiveness requires the academic business unit to identify resource-
and process-related critical success factors (CSFs) or key performance indicators
(KPIs) that are important in contributing to its organizational and functional success.
Section III: Operational Assessment
 In order to assess the operational effectiveness of the academic business unit:
 The O/A plan must articulate intended operational outcomes
for the academic business unit.
 For each intended operational outcome, the O/A plan must
identify the broad-based operational goals that are associated
with that outcome.
 Each intended operational outcome must map to some broad-based operational
goal.
 Each broad-based operational goal must have at least one intended operational
outcome mapped to it.
Section III: Operational Assessment
 In order to assess the operational effectiveness of the academic business unit:
 The intended operational outcomes must be measurable and must clearly describe
the specific desired results for the academic business unit’s critical success factors
(CSFs) or key performance indicators (KPIs).
 The O/A plan must identify the measures, instruments, or methods that will be
employed to assess the intended operational outcomes of the academic business
unit.
 For each assessment measure, instrument, or method, the O/A plan must identify
the intended operational outcomes that are assessed by that measure, instrument,
or method.
Section III: Operational Assessment
 In order to assess the operational effectiveness of the academic business unit:
 All operational assessment measures, instruments, or methods must contain items,
questions, or components that are directly related to the intended operational
outcomes that they are designed to measure as specified in the operational
assessment table.
 For each assessment measure, instrument, or method, the O/A plan must specify
performance objectives (measurable performance targets/criteria) for that measure,
instrument, or method that will be used by the academic business unit to determine
the extent to which the intended operational outcomes are being achieved.
 Each intended operational outcome must be assessed by at least one operational
assessment measure, instrument, or method.
Section IV: Linkage of Outcomes Assessment
with Strategic Planning
 The quality of an academic business unit’s performance
depends on its efforts at continuous improvement.
 This requires any necessary changes and improvements
that are identified as result of the outcomes assessment
process to be incorporated into its planning process for
the future.
 An academic business unit’s outcomes assessment process must provide for
the linkage of its outcomes assessment and strategic planning and budgeting
processes.
Section IV: Linkage of Outcomes Assessment
with Strategic Planning
 For the purpose of continuous quality improvement:
 The O/A plan must provide a description of the academic business unit and
institutional strategic planning and budgeting processes (structures, steps,
timetables, etc.).
 The O/A plan must provide a description of the ways in which the results from
implementing the outcomes assessment plan (i.e., changes and improvements
needed) are linked to the strategic planning processes of both the academic business
unit and the institution.
 The O/A plan must provide a description of the ways in which the academic business
unit’s outcomes assessment process is linked to the institutional budgeting process.
Section V: Appendices of Supporting Documentation
 The final component of an outcomes assessment plan:
 The appendices to the O/A plan must contain blank copies of all direct measures of
student learning, all indirect measures of student learning, and all operational
assessment measures/instruments. If the academic business unit is employing an
examination provided by an external vendor as a direct measure of learning, the
appendices to the O/A plan must contain an exam content description rather than a
copy of the actual exam.
 The appendices to the O/A plan must contain blank copies of all evaluation rubrics
associated with the direct measures of student learning that will be used to evaluate
student performance on those measures.
Summary Outline of the IACBE’s Expectations and Requirements
for Quality Assurance and Outcomes Assessment
Outcomes Assessment Resources
Advancing Academic Quality in
Business Education Worldwide
Outcomes Assessment Resources
IACBE Online
The IACBE Website
Your Accreditation Destination!
Outcomes Assessment Resources
Comprehensive details pertaining to the IACBE’s
expectations and requirements for outcomes
assessment and quality assurance can be found on the
IACBE website at:
www.iacbe.org/outcomes-assessment.asp
and
www.iacbe.org/quality-assurance.asp
Outcomes Assessment Resources
 In addition, the IACBE provides a wealth of resources to assist members in
preparing their outcomes assessment plans. These are also available on the
IACBE website at www.iacbe.org/oa-documents.asp:
 Key Content Areas of an Outcomes Assessment Plan
This document outlines the required components of an outcomes assessment
plan for business programs that are to be accredited by the IACBE.
 Outcomes Assessment Plan Template
The IACBE has developed a template to be used by its members in preparing and
submitting their outcomes assessment plans.
Outcomes Assessment Resources
 Guidelines for Preparing an Outcomes Assessment Plan
This comprehensive handbook contains guidelines and directions for preparing
an outcomes assessment plan that meets the IACBE’s expectations for an
effective quality management system. The handbook is designed to be used in
conjunction with the required assessment plan template that the IACBE has
developed
 Checklist of Expectations and Requirements for Outcomes Assessment Plans
This document contains a checklist of expectations and requirements for
preparing an outcomes assessment plan. The checklist is designed to be used in
conjunction with the handbook entitled Guidelines for Preparing an Outcomes
Assessment Plan.
Outcomes Assessment Resources
 Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives and Writing Intended Learning
Outcomes Statements
This handbook contains Bloom’s 1956 original taxonomy of educational
objectives in the cognitive domain, the 2001 revision of the taxonomy, sample
verbs to use in writing intended student learning outcomes that are appropriate
for each cognitive level of learning, and guidelines for writing clear and effective
statements of intended student learning outcomes.
 Checklist for Writing Intended Student Learning Outcomes Statements
This document contains a checklist for writing clear and effective statements of
intended student learning outcomes for business programs.
Outcomes Assessment Resources
 Sample Rubric Template
This document contains a sample template for an evaluation rubric that can be
used for assigning a grade or mark to a particular assignment or task and for the
purpose of program-level assessment, i.e., for assessing the programmatic
intended student learning outcomes in a business program.
 Example of a Business Plan Evaluation Rubric
This document contains an example of an evaluation rubric that can be used for
assigning a grade or mark to a business plan project in a capstone course and for
the purpose of program-level assessment, i.e., for assessing the programmatic
intended student learning outcomes in a business program.
Outcomes Assessment Resources
 Comprehensive Example of an Outcomes Assessment Plan
The IACBE has developed a comprehensive example of a complete outcomes
assessment plan that meets IACBE requirements for assessing quality in the
academic business unit’s programs and operations (available upon request).
 Key Learning Outcomes for Business Programs
This document specifies the key intended student learning outcomes, as
identified by the IACBE, that are associated with those content- and skills-related
areas that comprise typical programs in business. Academic business units may
find these outcomes helpful as a set of guidelines, a framework, or as the
nucleus for conceptualizing, developing, and articulating intended student
learning outcomes for their own business programs.
Outcomes Assessment Resources
 Public Disclosure of Student Learning Form
This document contains a template for a suggested reporting form for publicly
disclosing student learning assessment results as required by the IACBE.
 Example of a Completed Public Disclosure of Student Learning Form
This document contains an example of a completed public disclosure of student
learning form that can be used as a model to guide accredited members of the
IACBE in the preparation of their own disclosure documents.
 Guidelines for Creating Valid and Reliable Examinations
This handbook, developed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides
helpful tips for creating valid and reliable examinations.
Outcomes Assessment Resources
 The Degree Qualifications Profile
This handbook, published by The Lumina Foundation, presents a framework for
describing the knowledge and competencies that students should be expected to
acquire in order to earn a degree at various levels. The profile offers guidelines
for developing degree-level-appropriate intended student learning outcomes.
International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education
Thank you for reviewing our outcomes assessment requirements.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at IACBE
headquarters. As always, we stand ready to assist you in any way that we can.