Project Proposal

PROJECT GOAL:

To achieve accredited status for an unnamed university's MBA program by the end of 2012, at a cost less than might otherwise be paid to an educational consultant by understanding, planning, coordinating and communicating the process, documentation and events necessary to successfully complete the application process.

DEFINITION OF OPPORTUNITY:

Although non-accredited universities do operate successfully, it is difficult to recruit students and foster a thriving intellectual community without some means of externally validating the quality of the program. As the university in question is a fairly new institution, it is still in the process of publicly establishing itself as the center for leadership, learning and innovation that it wishes to become. At the same time, as with any business, it is vital that the university generate the revenue necessary to maintain its operations. As education is our business, this translates to enrollment. As it competes with many other high-quality institutions of higher learning in the Bay Area, it is important that we demonstrate that an education from this university is at least on par with our peer institutions as we further differentiate ourselves from our competitors. This challenge can be measured in terms of our enrollment to capacity ratio, the number of admissions applications and the number and nature of inquiries about this university from prospective students.

PROPOSED SOLUTION:

By achieving accreditation from a well-known and respected body such as an accrediting agency, the university can publicly validate the high-quality of its degree programs which will both place it on par with other accredited institutions and open the door to many potential applicants who may be too risk averse to attend an pre-accredited institution.

Accreditation will also afford the university such benefits as the ability to allow students to use state and federal grant, scholarship and loan programs to help fund their education, and to issue I-20 visas to international students who wish to study at the university thereby further broadening access to a quality  education.  Accreditation also affords such benefits as freeway signage and the right to use a “.edu” web address, which will help with school visibility and recruitment.

PROJECT SELECTION AND CRITERIA RANKING:

Accreditation is a goal that is whole-heartedly embraced by the university’s administration and facilitates their compliance, efficiency and revenue-oriented strategic goals. Although it is important to achieve accreditation as quickly as possible, the university wishes to thoroughly and methodically address the requirements and wherever possible use the accreditation process to enhance the operations and effectiveness of the organization as a whole.

QUALITATIVE COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS:

Tangible benefits include an anticipated increase in enrollment and the ability to accept financial aid. Intangible benefits include an enhancement of the university’s reputation and visibility. Required resources include a significant amount of labor to research, plan, collect, organize and document information about the organization's operations; and the accrediting agency's application fee and site visit expenses.

The financial return from accreditation will not be realized immediately; however, accreditation is essential for the university to meet its goal of becoming a global leader in innovative, flexible, industry-focused management and technology education programs.

BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS:

The project will be judged successful when the accrediting agency accredits the university’s MBA program; when students can use government financial aid to fund their CALMAT education; when international students are able to pursue their education at the university using I-20 visas sponsored by the university iteself; and when the university's alumni have their degrees grandfathered into accredited status.

SCOPE:

Understanding all the requirements of the accreditation process is essential to success, training and information gathering will be the vital first step. As these requirements are individually pursued, we may expect some degree of policy and process changes. Throughout this 18-month process, communication, organization will be essential.

OBSTACLES AND RISKS:

There is a risk that the university will not enroll and graduate enough students in the pre-accreditation phase to meet the accreditation requirements. Although much planning has been done to set and meet enrollment targets there is always a risk that they may not be met in the anticipated timeframe. One obstacle is that no one at the university has experienced the accreditation process as an applicant – the process is new to everyone involved – though we do have advisors who have experience as part of the accrediting body.

Staff turnover of essential employees is also a risk during this process. Although the university's management team is a dedicated group, there is always a chance that an unforeseen situation may result in staffing changes and a corresponding loss of experience and knowledge.

SCHEDULE OVERVIEW:

Meetings and training have already begun for key stakeholders and participants in the process. Preparation of documentation will begin in earnest in July 2011. The full accreditation process including the site visit and response to the university’s application is expected to take until the end of 2012 with numerous deadlines and benchmarks leading up to that point.

SMART GOAL REVIEW:

With regard to “SMART” criteria, this goal of this project is specific in outcome, timeframe and cost. Each of these elements are measurable, realistic and more or less agreed upon (explicit agreement will come as stakeholders ratify the statement of work, responsibility matrix and communications plan).