TRIPLE ACCREDITATION
BIOGRAPHY David Boughey is interim deputy pro-vice chancellor and dean at the University of Exeter Business School, where he is also a professor in international business history. Previously, Boughey served as associate dean for education at the school. Before joining the University of Exeter Business School in 2009, he was head of the School of Strategy & International Business at Bristol Business School, University of the West of England. While Boughey’s primary interests have been in enhancing teaching, learning and the student experience, he has continued his research into the firms that equipped and ran Britain’s overseas railway empire. He is currently working on an assessment of British investment in American railroads before 1914. He holds a PhD in business history from Royal Holloway University of London
“I can imagine it being a big problem in some organisations, but I don’t think it’s a particularly big problem for us because, culturally, a lot of what we do for accreditation should be business as usual. So, when it comes to writing or preparing something, it’s a relatively straightforward exercise.” While the effective management of accreditation processes lies squarely with the individual business school, it is the awarding bodies that must provide consistency in the judgements of suitably qualified accreditation panels. For Boughey, ensuring panel members have “the necessary time and focus” is not without its challenges, given the commitments of those working at the highest levels of business education. “There’s a risk with accreditation that panels become swamped and, in effect, drown under the weight of the material, making it harder to reach an informed, nuanced and advisory view of a particular organisation. Accreditation panels can vary in quality and it’s often the panels rather than the process that cause institutions anxiety,” he confides, before adding that “this is less the case with AMBA because the narrower focus and greater involvement of MBA directors means that AMBA panels tend to be more focused.” Arriving at outcomes with impact Going through multiple accreditation processes to achieve and maintain its triple-crown status has yielded some tangible outcomes at Exeter. One example is its implementation of what it terms ‘enhanced programme boards’ about 10 years ago. “Universities used to have periodic subject reviews that would take quite a high-level view of a department, but they have generally gone out of fashion because they take a lot of time and are therefore costly. An enhanced programme board focuses on a particular programme. We probably do about five or six of them a year, enabling us to do deep dives on how we’re running programmes, why they exist and what we might need to do with them.” This mechanism for continuous review is behind the school’s recent decision to rebrand its long-standing master’s in financial analysis and fund management –affectionately known as ‘FAFM’ – as an MSc in finance to bring it in line with global expectations. “It was the enhanced programme board that enabled us to take the difficult decision to dispense with a 20-year-old degree title that is well known and move to the industry norm. As a result of accreditation, therefore, you have a structure that helps you think something through and arrive at a particular outcome that will benefit the organisation,” the Exeter dean explains. From specific programme outcomes and changes in approach to boosting a business school’s organisational culture and morale, Boughey is first and foremost a proponent of the accreditation journey. “I’d describe it as essential,” he concludes succinctly. Yet, he also acknowledges that the badge acquired along the way holds great value in itself. “Once you’ve got that triple accreditation status, you don’t want to lose it.”
Ambition | JULY/AUGUST 2024 | 15
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